The Sassy Lime

onward and upward

2008-06-22T22:17:00.001-06:00

well here we go --

to the new blog!

www.thesassylime.com

come along with me, won't you?

2008-06-20T19:56:00.002-06:00

something big is coming.....

to a sassy lime near you! my husband has finally convinced me to switch domain names. i will tell more once the switch is complete. but i don't want you to see it till it's all finished and perfect!

i'm pretty excited, there will be a new look -- which of course means i've enlisted my husband's help. and will i get my blogroll reorganized? only time will tell...

Hard Conversations and Tough Choices

2008-06-19T11:06:00.002-06:00

Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create that fact. -- William James

i read a super entry over at In Sickness and In Health the other day -- this just helps remind me how much my blogroll needs a revamping. she should be on my blogroll, along with 5 or 6 new favorite pain blogs.

Barbara talks about not only the many social difficulties associated with chronic pain, but the difficulties it brings to a marriage relationship, as well. thus, the hard conversations. pain is hard, but for me, it's not nearly as hard as the feeling that i'm missing out on my own life. i hate cancelling at the last minute and sitting out while others are working or playing hard. these are the tough choices pain forces you to make for yourself.

Read it. :)

starting off with some random movie quotes

2008-06-16T19:10:00.000-06:00

"Doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch lesser people scream." (from Juno)

"At some point, life stops giving and starts taking." (from Indiana Jones...Crystal Skull)

and some links that may amuse --

the funniest post i've ever read about bra shopping -- by the Suburban correspondent

LOL Cats -- Opacity

a great picture of my husband

It's a camera -- no! it's a gun! -- via Boing Boing

LOL Cats -- I iz nu heer

Father's Day

2008-06-15T23:04:00.002-06:00

i love my dad. so much that i won't post a picture of him here. :)

he's touchy about things like 'privacy' and not having his picture posted on the internet. fair enough. it's not for me, but i get it.

but i will tell you a little bit about him and how much i love him. and why i'm so lucky that he is my dad.

mostly i'm lucky because without him, i wouldn't be the woman i am.

the thing is, i don't talk about it much, but music is what makes my soul sing. i can't live without it, and it nourishes me. i need it.

i'm sure the reason i need it, the reason i love it is because of my dad. he taught me to read music, to listen to music, to feel music, and to love music. you might be thinking that a person can't be taught to love music or to listen to music -- and that might not be entirely true. but in some ways it is. i remember laying on the carpet in our living room with the score of the 1812 overture, listening to it playing (loudly of course) over the stereo. and dad would follow the music along with his finger, jabbing the cannon bursts like exclamation points.

he would trace the different national anthems along for me to see how they were woven through by tchaikovsky. he showed me how dynamics worked in a tangible and exciting way.

of course my dad has loved me and supported me through difficult times; breakups and disappointments. but nurturing my love of music is one of the things that endears him to me most of all.

i love you dad!

I Won!?!

2008-06-14T13:33:00.002-06:00

So my bloggy friend Chili had a contest -- and it's really somewhat shameful that i'm just writing about it now. but i won!! eeeee!

if you click on the contest link above, you'll see that the contest was for a shirt from Trendy Tadpole -- a great store with super cute, modern designs. you really should go check it out.

i chose the Cherry Blossom onesie, for my newest niece -- but was SERIOUSLY tempted by the ABCD: for those about to read, we salute you. how cute is that? i just linked here b/c i don't want to rip off their images. and seeing how she's not my baby, i don't have any pictures of the actual cuteness.

but the onesie was adorable, and well made, and the image was perfect. check out trendy tadpole and thank you for the lovely shirt Chilihead and Trendy Tadpole!

schtuff

2008-06-13T11:30:00.000-06:00

So here is an update from my little corner of the universe. it's been 2 weeks now and i've been off the Emsam -- the side effects are going away. my sleep is still getting back to normal. once in a while i'll wake up at 3 or 4 and not be able to get back to sleep, but it's the exception instead of the rule now. thank goodness. that kind of nonsense is unacceptable.

so the headache clinic told me to call yesterday and they would start me on the new preventative....soooo i call them up. leave a message of course. they call me back and say that my dr. doesn't want to start me on anything until i come in for an appointment. ooookay. i'm thinking why did you tell me to call? i say that i have an appointment on the 30th of june and since i'm in UTAH i can't come in any sooner (are you even looking at my chart or what?). so i'm somewhat irritated because this just continues my time being off any anti-depressant. which, frankly is somewhat sucky. i've been on an anti-depressant for 10 years. the last 3 years the dosage has been double the previous 7 years. so to be on nothing ... it's difficult to stay on an even keel.

so this little video cheers me up. it's a video of jason castro on american idol. talking about and singing memory from cats.

my favorite part (ok, the part with the talking is much better than the singing IMHO...) is at about 1:25 when he says 'this is kind of a popular song'.

ahahahahaha. so funny. i laughed till i cried.

mostly because that's just about the understatement of the century. ooh hoo hoo.

2008-06-05T21:12:00.004-06:00

About four years ago this week, Spencer proposed to me. It was a surprise in some senses, and in other ways I was expecting it (the proposal) to come any day now. Since my birthday was coming up in a few weeks, I figured he'd probably wait and propose then.

He was living in Sacramento, doing an internship at Intel, while I was going to school at BYU in Provo, Utah. We talked every night and chatted online, but it was still hard to be apart. I missed him terribly.

So Spencer planned a long-distance date; we would both do the same things at the same time and talk on the phone during the date. The events that were planned included ice cream (one of my most favorite treats) and star gazing. I thought it sounded like a really sweet idea, and I could tell he was trying to help me not to miss him as much. Spencer had a prior commitment with his friend, so the date wasn't set to start until 10pm or so.

I set out to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream. I'd been looking forward to that all day. Once I arrived at Ben&Jerry's, I was to tell the cashier that she was Spencer Kellis' girlfriend. Then the cashier told me that I got a waffle cone and two scoops of ice cream, and that Spencer had already paid for it. There was also a red rose behind the counter for her. This was really nice, and at the time I was thinking, 'How did he manage that from California?' -- all the girls who worked there were asking me questions about this über-romantic boyfriend of mine. I sat outside the shop, eating my ice cream and talking to Spencer on the phone. I thought the night had peaked. How romantic.

Then, it was time for star gazing. We'd decided on a field (next to Spencer's aunt's house) where she would go and look at the stars. When I pulled up, it was very dark, and a little bit late to be romping around in the dark on my own, so I locked the doors and told Spencer (over the phone) that I was going to watch the stars from inside the car. He insisted that I get out of my car. I mentioned that there were possibly boogey-men or thieves out there, and he'd most likely feel guilty if I were mugged while star-gazing over the phone with him. Regardless, he insisted that it was a safe field (?!) and that if anything went wrong, I could go to his aunt's house nearby. So off I went, into the deep dark yonder.

I walked towards the field, and as I went through the gate, I saw four tiki torches surrounding a porch swing and a small table with five dozen roses on it. Also, there was a tall man standing nearby. Once I realized that Spencer was there to see me, I ran to him and was so surprised to see him that I started crying. I couldn't *believe* that he had pulled this over on me and flew into Utah to surprise me. I hugged him and cried some more.

We sat on the swing and talked for a few minutes. Then Spencer asked if I was ready. I did not know what he was talking about. (I know, how stupid can I be, right?) Spencer got down on one knee and told me how much he loved me, that he wanted to make me happy for the rest of my life, and asked if I'd be his wife. I said, "Yes, of course!" Then, Spencer pulled a beautiful ring out of his pocket and put it on my finger. I was very impressed with the ring Spencer chose, I didn't help him to know what I wanted, but he knew me well enough to know exactly what I would like. It was the most romantic evening I could've asked for.
I love you more now than I did then, Spence. Thanks for taking a leap of faith and changing my life forever.

the spotlight is on me!

2008-06-05T11:15:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm so excited to tell you guys about this! i was interviewed for WEGO health -- a site for health activitists. they did a spotlight interview on me, isn't that cool? i don't think i've ever been interviewed for my blog before.

and i know that i have a couple of newer readers who may not have hunted through the archives for my full medical history (believe me, i don't blame you) -- this is your chance to get an encapsulated view of my life and health!

enjoy!

2008-05-29T16:44:00.000-06:00

The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind. -- William James

am trying to keep this idea ^ in mind and keep my attitude positive these days! this past week has been one storm after another. additionally, my anti-depressant dosage (which is also the MAOI) has been cut in half. this is a good thing, as i am weaning off of it. that's what i wanted, but i need 2 weeks of nothing before i can start onto another anti-depressant. and that leads to me feeling more down than usual.

if you don't see me around your blogs - that's why. i'm just kind of meh. not a lot to say. i am going out to lunch with some friends tomorrow, hopefully that will help.

a tale of culinary woe.

2008-05-25T19:14:00.003-06:00

An act of God was defined as something which no reasonable man could have expected. --A.P. Herbert

that's right, i am still hoping and praying for a miracle; one of these days i would LOVE to wake up and just have no headache. that'd be stupendous, wouldn't it? really, i can't imagine many things i'd like better. if that's too drastic, i'd settle for finding a pill or treatment that would make the pain manageable. :D

onto my tale of woe.

last week i pulled out my favorite cookbook (from Christmas) -- martha stewart's Great Food fast. in it was this recipe for Chicken Chilaquiles. my husband and i, we love mexican food. i adore cilantro, so we were all set. i got cooking. except, of course, i had to half the recipe - there's only 2 of us (cue ominous music).

you can see where this is going, right?

cooking + migraine = trouble.

if you clicky on over to the recipe, you'll see that it calls for "2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo, finely chopped (about 1 heaping tablespoon), plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from same can)"

silly me, reading it too quickly, thought it said 2 CANS chipotle chiles...

now you REALLY see where this is going.

so i smartly halved that, and dumped my one WHOLE CAN of chipotle chiles in (plus all the sauce, don't know what i was thinking there...maybe i wasn't?)

the picture should've clued me in, my dish was a lot brown-er than martha's. but really, does mine ever look as good as hers? no. so onward and upward we went. to the dinner table!

expecting rave reviews, i serve the meal. i should tell you that my husband is probably the most enthusiastic audience you'll ever cook for (my mom and sister can attest to this). he just LOVES anything and everything you cook for him. so if he doesn't *LOVE* it, you have really done something wrong.

...

i had done something wrong.

this dish was WAY too spicy. i mean WAAAAY too spicy. we struggled through, with lots of cheese and sour cream and chips. the whole time, i'm thinking, jeez, martha! why so spicy?

i should've known. another case of bad recipe reading by yours truly.

anyone have any tales of culinary disaster to share with me?

edited to add: spencer would like me to point out that he actually he liked it. additionally, he ate both firsts and seconds. duly noted.

a little wedding recap

2008-05-23T15:41:00.004-06:00

well i'm not going to go over the whole weekend -- way too many events, and i'm only going to post a few pictures. :) here's one of the bride's pretty sister doing my hair

and then here we can see how it turned out! it was so fun having my hair done - it's been a long time. probably since my own wedding, since i had an occasion to get my hair really done up.

and then this was a dance with my honey - this was my moment with him. most of the rest of the weekend he was taking pictures, literally. but somewhere over the rainbow was playing (the ukelele version) and i think the siblings of the bride and groom were supposed to be dancing. so he came and danced with me for a bit -- after he'd gotten the necessary photos, of course! i was happy to see him, and happy to have a moment with him.

you can see the bride and groom in the background. and in less-important news, you can also see my super cute brown shoes...i tried to break them in beforehand, but they only lasted 4 hours or so. seems like the shoe makers didn't account for my 4th toe. strange. i will show them to you later on, another entry.

many other wonderful and fabulous times were had (the actual wedding, for instance). but these are a few from the reception, which was also beautiful and a lot of fun.

decisions, decisions

2008-05-21T21:18:00.002-06:00

hello again internet pals!

i'm glad you all enjoyed the bounty cat as much as i did. sometimes all you need is a laugh.

well my decision is made and i'm moving forward. it's something of a compromise, really. the thing is, my doctor (who really is quite an expert, and whose opinion i greatly respect) wanted me to try another MAOI, one which is older than the one i am on now -- Emsam. So they have had better results with the older MAOIs, but the patients also have more side effects, which is why they typically start out with this newest formulation, the patch. One example of an older MAOI (which you may be familiar with is Nardil.

so there are two big reasons i'm not jumping up and down to go onto an older MAOI drug - #1 is the side effects. i don't usually get many side effects, but i got a boatload with Emsam. dizziness, increased appetite and weight gain, and sleep problems. the sleep problems was the most problematic, but the other two weren't great either. if the older ones typically have more side effects....well, i think you see where i'm going with that. no thank you.

#2 is that they require a 5-6 day hospital stay to go onto the MAOIs. they want to monitor my reaction to the drug and particularly my blood pressure. i'm realllly not thrilled about that either. it sounds really immature, but i feel like i just got out of the hospital, and was not planning to go back anytime soon. i certainly wasn't planning to be back within a few months. i just....pfft. the IVs, the needles, the nurses waking you up all night, no privacy. etc. etc. you know, it's just the hospital. they do all they can to make it pleasant, and i recognize it could be much much worse. it's not chemo - it's just the headache and migraine ward. it's just that i really thought i wasn't going back for a long time. the idea of going back SOON is a little disheartening.

SO. my decision. my decision is to try something else first - which is, in this case a tricyclic anti-depressant. if this doesn't work i will try the old MAOI my doctor is recommending. this will give me some time to get used to the idea of going back to the hospital (for less than a week!) and get some sleep stored up before i go back to an MAOI. hopefully i can get my body back to normal for a bit in case it goes all out of whack again. this time, if i see things getting messed up, i think i'll just ask to stop immediately.

has anyone made it through to the end of this marathon blog post? wow, that was long. a gold star for you!

2008-05-18T16:43:00.000-06:00

If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right. -- Mary Kay Ash

well i got home early this morning from arizona - i snuck off without telling you. :) since spencer and i were both leaving, i didn't want to invite the robbers to come for a visit. but we were gone all weekend to phoenix, spencer's brother was married this weekend to a lovely girl, and spencer was the photographer. it was (of course) a very exciting weekend. spencer's done quite a few engagement pictures before, and a few bridal portraits, but this is the first wedding he shot as the primary photographer. i've seen most of the photos, and he did a great job.

the wedding was beautiful, they were married in the LDS mesa arizona temple. there was a reception and a luncheon and another luncheon - lots of fun times with our family and her family. i am bushed.

here are some links which will hopefully amuse.

LOL pony

Wasted food

Sad cat -- also funny, don't worry

Couch/bookcase

new hair...again. and of course, headache talk

2008-05-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

The human body experiences a powerful gravitational pull in the direction of hope. That is why the patient's hopes are the physician's secret weapon. They are the hidden ingredients in any prescription. --Norman Cousins

well, i got an email back from my doctor, and i have a decision to make. i can either go the agree to the way my doctor wants to go (trying another MAOI, which includes another hospital stay) or ask to go in another direction. i also responded back hoping for more help with SLEEP, so my fingers are crossed that he'll write back again soon with some solutions or suggestions.

i got my hair done today -- went in asking specifically for please! no! red! my husband is a redhead. i can't have reddish hair without it looking extra fake next to his... unfortunately, even after 3 processings of brown, the (previously blue-black) portions of my hair are a coppery shade... thankfully, most of it is still blonde. there are just streaks of the coppery color.

no need for condolences -- i'm ok with it for a few months. mostly i just thought it was funny that i ended up with exactly what i asked them NOT to do. :) sometimes that's how it goes, right?

gah

2008-05-13T14:13:00.002-06:00

i officially have a sleep PROBLEM. yesterday i was able to take a 2 hour nap. awesome, right?

right.

not like i had a lot of other stuff to do or something...

so you'd *think* i'd have slept like a baby last night, right? for hours and hours. i wish. the tragic truth is that i slept soundly until 4 a.m., when for some reason which is not apparent *to ME*, i woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.

so sad.

has anyone else had experience with insomnia and an MAOI? i'm hoping against hope that my doc will get back to me soon and he'll help me improve this situation. seriously, this sleep thing stinks.

i'll be back with less complaining soon. :)

Pain -- expands the Time -- by Emily Dickinson

2008-05-12T08:54:00.000-06:00

Pain -- expands the Time --
Ages coil within
The minute Circumference
Of a single Brain --

Pain contracts -- the Time --
Occupied with Shot
Gamuts with Eternities
Are as they were not --

I didn't sleep last night. not just didn't sleep much....i didn't sleep at all. d'oh. we went to bed at midnight, and then by 2 i hadn't gotten to sleep. i felt like it was too late then to take a sleeping pill, i didn't want to 'throw off my sleeping schedule'. ha! if i could tell me then when what me now is facing! i'm hoping to take a 4 hour nap and still get to sleep tonight....my sleeping schedule is down the tubes. ah well. you do what you can. i'm sure all of you who have been new mothers are just chuckling right now thinking, ah it's just been one night...get over yourself...

i feel like i'm moving in slow motion -- and i'm nauseous and good heavens it does not do good things for my migraine, that's for sure. they say the relationship between sleep and migraines is not well understood, but let me tell you; i understand it well enough. if i don't get 8 hours - things are getting ugly. ;-) that's just the (unfortunate) way of things.

my dear husband made me some pancakes for breakfast to settle my stomach, and went off to work. so i'm going to try and get a little bit of sleep! we'll see how it goes. :)

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T11:56:00.004-06:00

"I don't need very much now,"
said the boy,
"just a quiet place to sit and rest.
I am very tired."
"Well," said the tree,
straightening herself up
as much as she could,
"well, an old stump is good
for sitting and resting.
Come, Boy, sit down.
Sit down and rest."

And the boy did.

And the tree was happy

--Shel Silverstein
The Giving Tree

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, who i love. who's always been there, and has given everything for her children, to raise them and love them. I couldn't ask for a better mom, and am lucky to have someone in my life so cheerful, so kind, and with such a big heart. You taught me what it is to be a wife and a woman.

2008-05-08T17:41:00.001-06:00

It is only in sorrow bad weather masters us; in joy we face the storm and defy it.
--Amelia Barr

so here's a little something for you. i have a free email address with yahoo -- and you know when you go to sign in (i know msn has this too), there will be links and pictures for little articles? kind of general interest stuff? well today, there was one that said something to the effect of 'studies show there are major differences in price between pharmacies'. and i am thinking, holy cow! if you didn't know that, you need to come be my shadow for a day! i will teach you the ways of the pharmacy! i have learned a few things i never cared to these past 4 years:

1) lots about drugs and pharmacies and drug prices (they are ridiculously high, it takes years for the drug patents to expire...)

2) waaaaay more about migraines and the brain than i ever dreamed possible.

and

3) even more about insurance than i learned while *working* for an insurance company.

my understanding (so i just don't talk ABOUT pharmacy prices but actually say something useful in this entry) is that Costco and Sam's Club have the best prices. without a membership you can still use their pharmacy. but if you don't feel comfortable doing that, walmart has the same prices as Sam's Club. however, my experiences with their customer service have been....less than stellar. just thinking about it makes me want to gouge my eyes out.

linky goodness

2008-05-07T18:45:00.002-06:00

two things that are great:

1) this entry about time management and pain at How to Cope with Pain. if nothing else, read the first two paragraphs. Spot on.

2) this is what we had for dinner tonight. the lasagna was delicious. spencer says it may even have taken over his spot as favorite dish (from the previous #1 which was pot roast). thanks again, pioneer woman!

another day, making travel plans

2008-05-06T15:17:00.000-06:00

He who does not hope to win has already lost. --Jose Joaquin Olmedo

i'm setting up my next appointment with the diamond headache clinic -- i will go out to see them on june 30th. so of course that also entails setting up flights as well! this time, i'm going to try and fly in and out the same day -- not staying overnight. we'll see how it goes.

one of my goals for this year (my year runs from may to may) ;-) is to try and have a more positive attitude, regardless of pain. i think that it's important to maintain hope and like the quote says, if you don't believe you can win (conquer the migraines), you are probably right. i need to stay positive and remember that i'm working with good doctors.

i do believe that i have the best shot possible with the doctors in chicago -- they work with people like me all the time there. people who haven't responded in the past to preventative medications. but somehow, they make progress and help them to get some relief.

now every year, my sisters and mom and i get together for a girl's weekend. my littlest sister will join us next year, once she's 13. so it's kind of a grownups only kind of thing. and this year my sister G wasn't able to make it. :-( we missed her. but we had a great time, and i thought i'd share a few pictures and show you how it all went.

we had to have our picture taken with the BYU mascot, of course

and then we needed a picture with mom as well.
::rawr::

and here was our most favorite shuttle driver, who saved us from a very cold night's walk:

and here's mom showcasing her delicious fudgy wares;

we were also coerced into a tree tour (more on that here)-- muum loves trees and all things shrub related. sarah and i love to mock all things tree and shrub related, so it worked out pretty well. here i am demonstrating the buttressing of this particular species:

and then on saturday we went to my house to tie a quilt. for charity. it was good times, since we've had limited experience tying quilts and even more limited experience setting up quilts to tie. but in the end, it worked out. doesn't it always? the one big picture is the only picture i took all weekend. all others are courtesy of muum.

you will see the usual cast of characters -- me, muum and the edge. we missed having gretchen with us but! our new friend, my brother's fiancee, sarah the second also joined us for this insane weekend! welcome sarah the second!

I Measure Every Grief I meet -- by Emily Dickinson

2008-05-05T10:14:00.000-06:00

i came across this poem online recently, and remembered how much i like it. emily dickinson is one of my favorite poets, along with e.e. cummings. this poem seems particularly appropriate lately.

I measure every Grief I meet
With narrow, probing, Eyes--
I wonder if It weighs like Mine--
Or has an Easier size.

I wonder if They bore it long--
Or did it just begin--
I could not tell the Date of Mine--
It feels so old a pain--

I wonder if it hurts to live--
And if They have to try--
And whether--could They choose between--
It would not be--to die--

I note that Some--gone patient long--
At length, renew their smile--
An imitation of a Light
That has so little Oil--

I wonder if when Years have piled--
Some Thousands--on the Harm--
That hurt them early--such a lapse
Could give them any Balm--

Or would they go on aching still
Through Centuries of Nerve--
Enlightened to a larger Pain--
In Contrast with the Love--

The Grieved--are many--I am told--
There is the various Cause--
Death--is but one--and comes but once--
And only nails the eyes--

There's Grief of Want--and grief of Cold--
A sort they call "Despair"--
There's Banishment from native Eyes--
In Sight of Native Air--

And though I may not guess the kind--
Correctly--yet to me
A piercing Comfort it affords
In passing Calvary--

To note the fashions--of the Cross--
And how they're mostly worn--
Still fascinated to presume
That Some--are like My Own--

--Emily Dickinson

side effects

2008-05-02T11:40:00.001-06:00

so far, this has been the most bothersome of the side effects i've experienced. my headache doctor just (at the last visit) bumped up my emsam patch dosage to 12 mg. it is an anti-depressant that is, in this case, acting (or supposed to be acting) as a migraine preventative.

however, it's messing with my already low blood pressure and giving me dizzy spells, especially first thing in the morning, and when i get up from sitting or laying down. i do a fair amount of 'sit down before i fall down' these days, which is annoying. but better than fainting and bonking my head. i also drink as much water as i can stand -- the nurses at the hospital said that helps.

really, i am lucky -- when i think of the dozens of pills and things i have tried for preventatives over the years, my side effects have been few. some nausea, a little weight loss, some weight gain.....but this has been the most annoying. it's been less than 2 weeks now, so i'm hoping my body will still adjust itself to the dosage and the dizziness won't be a permanent part of taking this dose!

2008-04-30T09:14:00.000-06:00

The April Pain-Blog Carnival is now posted at How to Cope with Pain, featuring the month's best posts.

Go check it out!!

Enchanted

2008-04-29T08:46:00.002-06:00

i think my husband and i are about the last 2 people on earth to see Enchanted -- but finally, last night, we rented it and watched it.

and i had heard only great reviews -- that people loved it, left the theater wanting to sing, to dance. that it was just a great, fun movie. so i was prepared to love it. i wanted to love it.

i didn't love it. i liked it, but that's about all i can say, really. i think for the most part, it's because i had seen the previews (more than once) and felt like evern funny part in the movie was included...it was like they gave it all away beforehand. and i was expecting some other funny or charming bits that i didn't know where coming, but they just weren't forthcoming. to me.

for the record, i do love disney movies (by and large) and musicals. but there we have it. enchanted. what do you all say -- did you love it?

2008-04-27T23:06:00.001-06:00

don't know if you all read Notes from the Trenches. you should.

today was possibly the best blog entry ever.

just check it out. so great.

the story of the bath pouf...

2008-04-26T22:00:00.000-06:00

well i found a pattern online for *making* a bath pouf -- crocheting a bath pouf. and i thought that it was just a great idea. it was made using kitchen cotton, so i got started and once it was done -- ta-da! here it is!

but in using it, i found it didn't lather up very well, and was rather scratchy on my skin! so, sadly, all the work was for naught, and i ended up going to the store to get one of the regular old bath poufs. it was a fun adventure, though!

2008-04-23T19:46:00.003-06:00

ah, it's been a beautiful day today -- the first day in a long time i've had some serious, sustained pain relief. and it is AMAZING how happy it makes me. of course this is due to pain medication and not the preventative meds actually working.

it is just a beautiful fabulous thing to feel normal. i could really get used to this. ;)

i got a lot of work done today, and enjoyed spencer's birthday immensely.

here's a question for all you bloggers out there: do you keep a journal in addition to your blog? i do. what i write in my journal is either a) too personal to go on here, b) too negative or c) too repetitive (usually whining about headaches). do you all keep journals too? or do you feel like your blog acts as your journal?

2008-04-21T20:51:00.004-06:00

i seem to be unable to move these pictures around -- my blog ability is skyrocketing (in a downward fashion). also, i can't get rid of a spam comment from one of my previous entries.

oh jeez.

so i'll tell you about these pictures as they came out of the camera. :) they're from a very short hike spencer and i took last weekend down a nearby canyon. first up are my shoes, i don't know if you can tell, but they're soaked -- the only way up to the falls was across the stream. and let me tell you something -- whooeeee was that water cold!! straight from the snow, baby!

and then this picture is up a little canyon, you can see part of the falls here, and i love how waterfalls look running over rocks. mmmm...so relaxing.

more water running over rocks -- and that white stuff near the top of the frame is snow, even though it was near 80 outside. always colder up the canyon!

this is a better picture of the same thing. this is where we crossed, trying hard to avoid the slick rocks and logs. :) we didn't fall in.

here's spencer, coming across. i must admit i was hoping (a little bit) he'd fall so i could take pictures of it.

of course i told him that once he got safely across, he mentioned that would've been a bad thing if he'd've fallen in with his camera strapped to his back. :( seriously.

not worth the blog fodder.

that's all she wrote! if you're in the area, and want to check it out, this is called the Hidden Falls, and is up the Big Cottonwood Canyon.

home again!

2008-04-18T20:33:00.002-06:00

that's right, i'm back home. i was in chicago again, this time (thankfully) just overnight. no hospitalization for me this time. i went back for a follow-up appointment with my doctor at the diamond headache clinic. it went well, he adjusted my medications and added another med to (hopefully) help control the pain better. we shall see.

overall i felt like it went well. it was the first time i've traveled by myself with a migraine. i was nervous. i was nervous something would go wrong -- that i'd be flustered, that i'd look like an easy mark to mug, that i'd have trouble making the connections i needed to in the city. many of you know exactly what it's like to live in pain: it's hard to do what needs to be done when you're in pain. it's hard to think and it's hard to keep your wits about you.

obviously everything worked out just fine.

and, BONUS! i missed the earthquake this morning! sweet!

if you are in need of an extra dose of humility, i recommend flying as a passenger on a small airplane during high winds. i haven't prayed with such urgency for a long time. the wings were swaying back and forth - i was worried that one big gust was going to come along, and we'd just flip right over and bite the dust. thankfully, we landed without incident. also gratefully, the plane on the way back was bigger. :)

craft day recap!

2008-04-13T18:02:00.000-06:00

we had a great craft day just a little while ago, and so i thought i would show you what i made! i finally finished my sign:

the N is actually a purple, not blue like it looks here.

and here's a close up, so you can see the glittery goodness. and the cuteness of the ribbon, of course.

then it was onto the bags. these are kind of small tote bags. i should've shown you these on me for scale, but i'll just say that they're the perfect size for a 3-ring binder. they are great for a big purse or a small tote bag. first is the green and turquoise one:

which i like quite a bit, but i really love the black and white one. i love the outside print

as well as the inside (bubbles!) print.

there it is! you can also see the cute bags Muum made for gretchen here. if you want. :)

i feel compelled to mention that Edge was there as well. all this talk about Muum and Gretchen, i can't leave out the mother on the edge!

There's nobody like my sister!

2008-04-10T05:25:00.000-06:00

guess who's 25 today?

that's right!!! it's gretchen!! go on over and wish her a happy birthday, won't you?

here we are laughing it up -- mom says we look like the 4 stooges. so true, so true. i figure i can post an unflattering picture of everyone else if it's MORE unflattering of me. that's fair, right?

we miss you, G!! we can't wait to see you again. and we LOVE YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-04-08T20:25:00.000-06:00

this is beautiful to me:

how Steinways are made.

Coping with headaches and migraines

2008-04-08T18:03:00.000-06:00

so i thought i would write a little bit about coping with migraines -- what i see as the major facets of coping with chronic migraines. my current situation is a bit different (for me) than it was when i was having episodic migraines, once every month or two. now i am in pain every day, all day. i wake up with a headache, and it's there all day till i go to sleep at night. hopefully some of this will apply to those of you reading here, i know my situation is somewhat (thank goodness!) unique.

to me, there are 4 different parts of coping with migraines. they are the pain, nausea, discouragement, and sleep difficulties that come with migraines. here are my ideas on each topic.

1.Pain

resting in a quiet, dark room -- kind of a given. but for those who haven't experienced migraines, i thought i'd give you the full scope, even things that seem obvious.

i like a cold pack on my forehead -- some people like heat. some people like the cold or heat on the back of their neck. some find a hot shower or bath helpful.

of course there are medications for treating the pain - i'm no expert by any means, so i will link to a few articles that are helpful. here is a list of preventative medications that can be used for migraines. usually preventatives are considered if you are having several migraines a month. i'm not sure what the actual # is -- i'm sure it varies from doctor to doctor anyway. and here is an article about the medications used for treating migraines. and while we're on the topic of using medication, we'd better mention medication overuse (rebound) headaches. don't use your abortive medication too often!

2. Nausea/vomiting

this can be a huge problem or a small part of your situation, depending. i have some nausea, but rarely does it progress to vomiting. i'm lucky. but nevertheless, who likes to be nauseated? so here's my tips and tricks for nausea, in the order i usually try them:
a) mint gum (could also be mint tea or mint candies)
b) 7up or club soda -- i'm leaning towards the club soda lately because i don't like the idea of drinking so much sugar
c) ginger tea
d) emetrol
e) reglan -- my prescription anti-nausea pill
f) from here it's just rinse and repeat -- i try to continue eating bland food, skipping meals will only make the nausea worse and the migraine pain much worse

3. Discouragement

like nausea, this can range from a small problem to full-on depression. i'm sure that having a good support system helps prevent a lot of discouragement, but i also think that even with the best, kindest, and most supportive family (which i believe i have), a person is bound to get discouraged and upset at times if she's in pain all the time.

one of the best things i've found to combat my emotional pain is this idea: This pain is bad, but i've been through pain like this before, and I can get through this too.
it helps keep me from catastrophizing the situation and making it seem harder than it is or like i'm somehow not going to make it through. there are also numerous scriptures that have helped me through difficult times -- i'll share one here "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philipians 4:13. i realize that not everyone is religious, but for me, religion is something i can lean on when things get hard, and has helped me make it through.

4. Sleep difficulties

sleep is hugely important for migraineurs. too little (or too much, they say) and you are bound to suffer the next day. but it can be difficult to get good sleep when you are having regular migraines. it helped me to make it a priority with my doctors to 'fix' my sleep -- if i wasn't regularly able to get to sleep and stay asleep, i let them know and made sure we found solutions. thankfully this problem was easily remedied for me. until i was getting reasonable amounts of sleep (when the migraines first began to be chronic), the entire situation was worse and more difficult to deal with because of the poor quality and lack of sleep i was getting. i guess i just want to point out the importance of a good night's sleep. it's worth the trouble of keeping regular hours and doing all you can to rest well.

hopefully this is helpful for someone -- or even just a reminder that you're not along in your migraine pain. :-)

Bread pudding

2008-04-06T20:56:00.004-06:00

well i just had to tell you about this: do you all read the Pioneer Woman? because you should.

not only is she hilarious, she's an amazing photographer and cook. she does photoshop tutorials, which i just ooh and aah over. but the recipes -- the recipes i can use!

now if the apple brown betty had been up, i'd have probably made that. because i had all the ingredients for it. but i had *most* of the ingredients for bread pudding, and a real hankering to try bread pudding.

i had wheat bread instead of sourdough bread and no whiskey. hopefully the pioneer woman won't follow her links back someday and gasp in horror at the sacrilege of what i've done to her recipe. the thing is, it is GOOD. it is good even without whiskey and sourdough bread. :) i won't take a picture, because mine wouldn't look nearly as good as her pictures do -- so go take a look at hers. man it is good.

also, i'm working on very little sleep, please forgive all grammar and spelling nonsense in this post. pleaseandthankyou.

p.s. -- i also made these bacon wrapped jalapenos and they were everything i dreamed they would be.

tagged!

2008-04-03T20:45:00.004-06:00

I've been tagged!

the book lady tagged me, and i do love a good meme, especially one i haven't done. :)

Here are the guidelines:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play. (This last step is optional.)

here is my memoir:

Loves music, family & laughing, hates migraines.

and now, for the tagging (mwa hahaha)

i will tag muum and edge (of course), and gretchen, heather, and deborah!

this was a fun and easy one! i hope lots of people will play along -- tell me in comments if you have so i can come read your memoir, too!

photobucket meme

2008-04-03T11:02:00.000-06:00

I fount this at Fireflies & Frogs -- very fun meme. :)

THE RULES:

you need 2 internet windows open to do it
1. Go to www. photobucket. com (don't sign in)
2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box
3. Use only the first page
4. Copy the html and paste for the answer.

THE QUESTIONS:

1. What is your first name?

2, What is your favorite candy?

3. What is your relationship status?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

i don't really do celebrity crushes. if i had to choose someone, i'd choose beyonce -- i think she's beautiful. and talented.

6. What is your favorite band?

had to choose 2.

7. What is your favorite movie?

8. What is your favorite pastime?

9. What is your job?

i don't have a job. i do get migraines like it's my job. ;)

10. What do you do for fun?

11. What kind of car do you drive?

12. What is your favorite TV show?

13. One word to describe yourself:

2008-03-31T13:39:00.000-06:00

my (other) sister has a blog! please welcome her to the big bad world of blogging!!

she's my little sister gretchen, we shared a room for much of growing up -- for some reason, we were the two always at each other's throats. notoriously so. there was the masking tape down the middle of the room, even an allowance made for no-man's land -- a way for both of us to be able to exit the room withOUT infringing on the others' space. ah, the good old days. i was horrid. we provoked each other. now, we're quite close. i love her dearly.

and i am SO GLAD she has a blog :) it will be great to keep up with her.

won't you go say hello?

recent crochet projects

2008-03-30T15:42:00.008-06:00

i've completed two crochet projects in the past month, and i tell you what, they've been fun. i'm pretty sure there's nothing better than making something for a baby girl. i have a new niece, on spencer's side. i just met her the other day. she is darling -- they call her annie.

of course this necessitated a baby blanket. here we have it. the pattern is called a Baby Ripple Afghan. i think next time i would do 2 solid colors instead of the variegated yarn.

the blanket is made of a bunch of long strips, then stitched together.

here it is mid-assembly:

and then all together:
and unfolded:

and then i came across this baby hoodie and i just couldn't resist. i went with plain pink.

and then this is the back of it:
the pom-pon is cute, but was ill-fated.

her parents were kind enough to put it on her, even though it is a bit too big right now. we can get the general idea, right?
adorable. she's just the cutest.

we had to get spencer in for a picture, as well:
that's all she wrote.

2008-03-29T13:35:00.004-06:00

I ran into a great article -- would be especially interesting for those who love music. it's mostly a social experiment, and gave me a lot to think about. go here and check it out. tell me what you thought about it.

this made me think --

1) would i have stopped to listen? i think so. BH (before headaches)? probably not. i would probably have been in too much of a hurry to slow down. but these days, i've got plenty of spare time. listening to music may increase my pain, but i've found that there are things worth extra pain, and a little extra beauty is well worth it.

2) why are we so quick to judge a person's worth by their location and surroundings? why do we assume a street musician is not as worthwhile as another person -- or is it just the discomfort of not wanting to acknowledge those who are worse off and begging for money?

a movie meme

2008-03-28T18:44:00.000-06:00

Ripped off from Blackbird....

Bold the ones you've seen; italicize the ones you've seen part of.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) beautiful movie.
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994) could not get into it.
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
8.The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. Casablanca (1942) can't believe i haven't seen this. i'm ashamed.
10. Seven Samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) i love the LOTR
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990) i didn't really get this movie.
16. Cidade de Deus (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) See #12.
19. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
23. Fight Club (1999)
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) that is one messed up movie.
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999) -- keanu reeves. seriously.
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. There Will Be Blood (2007) seriously? no.
34. Se7en (1995) another really messed up movie. i may have seen all of it. can't remember. i think i may have blocked it out of my memory.
35. Apocalypse Now (1979)

36. Taxi Driver (1976)
37. American Beauty (1999) beautiful cinematography.
38. Léon (1994)
39. Vertigo (1958)
40. Amelie (2001) a beautiful film.
41. American History X (1998)
42. No Country for Old Men (2007)
43. The Departed (2006)
44. Paths of Glory (1957)
45. M (1931)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. Chinatown (1974)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. Leben der Anderen, Das (2006) The Lives of Others
50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) i remember thinking it was weird, but good. i liked it.
51. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
52. Alien (1979) no thank you.
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)
55. The Shining (1980) what could i possibly say about this movie? there is nothing.
56. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) Spirited Away
57. The Pianist (2002)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
60. Forrest Gump (1994)
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
62. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
63. L.A. Confidential (1997)
64. Boot, Das (1981)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000) cannot recommend this movie.
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Untergang, Der (2004)
68. Aliens (1986) didn't we already have this one? was there another alien movie on here?
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Metropolis (1927)
72. Rashômon (1950)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) i feel lucky to have not seen any of the terminator movies.
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Hotel Rwanda (2004) painful, beautiful, and difficult to watch. one of those movies i'll probably never watch again but am glad to have seen.
76. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) i actually love this movie. i think it's hilarious and that the music is great.
77. Sin City (2005)
78. Rebecca (1940) ?? may or may not have seen this movie. can't decide.
79. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
80. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959) so funny. i need to own this.
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984) i'm a pianist, how could i NOT see this movie? it's impossible, i tell you.
85. Vita è bella, La (1997)
86. On the Waterfront (1954)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006) i thought this was a fun movie. :) i think blackbird and i have completely opposite movie tastes. except we both hate horror movies.
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Jaws (1975)
92. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
93. The Sting (1973)
94. Nuovo Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) crazy.
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995) a really intense movie. loved it.
99. Blade Runner (1982)
100. The Great Dictator (1940)
101. Strangers on a Train (1951)
102. Batman Begins (2005)
103. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
104. Ladri di biciclette (1948) Bicycle Thieves
105. Salaire de la peur, Le (1953) Wages of Fear
106. High Noon (1952)
107. Ran (1985)
108. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
109. The Big Sleep (1946)
110. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
111. Notorious (1946)
112. Back to the Future (1985)
113. Fargo (1996)
114. Oldboy (2003)
115. Unforgiven (1992) i actually watched this edited, and it was so chopped up it was hard to follow. sooo i kind of feel like i didn't see the whole thing.
116. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
117. Donnie Darko (2001)
118. Ratatouille (2007)
119. Mononoke-hime (1997)
120. Cool Hand Luke (1967)

121. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) possibly the most violent movie i've ever seen.
122. Yojimbo (1961)
123. Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
124. The Green Mile (1999) i thought this was a great movie.
125. Million Dollar Baby (2004) haven't seen the end.
126. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) my husband loves these movies. i like them pretty well -- as action movies go. :)
127. Notti di Cabiria, Le (1957)
128. Gladiator (2000)
129. Battaglia di Algeri, La (1966) The Battle of Algiers.
130. Annie Hall (1977)
131. Die Hard (1988)
132. Into the Wild (2007)
133. Ben-Hur (1959) i remember watching this as a kid, especially the chariot race scene.
134. The Deer Hunter (1978)
135. The Sixth Sense (1999)
136. It Happened One Night (1934)
137. The General (1927)
138. Platoon (1986)
139. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
140. Life of Brian (1979)
141. The Killing (1956)
142. Smultronstället (1957) Wild Strawberries
143. Amores perros (2000) Love's a B'tch
144. Finding Nemo (2003)
145. Diaboliques, Les (1955)
146. The Incredibles (2004) Edna. and guest. hilarious. i love this movie.
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. The Wild Bunch (1969)
149. Heat (1995)
150. Children of Men (2006)
151. Brief Encounter (1945)
152. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
153. Juno (2007)
154. The Princess Bride (1987) classic. i love it. Sooooo quotable.
155. 8½ (1963)
156. The Graduate (1967)
157. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
158. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
159. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
160. The Big Lebowski (1998) i feel like everyone loves this movie. i just didn't get it.
161. Crash (2004/I)
162. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
163. Stand by Me (1986)
164. Gandhi (1982)
165. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
166. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
167. Snatch. (2000)
168. Harvey (1950)
169. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) ugh.
170. The African Queen (1951)
171. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
172. The Thing (1982)
173. Trainspotting (1996)
174. Gone with the Wind (1939) i love this movie. and the book, for that matter.
175. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
176. Wo hu cang long (2000) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
177. Belle et la bête, La (1946)
178. The Gold Rush (1925)
179. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
180. Groundhog Day (1993) in italian, too!
181. The Conversation (1974)
182. American Gangster (2007)
183. Scarface (1983)
184. Patton (1970)
185. Duck Soup (1933)
186. Toy Story (1995)
187. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
188. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
189. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
190. The Terminator (1984)
191. Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das (1920)
192. Sleuth (1972)
193. The Hustler (1961)
194. Umberto D. (1952)
195. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
196. Stalker (1979)
197. Glory (1989) beautifully written score
198. Ed Wood (1994)
199. King Kong (1933)
200. Grindhouse (2007)
201. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
202. The Exorcist (1973)
203. The Lion King (1994)
204. Hotaru no haka (1988)
205. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
206. Spartacus (1960)
207. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
208. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
209. The Lost Weekend (1945)
210. Stalag 17 (1953)
211. Magnolia (1999) i remember it was one of the strangest and most thought provoking movies i'd seen at the time.
212. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
213. Lola rennt (1998) Run Lola Run
214. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
215. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
216. Frankenstein (1931)
217. Out of the Past (1947)
218. Big Fish (2003)
219. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
220. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
221. Casino (1995)
222. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
223. Toy Story 2 (1999)
224. Mystic River (2003)
225. Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)
226. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
227. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
228. Hot Fuzz (2007)
229. A Christmas Story (1983)
230. Ikiru (1952)
231. Mou gaan dou (2002)
232. Manhattan (1979)
233. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
234. Young Frankenstein (1974) -- one of my dad's favorite movies, watching it always reminds me of him.
235. Dial M for Murder (1954)
236. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
237. Rope (1948)
238. Once (2006)
239. Roman Holiday (1953) on my list of audrey hepburn movies to own...
240. Quatre cents coups, Les (1959) The 400 Blows
241. The Searchers (1956)
242. In Cold Blood (1967)
243. Ying xiong (2002)
244. His Girl Friday (1940) ?? not sure.
245. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
246. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
247. Samouraï, Le (1967)
248. Strada, La (1954)
249. Harold and Maude (1971) weird movie.
250. Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) Aguire, The Wrath of God

a very interesting list. i wonder who made it. let me know if you do this at your place!

new hair!

2008-03-24T12:49:00.004-06:00

that's right - new hair again.

i took my own pictures, so they're not very.....good. but i think you can get the general idea. hopefully yes. here's the side view.and kind of the front view. my muum (i saw her yesterday for easter) said she liked it, but i looked like a completely different person.

about this point in the picture taking process i realized i should be smiling.
ignore that thing growing out of the side of my head. i don't know what's going on there.
and now a little bit from the top-ish.
and really the top -- the blond color is the same, the black chunks are actually a blue-black. it looks more blueish purplish in the sunlight. and the underneath part of my hair is that same black color, as well.

i mainly look like a fish here.
bad angle.

but the shirt is great, right? it was an Easter present from my MIL -- next week spencer and i will get a picture of us in our cute matching clothes.

that's it for the new hair -- i like it, and am glad to have a change. : )

ugly shoe alert

2008-03-18T17:38:00.003-06:00

we're done talking about chicago for now! i will be going back in a few weeks, although not to be admitted to the hospital, just for a follow up appointment.

meanwhile, i happened upon some of the ugliest shoes EVER. imagine if crocs were made during the 70s -- a disco croc, as it were. truly heinous.

these are brought to us courtesy of dr. scholls:
these gems are called dr. scholl's dance. ....i don't even know what to say. they make me want to cry. the good people at dr. scholl's have so much power to do good, why have they chosen to use their shoe-making prowess for evil? have you seen their exercise sandals? i think they're way cute:
simple, preppy, cute.

but then this monstrosity -- this PLATFORM CROC. where did this idea come from and how did it make it to market? most bewildering of all, people are buying it and LIKING it! don't believe me? feast your eyes on the comments here. "My only regret is that I did not buy two pair..."

that just about blows my mind.

and in a similar vein, we have the dr. scholls harmony:
these have the potential to be slightly less hideous, since they don't have that irridescent strap, but somehow i hate them just as much.

please tell me you aren't buying these. please tell me these shoes are as ugly as i think they are. 39 dollars?! 49 dollars? that's even more tragic.

chicago post -- part 3

2008-03-16T14:06:00.004-06:00

i think this is the last one.

here i am having a DHE infusion:
good times. and here's an even worse picture of the same thing.
i'm obviously expounding on some point of immense importance.

this is my room -- it was *tiny*
i did have one of those beds where you could make either end life up or whatever, that was kind of nice. unfortunately, it felt like a piece of hard styrofoam covered in plastic. not my favorite.
and there's my little window -- they had 3 different lights in the room, which was nice, one big overhead one (never on), a set of recessed lights (on during the times i was feeling best), and that reading lamp you can see in the photo above (on for the nurse to put in or change my IV). a very good plan for a headache wing.

and lastly, here is the best view from the hospital:
i was at Saint Joseph's hospital, and it overlooks lake michigan. very pretty. the hospital has its own floor just for headache patients, and while i was there we had classes and although i didn't learn a lot of new information, i did learn some new information. and i was reminded of a lot of things i knew. it's important to reprocess them and maybe bring them back to the forefront of my mind now and again.

i've still been up and down with headache pain since i got home; yesterday and today haven't been good, probably because of the storms coming through. i'm hoping that's the reason, and that it's not a real setback. hoping that once the storms move through i'll go back to having some good hours again.

chicago part 2 -- headache business

2008-03-14T14:28:00.002-06:00

hello again!

here i am again on my own -- going down the only road i've ever known!

people, i've been listening to music again. it's like a revelation. ah, i love it. i miss it.

back on topic.

so i won't bore you with all the details of the appointment. but suffice it to say that the doctor heard all about my headaches, the history of them, and the everyday-ness of them.

after all that, he decided he'd change basically all my medicines. 2 or 3 have remained the same, but most are changed. i was a bit nervous about changing one particularly - the tegretol is one of the only things i've gotten relief from on a daily basis. it also was controlling the seizure disorder.

but this doctor has dealt with many patients like me, whose migraines and headaches are resistant to treatment. i'm willing to try anything, you know -- it's not a lifetime commitment, just a commitment to try something for a while.

so i went into the hospital, and i went off the old meds, and slowly onto the new meds. surprisingly, there are even more pills than there were before. i have magnesium, a couple anti-seizure, a sedative, an anti-psychotic, a beta-blocker, anti-depressant, and magnesium. so wow. but like i said. the man has done this before, and seen good results before. oftentimes the key for cracking this is in combinations of meds and other treatments.

so those are the meds -- while i was in the hospital, the first days were spent with DHE infusions every 8 hours. i was hating the IV (even more than the rest of the stay), but enjoying the relief the infusions brought. they also brought a great deal of nausea, the first anti-nausea drug didn't work. but we got a hold on that and it was smooth sailing for a while. then after 3 days, the course of DHE was done, and it was time to start trying other things -- the ones i remember offhand were depacon, norflex, benadryl & inapsin, and magnesium..... eh, that's all i can think of. so the only one of those that offered any relief was magnesium. that was surprising because i had tried (for 3 months) daily magnesium tablets without any results. but these magnesium infusions brought a great deal of relief. so once we figured that out, we started those every 8 hours.

as the stay progressed, we started to see this change -- instead of waking up every morning with some of the worst pain of the day, i wake up with the lowest pain levels....like a 3 or 4 out of 10. my headaches have NEVER in the whole of the past 3 years gone down (without painkillers or triptans) that low. so that's major. they only stay low for a few hours BUT it is progress.

progress is progress and we haven't had much of that before now, have we? so while it's frustrating to see my pain levels climb through the day, i need to try and remain grateful for the good time and the things i can get done doing those good hours.

one of the other things i've been doing since i got back is waking up a lot earlier -- i'm trying to wake up at the same time everyday. i've done that once before without any results. but it'll be much easier to do when i feel good in the mornings. also, i learned about biofeedback and will be practicing that everyday for 20 minutes. at first, even though i was achieving the goals (physically) of biofeedback, i wasn't seeing any results on my headache. HOWEVER, a few days before i left i started seeing some relief from using biofeedback. not a lot, but some.

so that's the deal! give yourself a major pat on the back if you've made it this far. :) and thanks for all your positive thoughts and prayers. they were greatly appreciated.

Chicago post! part 1

2008-03-12T17:31:00.007-06:00

and so i'm back! from outer space!

no, just kidding.

but i am back from chicago! and out of the hospital! i can't decide if the best part of being out of the hospital is

a) having no IV
b) the food
c) my bed/pillows/sheets/blankets
d) being w/my husband again
e) seeing my sister and her kids
or
f) being reunited with my good friend, mr. laptop.

really, it's just fabulous.

it's great to be back.

what was surprisingly UNgreat was the sheer volume of reading that awaited me.....

181 + 56 unread emails = 237

aaaand let's not forget blog entries. google reader just says i have 1000+ to catch up on. i think it's their way of saying 'don't even try, you've passed the point of no return'. so i'm still deciding what to do on that front. maybe read the most recent of everyone's entries? that seems like a cop-out. we shall see.

so there was really only one night i was out and about in chicago -- spencer and i went to a great place called renaldi's for some deep dish pizza. we were hoping to make it over to gino's east for their legendary pizza, but by the time we were in town, we were ravenous and not willing to schlep across town. another time.

yummm....lots of cheese is hiding under that sauce.

there you can kinda see it.

and here's spencer working on his:
we didn't totally finish the pizza.

and here's pictures of us, which were actually taken to show the arches behind us. they were very interesting.

i look like an idiot.

tomorrow -- tune in for the information you all actually *wanted*. am i fixed? (short answer: no)

are there improvements? (short answer: yes)

i will tell you much more and all about the hospital -- i'm off to catch up on email and blogs!

Writing from the hospital

2008-03-01T20:55:00.004-07:00

I'm surprised and pleased to be able to make a blog entry. I don't have my laptop with me -- I'm here in the hospital -- but Spencer agreed to type up an entry for me if I wrote one out. And so I'm writing!

I miss reading all your blogs. I feel out of the loop. But I'll go ahead and tell you what I'm up to.

My doctor's appointment on Thursday went well, and my doctor said he thought we could do a lot to improve the situation. I'm hopeful, but my expectations still aren't high -- I've heard more than one Dr. tell me they could fix this, and end up being wrong.

So I'm in the hospital -- they have a floor just for headache patients here. I have done a biofeedback session, and will do more everyday until I leave. I will also be seeing their physical therapist sometime soon.

The first night I slept badly, that made my first full day hard. Last night's sleep was better, and today has been better. My doctor said I'd be in for probably a week, but on Monday we'll be able to determine when I can go home.

The hope is that some pain free time will help give my body a running start on the new preventative drugs.

Hopefully that answers any questions you might have -- I'll be back blogging soon!

2008-02-26T13:03:00.003-07:00

well -- it's time! i fly out tomorrow morning for my appointment. today will be packing and laundry.

my main point for this entry is that i (probably) have to take a blogging break because of this --they are probably going to put me inpatient for a little while. there's no telling until my appointment on thursday how long i'll be in chicago. the receptionist, who set me up with all my paperwork, said it'd probably between 5 and 14 days inpatient...

the kicker is (for my blog friends), no laptops at the hospital. :-(

let's have a moment of silence, shall we?

no internet - no surfing the world wide web. ah, i will miss you, friends.

when i get back, i will tell you all about the appointment and how it all goes. wish me luck!

ETA: a great article about chronic illness and how it doesn't make sense.

have you ever...

2008-02-22T16:02:00.003-07:00

EDITED TO ADD the link to the letter....duh!

have you ever done that thing where you THINK it's friday, but actually it's thursday? that was me yesterday.

D'OH!

saturday is probably my favorite day of the week, because i get to spend all day with my sweetie; he doesn't have to go to work, we can hang out around the house and/or run errands together. so then last night spencir tells me it's only thursday!? wow.

here i am, friday again.

read a great entry over at The Daily Headache -- a letter to friends and family, regarding the nature of chronic pain. it's one of those things that i just nod the whole way through -- yes, yes!

in reality, i'm very lucky to have such supportive family. nevertheless, having chronic pain is just....it's just weird. it's just the kind of thing that doesn't make sense, and many people can't imagine what it'd be like to be in pain all the time. i know i never considered it until it happened to me!

have a great weekend, party people. :)

the sassy lime -- now with LESS whining!

2008-02-22T10:07:00.002-07:00

that last post was just annoying. let's disregard it, shall we?

i am REALLY looking forward to my appointment at the Diamond Headache Clinic -- less than a week away now!! my paperwork is all filled out and i am ready to go!

"physical therapy"

2008-02-21T16:36:00.003-07:00

today was my physical therapy appointment. really it was more like "physical therapy". because my pain doc said i was going to go see the physical therapist again. i mentioned that the *last* time i saw her (the PT), the physical therapist said she didn't think there was anything she could do to help my headaches. my doctor said that the PT had some new ideas, they had just talked that morning.

sooo of course i was hopeful going into this appointment. we sat down, and she said my pain doc asked her to work with me NOT to improve my headaches (because she didn't feel there was anything she could do) but to help me set up an exercise program. nice. soooo this of course makes me feel a little tricked and disappointed. mostly disappointed that he made me believe there was hope for changing the situation.

the ultimate hope for setting up an exercise program is that after building up my endurance will help me be able to do more despite the pain.

so i'm feeling a bit frustrated, i feel like this is my pain doctor's last hope -- therapy and exercise. i should mention i have been exercising regularly for the past.... 5/6 months without any results. of course he knows that, but this is going to be even worse (i meant better). because already the exercise pushes my pain level up for 2-3 hours after i'm done.

the thing is, i'm all about exercising, i just hate that it causes me EXTRA pain. that's pretty much the last thing i need at this point....but my doctors are increasingly running out of ideas, and so i think THEY think they need to get me going again, and somehow the symptoms will fade away. argh. i'm sorry, i'm just venting/rambling now.

hopefully i'll be back later on w/a better attitude.

a few thoughts on pain

2008-02-18T22:06:00.002-07:00

i just read an entry by a pain pal of mine, Barbara. it reminded me of one thing that pain has given me. i spend a lot of time thinking about and complaining about what pain has taken from me, blah blah blah.

but one would think that a person could learn a few things from being in pain for three years...it's true. maybe i've got more to learn.

but reading her entry helped me realize that pain has taught me at least one thing...it's taught me how to enjoy and appreciate the little things in life.

my niece's smile, a sunny day, a warm blanket, pain i can ignore. ah, bliss. before pain (BP) life hurried by and i worked hard to get things done. i'm trying to learn to value people not for what they can DO, but for what they ARE. it goes against my instincts.

on reading

2008-02-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

so a book was recommended to me. let's call it....gilead.

and i've been reading, and reading...it's very slow, and as it turns out, i have given up. i can't remember the last time i STARTED reading a book and did not FINISH it. which of course led me to wonder, what book did you start and not finish? why?

i know this book is a good book, obviously many others enjoyed it. for some reason, it just wasn't my cup of tea. i couldn't get into it. but i burned through a couple of others quickly enough afterwards.

p.s. -- have i told you all i'm on goodreads.com? if you read, i recommend getting on there. i've found lots of recommendations, and more importantly, it keeps track of what i've read and how i liked it. for some reason i can't do that on my own anymore. if you're on goodreads, let me know and be my friend!

one word.

2008-02-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

tagged myself at LibAnn's.

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
For.
Each.
Question.

Not as easy as you might think.

1. Where is your cell phone? nearby.
2. Your significant other? work
3. Your hair? dirty
4. Worst bad habit? fingernails
5. Favorite food? ice-cream. (that's not cheating, if i hyphenate, right?)
6. Your favorite thing? wedge
7. Your dream last night? baffling
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal? painfree
10.The room you're in? bedroom
11. Your ex? many
12. Your fear? alone
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? mother
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you're not? funny.
16. Muffins? please
17. One of your wish list items? Narnia
18. Where you grew up? ohio
19. The last thing you did? text
20. What are you wearing? pajamas
21. Your TV? computer
22. Your pets? none
23. Your computer? laptop
24. Your life? strange
25. Your mood? optimistic.
26. Missing someone? family
27. Your car? green
28. Something you're not wearing? makeup
29. Favorite Store? gap
30. Your summer? internship???
31. Love someone? Spencer
32. When is the last time you laughed? hours
33. Last time you cried? days
34. Who will/would re-post this? Edge.

Should we tag? nah, let's not. if you're interested in doing this -- tell me in comments and i'd be happy to come read. :0)

stress in the life of emily?

2008-02-13T13:45:00.003-07:00

i thought i'd give you a little peek into my life as of late. that's what this blog is all about, right? but usually i try to leave out the crazy and weird parts -- no one wants to read about that, do they?

i was reading an entry over at Magically Mama, and it was just what i needed to hear.

i'm the kind of girl who likes to have things picked up, put away, and clean. i literally feel lighter and more calm in my home when it's clean. so conversely, when things are cluttered and/or dirty, i feel like it's weighing on me. i'm sure you can see where i'm going with this....

it's a matter of keeping up with the dishes, the cleaning, the laundry.... and with such limited energy and (low-pain) time, i feel as though i'm always trying to catch up.

which is NOT to say that my dear husband doesn't help, because he does. a lot. whenever i feel overwhelmed w/things, he steps in and does whatever it takes. but i WANT to be able to do it.

i feel like these chores are the small things that are *my* responsibility -- and it's frustrating when i can't keep up with them.

at the same time, i feel like it would really help if i cut myself some more slack -- if i didn't always expect my home to be clean and (this is key) ACCEPTING a lower standard. it's been more than 3 years (w/these migraines) and i still haven't gotten it yet. i understand it mentally, but can't truly BELIEVE it.

*le sigh*

you can see why her entry appealed so much to me. it's what i need to hear -- it's what i'm working on. how do you combat these kinds of problems? do you feel overwhelmed when you fall behind?

Mememememememememe

2008-02-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well i was tagged for a meme. ashley tagged me :-) read on to find out everything you ever wanted to know (ok, more than you ever wanted to know) about my husband and i.

How long have you been together? 3 1/2 years

How long did you date? 6 months (before we got engaged) -- pick your jaws up off the floor ;)

How old is he? 27

Who eats more? Spencer

Who said "I love you" first? we can't remember! (i couldn't, so i asked him...he couldn't either!)

Who is taller? Spencer, by 9 inches

Who is smarter? hmm. i'd say Spencer. i have my smart moments, but they seem to be coming fewer and further between with these migraines. ;)

Who does the laundry? i do -- spencer helps me when i need it.

Who does the dishes? i do most of the time -- when i fall behind spencer helps me catch back up.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? i do.

Who pays the bills? I write the checks.

Who mows the lawn? this is one of those advantages of renting; we don't have to mow the lawn.

Who cooks dinner? just like the dishes -- i do most of the time, but when i can't spencer steps up.

Who is more stubborn? hmm.. another tough one to call. i'd say me.

Who kissed who first? spencer kissed me

Who asked who out? He asked me out.

Who proposed? he did :)

Who is more sensitive? probably me.

Who has more friends? i'd say we're evenly matched.

Who has more siblings? spencer does -- he's the oldest of 7. i'm the 2nd of 5.

Who are you tagging?

The Edge, Muum, and the Magical Mama! -- anyone else who wants to play, let me know you did in comments so i can come see :)

Success!

2008-02-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

sadly, this isn't success in the area of treating my headaches (yet).

first, a bit of history.

i've been having difficulty making bread that rises. you'd think this would be fairly straightforward, but for some reason my bread has been.....brick-like. my husband has been very nice about it, still appreciating (and eating) it.

but i've been frustrated. why wasn't this working? i love baking, and baking bread seems like something i'd be good at. but i'd been having a rather bad run lately.

so i was over at my sister's house the other day, visiting. she started making some pizza dough for dinner later on. so then i remembered my problems and told her all about it. because her bread is always good.

she gave me a few tips. 1st was to use a plastic or glass bowl (instead of metal). she wasn't sure if this was important for all bread or just sourdough bread, but i figured i'd just go ahead and make the switch.

2nd was to measure the temperature of the water (that i added to the yeast) to make sure it was warm enough but not too warm. i bought a little meat thermometer today for this purpose.

and 3rd was to take the yeast out of the fridge for an hour or two before i make bread, so the temperature difference wasn't so great.

so i did these 3 things, and voila! bread success. it rose, it was light and delicious! hooray!

thanks, Edge. :-)

news of both kinds

2008-01-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

i have exciting news, and i have sad news.

the president and prophet of the LDS church, Gordon B Hinckley, died yesterday. i don't have the eloquent words many others do -- i will just say that i loved him, and he will be missed.

on the complete other side of things --

i got an appointment at the diamond headache clinic in chicago! i'm very excited, and pleased that i'm able to be seen at the end of february!! feb. 28th is my appointment. there is much planning to be done, but i'm looking forward to it.

i have a 3 1/2 hour evaluation with the associate director. after that they will probably put me inpatient at the hospital. they have classes for me to take while i'm there, to learn more about headaches and migraines.

i just HOPE that this is the beginning of the end for me. i hope and pray we'll be able to find a way to make these headaches either less or frequent, or less painful. hey, both would be great! i would definitely love both!

a recent conversation...

2008-01-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

with T (my niece, age 5).

we're sitting together on a lazy boy recliner at my sister's house. i am babysitting, and crocheting. as i work, little T watches.

after a while, she says, 'that looks pretty easy to me'.

'well', i say, 'it's not too hard.'

then she pauses, and in a i-hate-to-be-the-one-to-have-to-tell-you-this tone, says, 'it's full of holes.'

like, i can see that you're working hard on this.....but it is obviously flawed. look at all those holes!

i tell her that's how crocheted and knitted items are: i make knots, and the holes are just the space between the knots.

she thinks i'm deluding myself.

2008-01-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

i got a book in the mail today! it's called All In My Head -- by Paula Kamen. the subtitle is 'an epic quest to cure an unrelenting, totally unreasonable, and only slightly enlightening headache.

you can see why i might like it.

i've read it once before, it was a good read. then when i figured i was going to want to read it again, and possibly loan it to friends.....you know. decided i should probably just buy it.

headache friends, if you haven't read this, get it from the library. it was fabulous to read about someone else's experiences who mirrored my own so closely.

other friends (and family), if you're interested in knowing more about my life -- this would be an ideal read. i'm not much of a writer, but Paula Kamen is.

2008-01-21T22:37:00.001-07:00

i had been hearing about a Ms. Sassy Pants in various bloggy circles, so i decided i'd check her out for myself. LOVE her blog. so i'm reading some archives when i come across a meme i want to steal.

and i thought exactly what she did when she saw it...... FREE BLOG FODDER!!!

without further ado - -

Name one person who made you laugh last night.

my husband. of course.

What were you doing at 8:00?
this morning? sleeping.

What were you doing thirty minutes ago?
showering.

What happened to you in 2006?
hard to remember. ... let's see. i had migraines every day all year long. i think that about covers it.

What was the last thing that you said out loud?
good night, I love you.

How many beverages did you have today?
loads of water, and 1/2 glass of horchata

What color is your hairbrush?
brown; a wood or some kind of faux wood handle.

What was the last thing that you paid for?
dinner at Costa Vida - we got a burrito and a salad and shared.

Where were you last night?

home most of the night; my husband took me out to dinner and we had great food.

What color is your front door?

white

Where do you keep your change?
mostly in the little change purse attached to my wallet.

What's the weather like today?
snow - cold - we ended up getting 10 or so inches.

What's the best ice cream flavor?
Moose Tracks. WHICH i can't eat anymore b/c of the chocolate. so my new favorite is

What excites you?

new clothes, SHOES

Do you want to cut your hair?
eh, probably not. i just cut it a week ago...pictures still forthcoming....

Are you over the age of 25?
Yep, barely.

Do you talk a lot?
eh, probably yes. but often i'm uninterested in talking on the phone. when my head hurts a lot, it's hard for me to figure out what to say, and i feel like an idiot most of the time.

Do you watch The O.C?
No. not even interested.

Do you know anyone named Steven?
eh, not in real life.

Do you make up your own words?
once in a while. my favorite is deslicious. it means super extra yummy.

Are you a jealous person?
sometimes.

Name a friend whose name starts with the letter A.
uhhh......wow. i don't know if i have one anymore.

Name a friend whose name starts with the letter K.
Katie. my sister.

Who is the first person on your received call list?
my friend Janell.

What does the last text message you received say?
Mystery Solved. i found a couple of Christmas presents that were lost.

Do you chew on your straw?
No.

Do you have curly hair?
not really. it's wavy-ish. mostly kinky and frizzy.

Where's the next place you are gonna go?
lunch with my friends!

Who's the rudest person in your life?
probably me. :)

What was the last thing you ate?
honey nut cheerios.

Will you get married in the future?

no, i'm planning on marriage being a one-time deal. already got married.

What was the best movie you have seen in the past two weeks?

the pursuit of happyness. great movie.

Is there anyone you like right now?
oh yes. #1 would be my husband....then all my family , then friends. i like lots of people.

When was the last time you did the dishes?
a loooong time, luckily my husband did them all today.

Are you currently depressed?
no, i get down sometimes, but always end up back where i am now; kind of ok with things, trying to do the best i can.

Did you cry today?
No, and i don't plan on it.

all right, friends, if you're interested......join in! let me know in comments if you play on your blog.

hopefully some real content coming soon!

Tagged again!

2008-01-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

i was tagged quite a while ago by Diana at Somebody Heal Me!, and then just recently by a new bloggy friend, LibAnn at Not Much More Than This. i am glad to have some ideas to get me started.

also i want to take this chance to push you to visit both these lovely ladies; i love their sites.

so i've done this before, it's going to be interesting trying to think of more weird facts about me. ha! just kidding. i could go on all day. ;-)

The Rules -

Link to the person who tagged you and leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.
Post the rules on your blog.
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here we go...

i got my hair cut and colored on wednesday. can you believe i haven't posted pictures yet? i sure can't. pictures to come along shortly.
i love painting my toenails. even through the dead of winter, when no one but me sees them, i like to have them painted. it makes me happy.
my favorite flavor of gum is extra peppermint. i don't like spearmint.
if people tell me they admire me, i feel embarrassed. it's difficult for me to accept compliments on my personality. on my appearance, for some reason i have no problem accepting compliments. maybe b/c i feel like i've worked on my appearance to make it pleasant?...buying clothes, putting on makeup, etc.? i have no idea.
i like to shout made up curse words at other drivers. a habit i picked up from my mother. ex. - you ninny, watch where you're going! .....you get the idea.
i LOVE watching funny movies w/my husband because his laugh makes me laugh even more.
speaking of funny movies, my favorite chase scene is in 'What's Up, Doc?' as they are going all around San Francisco on bikes and ars and a VW Beetle. it is hilarious.

now it's my turn to tag a few bloggers for this meme!

1 -Mary at Fireflies & Frogs
2 -Melanie at Don't Try This at Home
3 -Marilee at Adventures in Threeland
4 -Karen at Simply...a Musing Blog
5 -Steph at The Mommiverse
6 -Grandi at Grandi's Grazings
7 - Grim Reality Girl at The Grim Reality

OR if you're reading this and wanting to play along, feel free! let me know in comments so i can come visit.

my wedge pillow

2008-01-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

hello everyone!

i hope you've had a perfectly lovely monday. i got to spend a good deal of it with my mom and my sister (and my sister's kids, and my littlest sister!), so i couldn't be better. i'm tired, of course, but we had lots of fun.

i thought i would tell you all about one of my most favorite Christmas gifts (there were many favorites) -- it's a wedge pillow.

here we go; they say a picture is worth a thousand words....
it's that. a wedge-shaped pillow. and not only can you use it like that, but when you're awake and resting in bed, you can sit up and lean against the long edge of it. like this:

you see what i mean ?

anyways, it's great. it'd be a great gift idea if you know someone who has to spend a lot of time in bed resting, or a great present for those migraineurs to give themselves. :)

it is *way* more comfortable than trying to stack pillows around.

p.s. - i know you've never seen such high quality images. what can i say, i'm just that good. or amazon is. one of the two.

lip balm

2008-01-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

check this out. these are my people.

my favorite kind, though, is the burt's bees. peppermint, people!! love it.

any other lip balm addicts out there? what's your favorite kind?

Footwear Friday! UPDATED

2008-01-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

well, today we are waiting anxiously for shoes to arrive....i will tell you all about them. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will FIT -- ordering shoes online, you just never know.

so, they are flat, black, knee length boots....can't figure out how to get the picture here, so we'll have to wait till i have the physical boots to take pictures of. here they are. mmm. i'm excited.

anyone else buy new shoes lately? now is the time for buying boots, you know!

EDITED TO ADD: they came!!! and they fit! here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

we went to a wedding reception last night, downtown. and i just trekked right along in these babies -- no problems w/snow getting in my shoes, no problems w/teetering on heels, it was GREAT. the only change i'd make next time is to wear some hose so that the 2 inches between my skirt and boots doesn't freeze. :)

also, for any shoe-buying people -- i recommend piperlime. they were great. and when i checked back on the boots a few days after i'd ordered them, the price had dropped by $18. so i emailed them, saying will you match the price for my order? my color and size were still in stock. the SAME DAY they emailed back, saying the credit had been added to my account. same day, people! awesome.

2008-01-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

coming up on 30,000 visitors to The Sassy Lime!

amazing. i never thought this site would have so many visitors. thanks for reading, and commenting. you guys are the best!

2008-01-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

i had another doctor's appointment today, at the pain clinic. it was a reasonably good appointment, some things i was hoping to figure out got worked out, and a couple of things got worked out in a way i'm not entirely fond of.

but coming away from it, i find myself disappointed, frustrated and sad. frustrated is mostly b/c i now have *another* doctor to see; they want me to see their in-house psychologist. blech. i saw one of their psychologists last year, and she felt like she had taught me all she could, etc....

but i think that i'm frustrated and sad for reasons i don't entirely understand. do i still subconsciously think that the doctors are going to FIX this whole thing one day? that i'll go to an appointment and they'll have figured it all out? i don't know. it's the kind of thing you hope for, but know that it's probably unreasonable. my doctors seem to feel like any improvements we see are going to be incremental. i think my pain clinic doc may feel like i need to learn to deal with my pain better, as it may be around the rest of my life.

i just have got to believe that we will cut down on the frequency....

to all my migraine and headache friends out there: have any of you been to the diamond headache clinic (in chicago?) if so, tell me all about it.

something i made last month

2008-01-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

hello!

i thought i'd share with you the mitten project.

i made my sister's kids some mittens and two of them hats. H, the oldest, is going to try and make her own hat. (when i typed that just now, i typed, H is going to try and make her own hate.) goodness. these are all crochet, i don't know how to knit.

so here we go: these red ones are for H, the oldest.

and this pink set is for T, the middlin'

and the manly gray set is for E, the youngest.... kind of hard to see them in this picture.
and then, just cause i love my nieces and nephews, here they are on --

H the oldest --

sweet T --

and lastly, E. when i took this picture, we put them on, and i said, ok, now look at me! put your hands up by your face! he is thinking, aunt emily, you are one craaaaazy lady. but ok.
probably he's down with it b/c i gave him the sucker he's eating.

and the pattern....can be found here if you're interested!

ah, and P.S.? if you're dying to see more of these cuties, and hear what their mama has to say (she's a fabulous writer), clicky here.

2008-01-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

people, something momentous has occurred.

today, i have moved all* my blogs to Google reader. ah, what a beautiful thing. i've been meaning to do this for...about a year now. something ridiculous like that. have not gotten around to it.

it makes me so happy. seriously, it is beautiful.

that's all.

*some of your blogs are inexplicably not found by google. that's sad.

overheard...

2008-01-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

in panda express tonight (BTW, try their Thai Cashew chicken the next time you're there)

there was a crowd of HS cheerleaders eating dinner together, in their full cheerleader apparel. as they're leaving, throwing away their trash right behind us, one says,

'so how can we lose some weight besides going anorexic?'

i just about fell off my chairs, ya'll. apparently they couldn't see that they were all TEENY! none of them needed to lose weight -- far from it!

is it possible to teach our daughters (i speak of mine in the theoretical sense) to love their bodies in this world, in our society? or even to feel that it's one small part of who they are, not their defining characteristic?

console me.

2008-01-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

welcome 2008. i just got home from a neurologist appointment. the funny thing is, i'm in Pennsylvania. Sooooo this was a one-time appointment. i was hoping for an outside perspective, and was happy with how it went.

he (the doctor) did a full neurological exam, and we went over the entire history of my headaches. then he said, 'you have a complicated problem, and there is no easy answer.'

i'm getting better at hearing that, and didn't start crying. impressive, right?

he said that if i were his daughter, he'd send me to a headache clinic. that i'd be able to have behavioral therapies there, including biofeedback and such, and they are equipped to handle this kind of thing.

so while i'm not one for making resolutions at the new year (i'd rather make changes as i see i need them, not all at once), my hope is for a turnaround with pain this year. even if things just start heading the other direction, that would be great.

it is hard to imagine spending so much money on this kind of thing - that has no guarantees of working. but i need to remind myself of HOW MUCH i want to be better. and if money will get that done, then so be it.

any new year's resolutions you'd like to share?

2007-12-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

whenever i add someone new to the blogroll, i like to make a post, so people who read here regularly (both of you) can check them out.

so say hello to The Book Lady! she was on my blogroll, and randomly disappeared from the internets.

check her out when you get a chance!

2007-12-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas.

I hope your day has been and will be a joyful one, surrounded by loved ones.

I appreciate you reading, and am glad to have the chance to get to know you. :)

Thanks for reading!

Footwear Friday!

2007-12-21T21:45:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Footwear Friday! the pre-Christmas edition.

this week, we have a pair of (gasp!) closed-toe shoes! these are rare in my closet. i love to show off my toes.

i love the square toe; could live without the buckle. and you can see in the below shot that they hit the widest part of my foot funny; but really, they are the best brown pumps i've got. and in the winter -- that's important. you just can't traipse around with open-toed shoes in the snow. and we've got lots of it right now, folks.
and finally, the side angle:

that's all i've got for today, my friends. i'll see you again soon!

2007-12-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

a quote for today:

"You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." -- Itzhak Perlman.

if you're intersted in reading the story behind this quote, go here.

i'm thinking a lot lately about how much i can do with what i have left -- the person i am and the capabilities i have with these migraines. how does this quote apply to you?

CD review

2007-12-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

I think I read about this on Shannon's site. I could be wrong. There was an opportunity to receive and review a Michael W. Smith Christmas CD. My blog had the required number of visitors.

So I emailed the record company, but I figured I had been too late. Because they only had 150 CDs to give away. So how surprised was I when I opened a large envelope in the mail a few days later?!

This is my first review; my husband says I've hit the big time now, but I'm pretty sure that's not the case. I'll let you know if I ever do hit the big time. You all will be the first to know.

So the CD is by Michael W. Smith, and it's his new Christmas CD, called 'It's a Wonderful Christmas' (not to be confused w/the movie....It's a Wonderful Life.)

I should tell you that I am not a big Christian music listener. I have heard Michael W. Smith before, but don't own any of his other CDs. This CD appealed to me a great deal -- the tracks alternate between instrumental and tracks w/vocals. I love that, but it could be disappointing to someone who adored Smith's voice and bought the CD for his singing. I hope not; the instrumental tracks are really well done, and give some down time to process the lyrics. There are some arrangements of old standard Christmas carols, and there are even more new songs written about the birth of our Savior and God's love for us.

After a few listens, I can see that some of the tracks emerge as favorites, and I can see myself listening to this CD throughout the year. I will most definitely enjoy listening to it many Christmases to come. This would be a great hostess present, or gift for someone you attend church with. The songs are well-written, and I find myself humming the tunes and thinking of the words.

My favorite track would have to be 'Christmas Day' featuring Mandisa. to check out a few of the tracks on this CD, click on the square button ------> over there. Let me know what you think!

Footwear Friday....on Tuesday!

2007-12-14T15:01:00.001-07:00

Well, i am certainly not the best person to (try and) do a weekly series. i can't remember what i ate for breakfast people. but i do love talking about shoes, so we go onward and upward. :)

here we have a pair of shoes i bought at an outlet mall (or possibly DSW) in maine, the summer i was a camp counselor and lifeguard there -- 2001.

one thing i DON'T like about these shoes is that since they're covered by fabric, they scuff easily and my feet leave a mark where they've been. kind of yucky.

but as far as platform shoes go, i love these; they were made by Nine West, and they are super comfy.

and here's the top view:
and on to the side view: (as an aside, have you ever considered the contortions you'd have to do in order to take a picture of the side of your foot, including the shoe? it's strange)

so here you can see that it's about an inch platform at the base, going up to maybe 3 inches. comfortable.

spencer and i had dinner with a college friend of mine (from OU) -- it was great to see him again and meet his wife. and spencer was glad to meet an old friend of mine who wasn't an ex-boyfriend. everyone wins! we had mexican food downtown.

ONE WEEK till Christmas everybody! hope your shopping is nearly finished!

2007-12-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

a great list of gift ideas for the chronically ill can be found here: lots of good thoughts! check it out!

an update on me and a question for you

2007-12-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

i'm ripping off a question from my friend Kimberlie: what one beauty product can you not live without? could be makeup, could be hair product......lotion, even.

i'm dying to know.

for me, it's a tie. i wear makeup nearly everyday, but almost always just eye makeup. so i can't live without my lash curler and mascara.

now on to other business.

let me tell you about my latest homeopathic .....diagnosis.

first, let me praise sugar and flour and milk, because i am OFF THE DIET!!! hooray for eating (almost) anything i want!! no reading labels, no passing up on delicious looking desserts. hooray for being able to eat candy for christmas!!

so that obviously didn't help, which is why it's over. i went to see a homeopathic chiropractor, recommended by my homeopathic doctor for his diagnostic capabilities. and i have to say...it was interesting. i'm still not sure i really *believe* that his methods work, or are ...real. HOWEVER, i am withholding judgment until the treatments have a chance to work. if they're going to help, it will be within the next 2 weeks.

if you're interested in the diagnostic methods he used, read this - obviously a skeptic, and then this, from the International College of Applied Kinesiology. i'm not going to go into it anymore than that.

but anywho, after spending an hour with me, we did a few chiropractic adjustments, and he developed 3 diagnoses that he says are contributing to my migraines.

1 - mercury poisoning. from my fillings. and i later thought of the fact that i did get 8 or 10 (i know) fillings the summer my migraines started getting more and more frequent.... i didn't tell him that though.
2 - virus in my brain stem. would not have been detected in the spinal tap.
3 - my body doesn't make enough neurotransmitters.

and so there are homeopathic pills and capsules and such for these things, which we went ahead with buying -- i don't plan to invest any more $$ in this area if this doesn't help.

i *am* still looking for a recommendation for an acupuncturist. i think that area has some possibilities.

that's my update, folks! don't forget, tell me about your favorite beauty product in comments!

2007-12-05T15:51:00.001-07:00

the second and last (?) edition of 5 and 6 year old photos. these were taken by my nephew E and niece T on thanksgiving.

first, let's start with one of grandma's plants. african violets. :)

and then, grandpa's piano. a pretty decent picture.

here we go, can't go wrong with a picture of your aunt's socks.

the main reason this picture is hilarious to me is because i didn't realize they had taken it.

i've looked at this for quite a while, and cannot for the life of me figure out what it is. they had to stay in the room w/me while they were taking pictures (b/c it was my camera), but i can't think of anything in there that looks at all like this. edge? muum?

and now for this picture. there were actually a whole slew of them, because while E was taking pictures, T (on the left-hand side of the frame here) dropped leaves from above the camera. she'd say 1-2-3 --- go! take the picture! somehow, they never got it right. once, E actually jumped up while taking the picture, trying to get! it! right!

so funny.

and lastly, a picture of my honey, a little hairier than we usually see him.

that wraps it up :)

in other news...

2007-12-02T20:56:00.001-07:00

spencer says that picture of me looks weird. so, in case you thought it was.... a LIKEness of me, don't be deceived. apparently it does not.

and now, onto the main event! pictures! taken by my niece and nephew E and T!!

an unfortunate number look like this:
or this:
and seriously, i can't hate. i've taken (quite) a few in my day that look like that, and i'm old enough to do better. supposedly.

and now, a self-portrait.
i know it looks like he's in pain, but there are only two explanations i can think of for that:
1 - the flash is going off in his face. or
2 - he is actually squishing his face against the lens.

the world may never know.

of course there are a lot of pictures like this, with one or two heads cut off --

and before anyone asks about the red thing on my neck, let me just say that it is not a hickey - i actually have weirdly sensitive skin on my neck and chest, and for some reason after you touch it, it turns bright pink. but cute shirt, right?

and here we have a picture OF a picture. the mind boggles.
and here it looks like he's gotten the hang of the picture taking; the whole head in the photo. bravo!
.....oops.

spoke too soon.
and just for good measure, shouldn't we have one more self-portrait? i think so.
and for this picture, i have no words.
takin' a picture of mom's boots.

and we'll end with this one.

besides the red cast, it's really a pretty good picture, don't you think? i actually have no idea how she got it to look like this.
well friends, more soon.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

it was a great Thanksgiving.

and also, my hair is brown now.
i like it pretty well. mainly, i needed a change. and this is certainly a change.

so Thanksgiving; there was talking, laughter, and Guitar Hero.

my littlest sister K had an early lead in the competition, but was later beaten by a few of the brothers-in-law.

then it was time for the littlest of guitar heroes to have their turn.

here's T with an axe,

and my nephew E demonstrating the little-used sitting position for guitar playing.

once the guitar playing had lost its allure, there was still time to kill before we could eat! grandma invented a new game; put a leaf on every pumpkin of aunt G's pajama pants *without* waking her.
masterful job indeed.

stay tuned, next time we will feature photos taken by E and T -- you don't want to miss it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-23T18:43:00.001-07:00

i hope everyone had a great one. i had a wonderful day with family yesterday.

and now it is black friday -- christmas shopping has begun in earnest.

my favorite deal of the day? $3 pot'o'golds.

spencer went out early, i didn't. i slept in and we hit the day-long sales together in the afternoon. great times.

did you go out and shop? if so, what was your best deal?

8 things meme

2007-11-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

the more memes i do, the harder it is to think of new things. and i am not awesome enough to check my own archives to see what i wrote before. so let's see what i can pull out of my head, shall we?

1- one of the blogs i've started reading most recently is called 'in sickness and in health', a blog about how chronic illness or pain affects marriages. a great read for my headachey friends.

2-the thing i miss the most during my diet is ice cream. so creamy, so delicious. what can i say.

3- i was recently at a family function with spencer's family; and i was crocheting to pass the time, keep my hands busy. you know. one of spencer's aunts asked what i was making, and i told her, it was just a washcloth. she looked at my hands for a bit and said that she and spencer's grandma had been trying to figure what i was doing! lol. not only am i left-handed, but i am not the most.....rule-abiding crocheter. which i'm sure slows me down. i just found the whole things hilarious.

4-another website i've been spending time at lately -- craftster. there are forums for allllll different kinds of crafts. very fun.

5- i brought my plants all inside today - it is finally getting cold. :)

6-my shoe collection is somewhat....excessive. some (in my family) might say legendary. thankfully, i have an understanding husband and a fairly big closet.

the fact that they don't fit in one frame is somewhat ridiculous. i understand if you think i'm crazy. sometimes i think so too. but when i'm looking at shoes (in a store), there are still shoe styles and colors that i don't have or wish i had.....i'm sick, there's nothing else i can say.

7- this thanksgiving, i'm making 2 pumpkin pies and sweet potatoes. yummm.

8- i made these socks! they're warm and fuzzy. :)
they're pretty thick and chunky, more for wearing around the house than with shoes.

A nod to the Muum, who tagged me!
I am tagging
Kimmy at Snickerdoodles
Kate at the Walking Kateastrophe
Erin at My Sanity
Leigh Ann at Save Leigh Ann
Melanie at Don't Try This at Home
Terri at Wind Lost
Deborah at Weathering Migraine Storms
and last but certainly not least,
Steph at the Mommiverse

hooray!

When tagged, you must list the person who tagged you, post the rules and list 8 or so people at the end of the post.

2007-11-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

a HILARIOUS thread is going on over at Notes from the Trenches about kitchen fiascos. i left a comment regarding my top two diasasters. it made me think i need to do a blog entry (or five) about my kitchen fiascos/diasters/problems.

please visit. it is not to be missed. :)

2007-11-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

thanks for your kind thoughts about my recent migraine cycle -- they are appreciated, as are prayers.

and now, for something completely different, i give you Florence Foster Jenkins.

there are no words.

2 posts in 2 days?!?

2007-11-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

You Belong in 1989

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

well who would've guessed. for those who are curious, i was 8 years old in 1989. a funny quiz. :) let me know if any of you take it.

(also, scroll down for footwear friday)

i'm hoping to get back into blogging more regularly. #1 for an emotional outlet. #2 to keep far-away family updated. talking about doctor's appointments and diets and pills feels like my life sometimes, but telling the same story over and over...you get the idea. posting it here lets family (and friends!) keep up to date w/o having to call me and ask how i'm doing, what i'm trying.

so. how i'm doing today - really bad. the headache was just horrific when i woke up, and has subsided into miserable as i rest in bed. i'm still in the bad cycle that started about 2 weeks ago. my homeopathic doctor said it would get worse before it got better....and it has most decidedly gotten worse. i'm just keeping my fingers crossed for the better part! i'm still following my no sugar, no wheat, no dairy diet, and getting more used to it. i have eaten and entire jar (16 oz.) of almond butter in the month or so i've been on the diet. whoa. the bad cycle is supposed to resolve itself (and move onto the improvement) very soon, within the next 2 weeks. keep your fingers crossed for me!

tomorrow we're having spencer's lab group (and their wives/kids) over for dinner. i'm really looking forward to it, and looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning and taking my pain meds. sweet relief!

2007-11-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

So welcome back! sorry for those of you who worried (deb) -- i am a-ok. the migraines have actually been worse than ever these past 2 weeks. so as much as i love shoes, i found myself unwilling to get out of bed and take pictures of them. writing about shoes, no problem, i love telling you all about my shoes. but the taking pictures..... so you can see, it was all just laziness in essence.

but i'm back! still feeling bad, but itching to talk about some cute shoes. :-)

and this week we have some of my most favorite brown dressy shoes -- in honor of the recent warmer temperatures. they're my knotted wedge heels. i couldn't remember for sure, but i thought i bought these from payless. so i looked up the brand name on the shoes (fioni) online, and they are indeed from payless. they are super comfortable, and yet (i think) really cute.

my shoe 'problem areas' are that my feet are really wide, and my arch is really high. this somewhat dooms me as far as clogs go, but as you can see, i really favor open-toed shoes anyway. these have a good stretch to the straps, and the widest part of my foot is in between straps -- this is key to making these shoes comfortable to me, i think.

like i said, these are from payless, and the brand is fioni -- they're probably from last summer. and they're a size 7.

and for interest's sake, i found a few more cute shoes made by fioni -- as well as a not-as-cute (IMHO) pair someone is trying to sell for $90!? maybe it's like isaac mizrahi for target, and there's a real line of more expensive fioni shoes? but the $90 ones are still made of 'faux leather'. i don't know. crazy.

happy friday, everybody!

2007-11-01T22:05:00.000-06:00

people, i am one lame blogger.

i think i'll skip last week's Footwear Friday - it's best for everyone concerned.

the good news is, i'm over my cold.

the bad news is, the sugar cravings are just about killing me! i've gone off of sugar and white carbs before, and it was not *nearly* this difficult. whew.

this diet excludes sugar, wheat (all of it), dairy, and various other things like soy and peanuts. etc.

i feel like i'm on some kind of a diet (losing weight diet) -- b/c i'm eating so many vegetables. wowsers.

Footwear Friday will be back tomorrow with a vengeance!

2007-10-26T16:59:00.000-06:00

footwear friday is going to be late.

i'm sick - and my head hurts.

BUT i am committed to bringing my readers shoe loveliness. ;-)

2007-10-19T18:28:00.001-06:00

so i'm trying a new diet for my migraines; i'm visiting a homeopathic healer. (before i hear any nay-saying, i'll let you try out migraines everyday - when you're in pain all the time, you'll try ANYTHING.) :-)

so one of the things i'm supposed to get a lot of is greens - and also seaweed or kelp. now, i've had seaweed before, with sushi. i didn't remember it as well as i thought. or maybe the rice and other flavors kind of covered it up.

but i'm meant to 'snip sea veggies' onto soups when i eat them. i can do that, right? this is just about at my cooking level. so i've got my miso soup, and i take the dried seaweed out of its package.

(to understand what i'm talking about in this little conversation, best to take a look at the link up there; nori on wikipedia.)

spencer asks me, 'is that hashish?'

i tell him, 'yes, but it's mine'

'for medicinal purposes?' he asks.

'of course!' and we both laugh.

the laughter stops when the sea veggies hit the soup, because holy cow that smells bad. i'm not a good enough writer to think of a good description. spencer has the luxury of being able to leave the room, me, i've got to eat this horrid smelly soup now.

in more cheery news, it really smells worse than it tastes.

and in another case of my sister coming to the rescue, she's given me a great way to use it: making rice balls. will need to give this a shot.

Footwear Friday!

2007-10-19T17:19:00.000-06:00

late, but posted on friday. i feel pretty good about that. :)

big snowstorm is moving in tonight, and i am consequentially feeling lousy.

but what can perk a lady up more than a fabulous pair of black boots? nothing.

i will share mine. i bought these about a year ago, at either Ross or TJ Maxx. can't remember. my husband was with my at the time, so i had to talk him into the purchase, especially since he doesn't appreciate a good pointed toe. so here you see them on my feet; but really, we all know that the reason you have a good pair of spiky-heeled, pointy-toed black boots is for wearing with pants.

that's what i wear them with, at least. i like flatter boots or a chunkier heel with a skirt.

sorry, back to THESE boots.

here they are with jeans: fabulous, no? i wore them out last night, and they made me feel so superfantastic that i knew i had to share these with you all today.

these are a nine west boot, size 7 1/2.

now ladies, is there anyone who wants to show us a new pair of shoes? (deborah, i'm lookin' at you!)

Snow!

2007-10-18T14:27:00.000-06:00

a big thunderstorm came through last night, bringing a fair amount of rain, and Snow! there is a little snow outside, too! what a surprise. welcome to autumn in utah. :)

Update on the trip!

2007-10-15T21:29:00.001-06:00

Last monday was Spencer's and my 3rd wedding anniversary -- we celebrated with dinner out at PF Chang's. it was delicious and just a great night out. luckily for us, spencer had the week off of school (for a fall break), so we were able to take a short trip!

we went down to Bryce, in southern Utah, and stayed the night at a little bed and breakfast, called the Arrowhead Country Inn. it was really nice, we stayed in this little cabin

(no picture of the inside, unfortunately), and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. breakfast was delicious, and we sat with some very interesting people. that's always a bonus. :)

as we were headed to the park, we noticed how PERFECT the weather was! you know, 75, sunny, a cool wind -- when spencer asked if i had brought any sunscreen. eek? i hadn't even thought about it, unfortunately. off we went to terry's country store, to buy the most expensive generic sunscreen i've ever seen. :) $6.39 for this western family brand sunscreen. sad, but we couldn't skip it -- a redhead and a blonde? no no no no. i'm hoping to avoid skin cancer for both of us.

then it was off to bryce canyon for the day! they have the park set up so that you can drive to most of the most spectacular sites, and just walk a few feet to see them. we decided this was just about perfect for us, because there are lots of little trails to hike around (for spencer) and i could still see most of the great things - we could spend time together and enjoy the park. that may not make sense to some, but to my fellow migraine-friends, i know you get it.

bryce canyon is known for its amazing rock formations, hoodoos and grottos. it was stunning. i really couldn't believe how beautiful it was.

and a couple more, for good measure.

2007-10-12T13:30:00.001-06:00

Another friday, another Footwear Friday! the blogging around here has been sparse, but i'll be back soon to update you about my real life activities. (with pictures, of course).

for today, let's focus on what's really important - shoes. (just kidding) -- these are my standby black heels. i love them, they're comfortable, even though the don't look it, and i love them. heh.

i love the pointy toe, i love the little buckle, and i love the thin straps. probably my favorite thing about these shoes is the stitching. you can see it well on the straps here :

i bought these shoes at the BYU bookstore, for about 30 bucks -- they are classified brand, which i've never heard of, and i have no idea what size they are.

happy friday to you all, and let me know if you're posting anyting about YOUR shoes today. :)

Footwear Friday!

2007-10-06T22:41:00.001-06:00

Welcome to the second installment of Footwear Friday!

this week, we're going to talk about fads. this fall, red is big. i need a pair of red flats, and a red purse. .... but i might not wear them much after this season.

the solution?

payless, target, or the like. these shoes are from walmart (only in black on the website, for some reason). i was surprised to find something i liked so much there. AND they were $13. really. i kind of love them. i *adore* the little bow, the pleats, and the fact that they're flats. i rarely find flats i really like.

here are a few others i considered...

and here, just b/c deb was looking forward to it, are my feet - and the toenails. kind of a nude polish this week. :) anyone want to share some of their favorite shoes?

see you next week!

2007-10-03T11:58:00.001-06:00

my sister was saying the other day that i'd better post something new before friday.

why can't my blog just switch from a migraine blog to a shoe blog? i don't see any problem with that.

i thought i'd link to Shannon's Works for Me wednesday -- i've never taken part in the fun, but am ALWAYS reading what's going on. lots of good tips, for mothers or just people managing a home (like me). this week people are asking questions instead of sharing tips. and the last time i looked there were 215 (!) links. check it out!

ok, back to me. i spent most of yesterday with the Edge family -- very good times were had by all. aunt emily was thoroughly worn out.

and today -- today i'm feeling poorly-- it's another weather change, woohoo! i checked out weather.com (basically my most visited website ever), and they had this to say:

A VERY COLD STORM SYSTEM OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE WESTERN GREAT BASIN LATE THURSDAY. THIS STORM WILL MOVE SLOWLY EAST THROUGH NEVADA...AND STRENGTHEN AS IT APPROACHES WESTERN UTAH. THIS SLOW- MOVING STORM WILL PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION OVER WESTERN UTAH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND INTO FRIDAY.

sweet. it goes on to say that the temperatures will drop significantly as this system moves out. frankly, i'm just crossing my fingers for it to move quickly. i'm glad to have the spironolactone (med for low barometric pressure migraines), but it's either not enough, or just doesn't work that well. :) i'll be back with more fun things soon! definitely Footwear Friday, if not before.

the first ever FOOTWEAR FRIDAY

2007-09-28T12:08:00.000-06:00

friends, those of you who know me in real life know that i LOVE shoes. love them. adore them. have an abnormal fixation with them. have upwards of 80 pairs of them.....so i've decided (with much encouragement from the Edge and the Muum) to start a series about my shoes and why i love them. i would love it if other people joined in, we could do a Mr. Linky and go see each other's fabulous shoes! that'd be sweet. let me know in the comments if you'd be interested in sharing a pair of your shoes per week, and telling us anything about them.

but in any case, here are mine:

i bought these shoes early this summer, from Ross -- Ross and TJ Maxx are one of my favorite places to find shoes. One thing you should know about me and shoes is, i have a lot of them, but i do not have a lot to spend on them. if i did, whoa boy, could i do some damage. ;)

this pair was for my graduation outfit, i knew i wanted a wedge heel, possibly an espadrille, or maybe something like a wedge sandal. for some reason i was having trouble finding a nice looking espadrille, all i could find in stores was canvas type upper, and i had something nicer in mind. of course, if i were willing to spend more than $100, i could've found anything, but the finances, they are limited when it comes to shoe buying. :) when i saw these at ross, i knew they were the ones. the heavens opened, the angels sang, you know. just a perfect shopping moment. luckily, they also fit.

(one more important note, my left foot is bigger than my right, so when you see my right foot only, it might look like the shoe is too big -- this is only to accomodate the bigger left foot.)

i am just in love with the leather straps, and the cork wedge. so cute. you can't really see the very bottome of the back, and the bottome of the shoe, which is rubberized with a little traction, almost like a space-age dress shoe. funky. i like it.

and i LOVE the straps and buckles. here is is on the outside side of the shoe.

these are Kenneth Cole reaction, size 6 1/2.

2007-09-24T17:10:00.001-06:00

the first snow of the season fell on our mountains last night. it is beautiful.

today was also another doctor's appointment -- it was at the House of Pain. so we talked over how the pain med was going -- it hasn't been having too impressive a showing. so we're upping the dosage once more, to see if it'll help more. if not, we're going to scrap it and try something else. i'm pleased to be working with doctors i feel good about.

a pretty uneventful trip today. but a good day. i'm hopeful. even if this med doesn't work out, there are 5 other (similar) formulations of the same drug. and i'm pleased to feel like we're working actively on the preventative angle with my neurologist as well.

2007-09-15T12:04:00.000-06:00

This week is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week.

what a mouthful.

but seeing as how migraines (esp. daily ones) fit well into this category, i'd like to acknowledge it. more information can be found here, here, and here. Plenty of good reading about this week, and invisible chronic illnesses in general.

on a totally related note, i thought i'd give a little summary of my most recent doctor's appointment, to see a headache and migraine specialist. thankfully, this was not just a consultation (like last time), but she's going to continue to see me. hallelujah!

so the things we changed were these:
1- back to only treating w/meds a maximum of 3 migraines per week. sad but true.
2 - changed the tegretol to tegretol extended release. hopefully this will keep a more consistent level of the drug in my blood, and therefore help me feel better more consistently. we'll see.
3 - added nortriptyline. i can take it at night and it makes me sleepy, also she is hoping it helps my mood. could possibly help prevent migraines. we'll see.
4 - i need to spend five minutes 4 times a day exercising - on top of my pilates. usually i walk for 5 minutes. it's such a short time, it's hard to even get into it. she wants me to be more active, and believes it will help me to do more, and possibly help prevent migraines (are you seeing a theme here?)
5 - keeping a headache journal. i hate these, but am willing to do it.

soooo that's a lot of changes. but you know me, i'll try anything if i think it'll help! so far the nortriptyline is definitely improving my sleep - getting to sleep is easier. i feel like i've been able to do more, also. truly, the thing i'm most excited about is that she said she's going to continue to see me - and that she also believes (like me) that migraines which are difficult to treat are not necessarily a result of psychological difficulties. thank goodness.

she also mentioned (as i have been told several times before) that the longer i go on in daily pain, the less likely we are to be able to 'fix' it. that's somewhat discouraging, but honestly i would be ok still being in -some- pain everyday. i just would prefer much less. :)

The Sassy Lime

onward and upward

Hard Conversations and Tough Choices

starting off with some random movie quotes

Father's Day

I Won!?!

schtuff

the spotlight is on me!

a tale of culinary woe.

a little wedding recap

decisions, decisions

new hair...again. and of course, headache talk

gah

Pain -- expands the Time -- by Emily Dickinson

Happy Mother's Day

linky goodness

another day, making travel plans

I Measure Every Grief I meet -- by Emily Dickinson

side effects

Enchanted

the story of the bath pouf...

home again!

craft day recap!

There's nobody like my sister!

Coping with headaches and migraines

Bread pudding

tagged!

photobucket meme

recent crochet projects

a movie meme

new hair!

ugly shoe alert

chicago post -- part 3

chicago part 2 -- headache business

Chicago post! part 1

Writing from the hospital

have you ever...

the sassy lime -- now with LESS whining!

"physical therapy"

a few thoughts on pain

on reading

one word.

stress in the life of emily?

Mememememememememe

Success!

news of both kinds

a recent conversation...

Tagged again!

my wedge pillow

lip balm

Footwear Friday! **UPDATED**

something i made last month

overheard...

Footwear Friday!

CD review

Footwear Friday....on Tuesday!

an update on me and a question for you

in other news...

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

8 things meme

2 posts in 2 days?!?

Footwear Friday!

Snow!

Update on the trip!

Footwear Friday!

the first ever FOOTWEAR FRIDAY

Footwear Friday! UPDATED