Midwest Heat Wave Sure is a Pain

The Midwest is being hit by a heat wave this week, which is keeping a lot of people indoors. Today the feels like was 115. When I walk outdoors it’s like walking into a sauna. The heat has kept my daughter and I from taken our short walks in the evening. I’ve been desperate to reduce my pain level so I’m trying to exercise some. The heat has been affecting our air conditioner too. It seems the heat wave has increased my pain level. I don’t know if it’s the heat or a typical pain flare up. This morning my pain level was a 7 out of 10 and I thought I was going to lose my mind. Thankfully as the day went on my pain reduced some.

Do changes in weather affect your pain level?  How do you decrease your pain level? Have you been hit with the heat wave this week?

Homeschool Kids Need Ink Too

I have been homeschooling my daughter for the last couple of years. It was not an easy chose to home school her in the high school years, but it was the best thing for her. We usually buy most of our school supplies before public and private school kids go back to school. But some of the supplies we have to purchase throughout the year. One of them is printer ink and the other is mechanical lead for my daughter’s pencil. We have a Brother multiple function printer. It has four different cartridges for the printer which is supposed to save you money by only replacing the ink you need, but I am not sure if it really does save money. It seems like we run out of black ink at the same time as the other cartridges. I think if I replace the printer I will check into a Dell printer because I can find cheap Dell printer cartridges. I’d like a dell printer because I recently got a Dell computer for Christmas. It was a great gift because my old computer had seen better days. My daughter prints a lot of her school work so I cannot wait for the ink to arrive in the mail. But I am thinking about buying the ink now so I will have the ink for the future.

2 Cleanings a Year Keeps the Extraction Away

Last week, I had a tooth pulled which has been in the works for the last couple of months. I was supposed to have the tooth pulled back in November, but I was sick with an upper respiratory infection. The last thing someone with lupus needs to do is have a tooth pulled out when their immune system is low anyways. So I had to cancel the appointment the day before. It took a lot of nerve for me to go to a dentist at all. It took me over 15 years (yes, you read it right.) to get the guts to have the tooth pulled. Back when I was pregnant with my daughter I had a filling done and the filling did not stay. If I knew then that I had a vitamin D deficiency it would have explained to me why my teeth kept on chipping and I was drinking at least a gallon of milk while I was pregnant with my daughter. Really, it should have been a light bulb moment for my doctor, but he probably figured it was just another crazy pregnancy craving. I could not get enough milk throughout my pregnancy, but I could not drink any juice at all. If I could go back I would have gone back to the dentist to get the tooth filled again or pulled earlier. If you have had a molar pulled you know what I mean. I thought I was going to lose my mind while the dentist was trying to yank this tooth out of my mouth. On top of that I started feeling the pain from the actual scalpel (not sure if that is what a dentist uses to cut around a tooth.) cutting into my gums. She would have numbed it again, but I was afraid I would chicken out when she returned. It took all I could to finish the extraction. I held onto the side of my pants and the chair to refocus my mind. I was told to try to refocus my mind on the music playing, but who can hear any music over the suction machine. I was concerned about having an excessive amount of bleeding because I have a platelet deficiency. So I had good reason to be concerned. In my next post I’ll share ways to find dental service less expensive. I need to have some fillings done next time I see the dentist. I am hoping she will do them all at the same time. I need to buy a splint for my TMJ, but I am not sure if I will be able to afford to buy a new one. I have to have an exam from a new dentist, fitted with the splint, and purchase a new splint. My mouth is beginning to feel better now, but my TMJ is still in an uproar.

Is It True 2009 is Almost Over?

Did anyone realize we’ve almost said goodbye to 2009? You know what that means the holidays are right around the corner. My daughter is working on a list for her Christmas and her birthday. A lot of the things she wants involves some kind of bling bling or blinding colors. I usually buy her some kind of cosmetic jewelry for her birthday. One year I bought a box, filled it up all year full of cosmetic jewelry and pony tail holders. It was easier to shop when she was younger.

Changes Everywhere

As a child, my Mom had to buy a new dresser for my brother and me. She tried to buy two different colors of dressers for us. She had to purchase the same color dresser and style for both of us. We still fought over the dressers even thought they were the same. A few years ago, when I purchased a new dresser and desk for my daughter’s room I was surprised the different styles and colors available. Today, I checked out North Carolina Furniture for a new sofa for my living and I was surprised how different the furniture changed from just a few years ago. I’m always surprised how different things change from year to year.

Do They Ever Stop Growing?

My daughter’s sixteenth birthday is in a few months. It’s hard to believe she’s so close to being an adult. In all honesty, I’m not looking forward to her eighteenth birthday. It’s not that I’m not proud of her; it’s just hard seeing my baby growing up. She’s grown into a respectful, honest, kind and sweet young lady. It’s hard planning for her sixteenth birthday on a tight budget. I need to check around for prices on party favors. I wish I could rewind the time to her being a little girl again. It amazes me how fast time flies in life, where’s a time traveler when you need one.

She’s crazy about polka dots, dogs, and Avril Lavigne. I’m trying to combine all of them together to create the perfect party themes for her sweet sixteen. I need to buy party favors, food, and birthday gifts for her. I’m not sure what I’m going to buy her this year, but it has to be special. She might like these Hollywood party favors I found online. I found a company that offers some creative party ideas for just about any party.  The party favors I found are Hollywood squares just like the ones in California for the stars. I think it’ll be a perfect party for a sweet sixteen, but I’ll have to save money to afford her birthday surprise.

For her birthday I’d like to set up tables with party food. I’m not sure if I’m going to bake her cake or have someone else bake her cake. I’d like to decorate her cake with pink and blue polka dots with small dogs in each dot. I’m sure it’ll be an interesting cake for any cake decorator. Chances are they won’t decorate a cake like this again. Just like the cake my daughter is original too. For decorations I’d like to buy some pink and blue streamers and make a poster with happy sixteenth birthday.

Friday Fill-Ins #3

1. So are we going to have a good Friday or are we going to argue all day over nothing?

2. Hopefully a good thing is what’s up ahead.

3. I love to write, I could eat and sleeping writing, yeah I know it’s crazy,but so is lupus, so were even.

4. I’d love to enjoy something new of some sort.

5. I walk a mile in my own footsteps, but not many could do the same.

6. Not living in fear all the time  is the true elixir of life!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to again watching Ghost Whisper and Medium, tomorrow my plans include taking my daughter to tae kwon do, but I’m not sure if it will happen yet and Sunday, I want to get out of this darn house!

Precious Things In Life

The lessons I’ve learned in life:
I’ve learned to appreciate the small things in life.
The most precious gifts are the ones that don’t cost a cent.
The expensive gifts soon become a part of the distant past

The most precious gift :
The love of my daughter
The love of a daughter doesn’t cost one red cent to me.
It’s the kind of love a mother never forgets

The small things I’ve learned to love are:
Flowers growing in my small, but mighty garden
The sounds of birds laying a nest on my awning
Hummingbirds drinking sugar water from my bird feeder
Dogs chasing each other through the house.
My male dog sneaking up on the female dog to tell her off
My family that loves me uncondtionally

What I’m thankful for the most:
Having life and being able to breathe even on those days I’m in so much pain.
On those days I have to remind myself it’ll pass and repeat the sernity prayer.

How to Build Character in Kids

My daughter has been volunteering at library for over a year. I’m so proud of how hard she’s been working there. Its funny she didn’t like in the beginning. Now she loves it so much that she can’t wait to work again. She helps sort books, file books, color papers for the little kids and a lot of other things. I think it’s important to teach your kids to volunteer because it builds character and teaches responsibility. It helps her work with the community, which teaches her a lot of things. It helps her do something she enjoys away from dealing with my lupus.

Times are Hard for So Many People

I used to be able to save money each month for a rainy day, but now I’m spending every cent on my living expenses. The biggest price increase has been cable, power, clothing, and food. I’m no longer shocked at the price hikes in the grocery store or department store. I never thought I’d see the day when it’s cheaper to buy something at a department store clearance rack then a thrift store. It used to be I could buy some nice shirts and bottoms for my daughter for fewer than ten dollars. Now, I’m lucky to find a shirt for five dollars with tears and stains on it. I’ve yet to find the justification for such high prices on clothing that’s given to them for free. I understand overhead expenses, but it’s cheaper to buy from a department store clearance rack. The grocery store is no different with the price hikes. Just this week the price of boneless skinless chicken breast went up fifty cents a bag. It doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but every cent counts when you’re living on a tight budget. Next time they go on special I’ll buy several bags to put in my new freezer. The extra cost of the chicken could have gone into my daughter’s college fund or to save for a rainy day. I’m no longer shocked at the price hikes; it used to be my mouth would drop at the prices. I’ve had to cash out my savings just to survive which I had put away to buy a new car or van in the future. It’s not been an easy year where money is concerned.I’ve seen the cd rates fall on my mother’s savings  too so she’s not been able to help us.  Things have been up and down so much going to have movie with my daughter requires check my expenses over and over. I’ll be so glad when prices go down and I can afford to enjoy some of the simpler enjoyments in life.