Happy 4th of July

We are kicking back today and relaxing some. I've been super tired all week. I'm not sure if it is from all the stress and such all week or if it is my lupus/RA trying to flare up again. It had been in remission. I go back in August so I guess I'll see what they say then. Stress can cause it to do that so I wouldn't be surprised. Anyway. Managed to go to two fireworks shows here locally which I hadn't been to one in forever. It was really nice. This next week is going to be back to the grindstone in a way. I get one or two teeth pulled, my mom goes to her first dr appt since she's been home the day after that and I am trying to brace myself because I am expecting some uncomfortable topics that I know my mom isn't going to want to discuss but has to be brought up with her. We shall see how that goes. After that hoping the week goes fairly smoothly til I have to go in and see the foot dr the following week. They had told me before that if my foot continues to get worse I may need special shoes OR I may need surgery. Maybe they will have another option. I have bone spurs in both feet but this feels different. It is the same foot that has been broken before and healed with out being reset so that may be part of the problem too. Who knows. Anyway then after that it is count down for school enrollment. This spring/summer has seemed to fly by. My son doesn't start back til Sept so he has a bit longer. He got some glasses to wear to help too and I have to say they look pretty sharp. He's been getting back into making duct tape bags and satchels. I'm gathering craft supplies myself for us to do when the youngest is gone to school during the day. Anyway here are some pics of our latest flowers that have bloomed. 

 My stargazer. There are several more on the stem but this is the one that bloomed. My youngest broke it off so I took it and put it in the vase I etched (can't see the etching here) and it bloomed. There has been another that bloomed since but I thought my mom might enjoy them so I had taken them to her house. 

 My canna's.. I love how these appear golden and red in the sun

 Makes you feel like you have a tiny tropical area in your yard. 

 I like the bright orange of these

 These always have a tinge of color to them

Some of the fireworks from the show

Rough times

As always we'll get through of course but I hate when several things pounce on us at once. Seems like it is that way for everyone here lately pretty much. For us it just kept rolling in like waves in a rising tide. My mom is experiencing some health issues that I won't go into too much other than to say she had to go to a hospital for a bit and not one close by where I could go see her like I normally would. This place turned out to be the most unprofessional I have EVER experienced. The case manager could not seem to tell me anything with out either lying completely or changing direction on things quickly so that I couldn't even keep track. Saying she had med changes...she did not. Nothing had changed. Saying she would deliver some news to her for me (she had other news waiting that was going to be rough but I didn't want her to be hit with all of it at one time) and she said she'd deliver this news to prepare her so she wouldn't be sent into shock upon returning home and of course she didn't relay it I finally called and complained and someone else there delivered it but not til she was headed out the door. They make sure patients don't get their calls and something always comes up to keep them from calling out. The nurses were nice but it seems upper management sucked serious arse. Her side of it was rather unpleasant as well. Such a confusing and horrible situation. She is finally home now. Unfortunately there is still news to deliver and that is going to be hard to do but it will have to be done but I am giving her some time at home before I let her know. We lost my aunt recently and rather suddenly to a bacterial infection. Completely unexpected and she was the last of my mom's siblings. Thankfully my kids all got to meet her when she came down a year or so ago. My mom got to go visit her in Arizona where she is from as well. Her husband had passed not too long ago (a couple of years) and my Uncle. (the other one had passed a long while back) so there has been a lot of loss all around w/ the family. On my dad's side too. I found out I lost another aunt back in May on his side. Anyway too much. There are a lot of changes expected to come our way soon and as always must roll with the tide as much as possible to keep from being swept out to sea. (yeah I'm feeling symbolic right now so bear with me) anyway. 
We went to an early 4th of July show in Shawnee this last weekend. Hadn't been to one in a while. The fireworks display lasted about 20 minutes and was great. I'd not seen one that long. My son found a fave teacher of his and her husband so he went and hung out with them for awhile with the police vehicle thing visiting. My youngest decided she liked the inflatable slide and spent a lot of time on it and tried riding the mechanical bull even and did really good with that. She found lots of friends to play with while we were waiting on the fireworks to start. 
I've been doing the classes at the local library and really enjoying them. My husband goes and our youngest actually prefers doing some of the adult activities with him helping her to doing the childrens ones. She doesn't like the big crowd I don't think even if we sit at the back. (though I enjoyed them so far the musical one was cool) I found a lady and her family at the ones I go to that so far I hope I keep running in to them. They are hilarious and I enjoy being around them. :) So far we've done paintings, made dyed scarves, and done glass etching. That led to me getting a glass etching kit to try at home.  So far everything has turned out really well. (the youngest of course did not participate in the glass etching) 

 barn my youngest painted together with hubby. I think she caught on to all the talk in the room that we live in Oklahoma therefore we needed tornadoes in our pictures LOL We were all kind of giggling a bit over this. She made hubby help her paint the animals and flowers in. 

 My barn. I was surprised when they said that was the subject matter as my mom has been wanting me to paint a barn for her for FOREVER so I gave this to her when completed. I need to do another painting to enter in the county fair. My son needs to get busy on his entry too I think. The pond at the bottom and fence were just random ideas. No one's was the same. I love seeing how everyone's turns out. 

 Hard to see but my glass etched birds. I need to take new pics with some black paper inside to help show the birds better. 

Abby's side of the scarf she and hubby worked on

 his side of the scarf

 My scarf. You use sharpies and spray it down with alcohol. 

 Came out water color looking

I'd like to go to more classes maybe the knitting one and crochet. My son said he might do those with me. I have been continuing with my walking though not keeping record like I was. Using handweights and it took a half an inch off my arms and all so far. Haven't been using those for long. Right now I am so exhausted I think I'd fall asleep immediately if I tried to lay down. 

Muggy weather

I am so not a fan of the heat but to be honest I am still over this last winter. Nothing a good tall glass with lots of ice in it can't handle just yet. Trying to get out and do more walking and so far we haven't missed a day that I can think of. Even if it is just a short walk and I know I am really enjoying them. My son usually takes his bike along and my youngest her scooter (though she tends to hand that to the hubby to be carried) I recently had a bit of a scare in which my rheumatologist had ordered some blood work because my previous blood work had showed my liver enzymes were too high. They were at first reassuring me it is okay don't worry too much because we always order these when they show high etc. Well then it came time for me to go get the test. I took it to our local hospital and at first went over to the clinic where they said my insurance may or may not cover it. If not covered it would cost me nearly $500 which I don't have but they wouldn't know til they took it and sent it in though the billing person tried to tell me they would bill me up front if it didn't cover it ....though they wouldn't know til they sent it in. so confusing. Anyway so they told me to take it and try over at the actual hospital so I did after leaving a message with the Rheumy. I go in and there they give me about 100$ cheaper estimate but they said they'd have to contact my Rheumy and try to get a different code to put it under that it should be covered if the correct code is used so I left it with them and went home to wait. I get home and had a call from the Rheumy saying whatever you do you have to have this test done it is extremely important that you do this etc. So anyway there were some communication problems but I finally got the test done. Then I had to wait another week. Then it became a problem of I couldn't get the results from the lab w/out going in and I was swamped and couldn't go and they were faxing it to the Rheumy but the Rheumy wasn't getting it...only to find out later they WERE it was just placed in the wrong person's file and the faxes sent after that were thrown away. I was like WTH? Here I am over here panicking and this is going on? Anyway so I finally got to hear my results yesterday and I am negative for any Hepatitis which was what their concern was. I was super nervous after finding out what that would have meant for me. With that going on my Mom is having some health issues that I won't go into detail about only to say she is currently being observed by a dr and I am waiting to see what the future holds with that. I am right now not sure but either way it will affect us what the results turn out to be so that is something that is weighing heavily on me. It has been a stressful time. I've been so busy that I haven't been on nearly so much and I've been trying to squeeze in some down time. Today was a mostly down time kind of day but I've still found it hard to sit still because I've gotten used to the constant going and constant doing. Thankfully my meloxicam is helping a wee bit with regular motion so I can do some of the things I need to do around here but there is something badly wrong with my foot that I am probably going to have to go back in about. It is likely my bone spur acting up again (sometimes I really feel like that elderly lady that gripes about her health a lot.....mostly I am more annoyed that I have so much going on and it slows me down) If so this may require surgery but I don't know yet anyway. They told me last time I have no arches in my feet and I would likely be coming back in...well here i am. I am still doing my knitting and am almost finished with a large shawl that I've been working on for awhile. May try to make some flowers and such to put on the back of it. On another note I took a painting class at the library (hey even experienced artists can benefit from this) and found it to be very enjoyable and learned a few things.  This is my completed painting. 

This one is what my youngest did with Daddy in the same class: 

 They were having a wee bit of fun there as you can tell LOL The librarians were getting a kick out of it. There were a lot of people saying it was Oklahoma so they needed tornadoes and such in their paintings LOL :D I am planning on trying to go to another couple of classes or so for different things. 

Checking in

I like finding little things in nature like this heart shape in a rock that one of the kids found. Anyway figured I hadn't checked in a few and wanted to do a quick update. My daughter had her little girl who is about 2 1/2 weeks old now. Weighing in at 7 1/2 lbs and 19 1/2 inches long.  Momma and baby both are doing great. My other daughter lives out of state now so is a bit disappointed about not getting to see her niece I think but we try to keep pictures going that way for her. (Facebook is a great thing for that) Our other family member finally has gotten to leave the hospital so gets to recover at home now. Yay! I am finally seeing a rheumatologist but am still trying to get a hold of them to find out about my blood work they took (I mean they took like 6-7 frikking vials) So we'll see what comes of that. I did get to go to the museum in Norman while we were there. I haven't done any trips like that in ages. Normally my anxiety levels get the best of me but I did okay. Took the camera which has become a source of calming for me in a way. So long as I have fresh batteries and a clean memory card to fill. 

Of course there are lots of other pics. The black armband is from having the blood draw. Which I just got the call to let me know I am in remission which is great news. (yes RA and Lupus both or either can do that though there is no indication of how long I might be in remission)  We are wondering if the reason for the remission is due to the fact that I've had to be on antibiotics and steroids for nearly 3 months now consistently if not longer. I just had a pleurisy attack in the last month which can get kind of nasty. (mainly just horribly painful to move or breathe) but they did find that one on X-ray. Though my liver enzymes are off a bit they said so I have to have more blood work for that. Hopefully that won't be anything. We are trying to make sure and have the kids at all the library functions this summer. They enjoy going and they usually have some pretty interesting things going on. We went to the kick off program and saw the disc dogs and all and it was actually pretty awesome despite it being probably close to 100 degrees out. I sunburned which sometimes it is hard to tell at first because neither me or my youngest tolerate temp changes or extremes well and so we were both bright red. I am hoping that later this summer I can muster myself into making a zoo trip or something big like that. We'll see. If so it will be a big thing for me. The kids usually get to go with their schools or something. We are trying to get back into the groove of taking our nightly walks again and I am trying to do my belly dancing more often again. It is still a good low impact exercise that seems to actually help my joints some plus it is fun. I need to really pick something to do for the county fair as I haven't even started on that yet things have been too hectic. I have some stuff on the back shelf idea wise for my knitting to learn too. Some things I can pick up super quickly on and adapt to do different things with and that is one of them it seems. I look forward to being able to make new and different things. Well I have more blogging to do but I am going to grab a moment to do some artwork. 

Life goes on

 

This is a drawing I did of my furbaby Pounce. (digital done using Lascaux on 2draw.net) He came to us after the loss of my youngest son who passed of Trisomy 18. My mom had a batch of kittens that she brought down and he was one of them. He was supposed to be my husbands cat but I wound up bonding with him. Later when we had our last child (my youngest daughter) they grew side by side. I was nursing her and instead of using one of those boppy pillows I used a body pillow and he'd lay beside her sleeping while she nursed. It seemed he was always as long as she was tall. When they started getting big enough that not both could lay on the pillow they'd somewhat bicker over the space :)  He always would come comfort me through some of the toughest times I went through. Which in the last few years there have been many and most of them were over the top rough for me. I went through a lot of loss and a lot of stress even going through another TIA (mini stroke) during this. He was always there. He was like a big teddy bear and I could just wrap my arms around him. He was very protective of me and would put a paw on my husbands hand if he was trying to rub my back or something and give him a look and meow at him like hey this is mine LOL. It was sort of a silly game thing in a way. I'd take him in with me for naps and he'd perch himself on my stomach or legs and watch me sleep. We considered him as much a family member as everyone else. Before he passed he weighed in at a little over 30lbs and was about 4ft long (tail included) He was a big boy. He had a soft spot for the kittens and would even let them nurse on his fur and he'd bathe them and play with them. He never used his claws though a gentle setting his teeth on you was enough to say you'd pushed his patience too far. He was a very gentle boy. I feel an empty spot where he was in my life and I still look for him though I know he isn't here. He is greatly missed. I was always was able to fix him up when he was injured but not this time. It turns out bladder blockages are common in males especially neutered ones and can take them pretty quickly. I had one other male cat who had this same problem when I was a kid. He was about 16yrs old (Pounce was still a young cat at about 4) but it is something to raise awareness of.  We planted a rose bush in his honor and put our sons stepping stones around it for like a memorial area. 

On other notes I have one family member who can now be deemed a cancer survivor (I can't say any more than that but I am so very glad to still have them around) I have a grandbaby on the way any time now and we are working on some improvements around our home. I plan on working on a project or so for the county fair later in the fall and we are working on container gardening which is actually going pretty well right now. We plan to rebuild our front porch and some other projects but of course as always our lives stay hectic. 

sunshine

 the snakes are out. This is a non-venomous (yeah like I'd be holding a venomous one LOL) brown snake. This little guy was hanging out around my bird bath when I was cleaning the garden spot out around it. They will eat a lot of insects and small pests around your garden. 

Baby's breath I think? In any case the flowers are blooming lots of great pics to take and planting to do. 

 Toads are also out. My son found this one in my MIL's flower bed and we found another at my Mom's. You can hear the spring peepers too :) 

The trees are finally starting to sprout leaves and I am forever fascinated by all the new growth. I've got some plants started and even got my first strawberry off of one of my strawberry plants. Wishing it would stay sunny but I also realize we need the rain. I hate being cold. I don't function well when I get cold. I have been picking up loom knitting still and made several items so far and am trying to learn different techniques and all. I love it very addicting. My attention span is all over the place so sometimes it is hard to stay focused :) Will post a better blog later. I haven't even been able to keep with my artwork as much as of late but will get back on that soon :) 

Spring fever...or cedar fever

 Older artrage drawing

Well it appears spring is finally upon us. Unfortunately for myself as well as for many other Oklahomans (and Texans) this particular last few months (Jan-March) is cedar fever time. For me this means severe breathing problems and this year I was diagnosed with bronchitis with possible (likely) pneumonia. Dr basically said they would have done the X-rays for it but decided since they were medicating anyway for it there radiation exposure was redundant and not needed. I was told I can expect the cough for about a month. yay me. I am definitely not the only one suffering from it right now it is affecting a LOT of people the same way. It makes me want to move to a state with less (or no LOL) cedar trees as this particular months are scary for me and my family. It has actually killed a few people from what I understand. If I had the way and the means I'd do it. Someplace with a pool that I could breathe. Not TOO hot but not overly cold either. Very sick of that too. My mom is recovering from her broken hip and doing great with that. Now is the time I'd like to be spending doing yard work and clean up and yet I have to limit my time outside :( Want so bad to go enjoy the sunshine. I am so white right now. Want to start going on my walks (I set the 20th ...first day of spring and my anniversary to start that) I've been on a steroid for the stuff I've been fighting that increases appetite. Sucks when  you are trying to lose weight but I needed it. (besides the other I've been fighting sinusitis and upper respiratory you name it) I am anxious to start setting up seed planting and going to the garden center. 

The other day I had a weird incident where my computer froze so I rebooted and it came up with an entirely new screen. Not like an earlier version or anything like that it was like I had a completely different version of windows installed. All my settings were gone for Chrome etc. So I get everything set back up and then next think I know when it rebooted the next day for AVG updates...BOOM it was back to the way it had been originally with all my original settings restored. Dang possessed computer. 

My youngest child has decided (thank you lego movie and McDonalds) that she loves batman now and her favorite color is black LOL :) She insisted on wearing a cape to bed one night and declared she couldn't wear earrings anymore (she just got them back in December) because batman doesn't. Got around that one by telling her you never know he might be under that mask. O.o LOL She told me last night her new favorite birds were Robins LOL She cracks me up. She also told me she needs to check my hair for "sharks". There is a syfy movie right there. We are trying to loosely make plans for spring break. Might just do spur of the moment stuff since planning never works out well for us. Hopefully everyone will be doing well enough to enjoy it. My son's birthday also falls during spring break. 

Also I'd just like to take the time again to recommend Zinni for anyone who wears glasses. Love them. They are cheaper than most places for the frames (lenses depend on your prescription but still not bad) Shipping took a while the first time but the 2nd was here pretty much in a week. Most of the things like scratch coat and all are free, comes with a really nice lens cleaning cloth etc. You can order tinting, sunglasses (got some this last time that are clip ons for my frames) etc. Customize to your hearts content and then you can upload a pic of yourself and see what you'd look like in them. (one of my fave things because at the eye dr office I am blind as a frikking bat w/out mine so I am looking blankly in the mirror going ummmm when they say how do you like these. I have no idea. I can't see a damned thing!

I hope I can at least accomplish some of my goals this spring. Something always comes up but I try to focus on what I was actually able to get done. My art has been on hold for a bit. I am dying to get my hands on a piano and paint it for some reason. I may give in and do it when I get the shed and all cleaned out and have a workspace. right now I don't I would want to sell it after and I would like to start up doing Avon again. Seriously giving it some thought. It would be worth it if I had anyone that wanted to order. I have felt like I've been waiting on something the last few years and more recently I feel like I am almost to it. Couldn't tell you what it is ...just one of those feelings other than it is a good thing and involves self goals. Weird when you have a feeling like that and can't really explain what it is or why but hey it is a positive one so no complaints here. I guess I need to finish a few things up and go take the kids outside (drag them out LOL) and get some sunshine for a little bit while I can. Listening to Polica right now. I am so hooked on that band. Kind of haunting in a way. I love the way they sound. May blog more soon.