I am updating my blog template....

So my page may be funky for a few days til I finish. Just a word of warning ;)

I love the Fall

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions. When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy. You prefer change to come slowly. You need a long transition period when your life changes. You find love to be the most comforting thing in the world. You feel at peace when you're with your loved ones. Your ideal day is spontaneous and surprising. You like to play things by ear, and you always end up doing something interesting. You are very impatient. You spend more time waiting for something than actually enjoying it.

The Autumn Test

Mmmmuffins!

You Are a Blueberry Muffin

You are a nurturing, domestic, homey person. Of all the types, you are the most likely to make your own muffins at home. You don't like to rock the boat, and you're most content when you're making everyone else happy. You are very loyal. You'll defend your family and friends, even if you secretly disapprove of what they're doing. You tend to be a bit shy and withdrawn. You don't make friends quickly or easily. But once you do make a good friend, the chances are high that you'll be friends for life.

What Kind of Muffin Are You?

My kitchen table...

has been turned into a card-making station - lol.

Christmas Ornaments

I made my Christmas ornments last nite and they came out so cute! Check em out.



I made these with clear glass ornaments, filling them with synthetic snow, snowflake sequins, some blue beads, bells, and other misc. things that would fit in that tiny hole - lol. I made a lil pom-pom snowman with pipecleaner arms and hat and tiny black bead eyes and buttons to put inside of the ornament, using a needle and thread to attach it to the metal ornament "lid," using a glue gun to both secure the thread and to create a seal on the ornament to prevent any of the fake snow from leaking out and making a mess. I put other things in other ornaments, too, such as mini stockings (with my friends' names on them), mini ornament snowmen, candy canes and holiday light bulbs.


Here are some more pics:


I love the holidays! Now to make Christmas cards.

I have a purty, pink foot now - lol

The doctor changed the bandages on my foot and put a new, smaller bandage on. Isn't it purty?

He said it is looking good. I saw it for the first time since the surgery, and it looked awful to me - lol. There is a row of stitches going up the side of my foot now and it looked red and a little bloody. Plus, there is a pin sticking out of my little toe, holding it straight in place. The x-rays showed that the toe is now straight (it was crooked before), so that is a good thing.

I get the stitches taken out on November 11th, but the pin doesn't come out for a few weeks yet. I can go back to work after the stitches are out, as long as I am sitting down 90% of the time, cuz if I do too much walking, it will cause swelling and a lot of pain. I ended up taking a Vicodin today cuz, well, I HAD to go to Michael's and then to Sam's Club (I love their soft pretzels). Don't worry....my mom drove - lol. But that was too much walking and now my foot is throbbing :(

I am working on Christmas ornaments. I will have some pictures soon :) I upzipped all my computer files too, since I can do that sitting down - hehe. I HATE having to sit around. Those 2 days after surgery where I was not allowed to do any walking but to the bathroom were hell! Sitting down gets old really fast, I tell you! Now that I CAN walk around a bit, it hurts too much to do it for too long, but at least I can clean and stuff (even if I can't take a shower yet - argh - don't worry - I have been keeping clean - LOL!)

Is it just me....

or does Carrot Top look like Annie on steroids?

A clear head is a good thing to have

Well, it's day 2 of no brain buzzing, so that is a very good sign. Hopefully, the worst is behind me. A clear head is a good thing to have!!! I didn't realize how much I took it for granted til now.

I should be back to my old self in no time, so watch out - hehe

My journey the hell: Living thru Cymbalta withdrawal

I was prescribed Cymbalta to help with pain and sleeplessness, which were caused by fibromyalgia. After helping neither the pain or the sleeplessness, I decided to quit taking the drug. I never, not in a million years, would have thought it would be this hard.

I have never smoked or done any drugs, so I don't know what withdrawal from those things is like, but if it is anything like this, then I can totally understand how people have such a difficult time quitting.

Let me tell you something: My life before Cymbalta was just fine. I never thought of hurting myself. I never had such a short temper or had such frequent mood swings. Ever since starting taking Cymbalta, my life has not been the same. I wasn't aware of these withdrawal effects. My doctor never mentioned them. I had read over all the potential side effects when I was first prescribed it, and it all seemed reasonable. Nothing about the potential withdrawal effects tho. I guess they "forgot" about those.

I have been "tapering off" Cymbalta for nearly 2 months now, taking 1 pill every other day, then every other other day, and so on and so forth. I have now been completely off the drug for over 2 weeks, and every day is a struggle to stay sane.

I shift moods from extreme anger to extreme sadness at a drop of a hat. I have hot spells and break out into cold sweats. I have horrible nightmares that make me not want to sleep. My brain feels like it is always "buzzing." I am dizzy all of the time. My head feels like it is stuck in a pinball machine, bouncing from side to side. I can't concentrate or remember things. I am easily distracted and confused. I get these strange "brain zaps." I get stressed out very easily. My head hurts all of the time. Sometimes, I feel like I would be better off dead. I can't take much more of this head buzzing thing. It is so nerve racking! I feel like a freakin' zombie sometimes.

I never had these problems before Cymbalta. Instead of helping my problems, it has CREATED new problems for me.

For now, I am just going to continue doing what I am doing: living one day at a time. Hoping to one day have my life back. And always hoping that tomorrow will be a better, brain-zapless day.

All bandaged up, all purty like

Here is my foot in the recovery stage. I am not allowed to take off the bandages or to get them wet (so no showers - lol). I have my first post op visit on the 4th. So far, it hasn't been too bad. It is sore and hurts to walk on it, but the pain hasn't been too overwhelming - whew.

i am a couch potato

I am back from my surgery, and it went fine. I don't have a whole lot of pain (probably thanks to the vicodin - lol) and not a whole lot of swelling either. I have to be a couch potato for a few days - no walking except to and from the bathroom, and no removing the bandages. I am glad it is over, cuz I was a basket case stressing over it. Now I feel like I was worrying for nothing - lol.

New toy ;)

I am enjoying the Sidekick so much, that I went out and bought the Big Kick. It can cut mat board, fabric, craft metal and more. I am so making all of my Christmas cards this year - hehe.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Cuddles.

Cuddles strikes a happy Halloween pose.

My right foot - the pain continues

I am ticked off. I was supposed to have foot surgery yesterday. But, of all the luck, the doctor was sick yesterday, so no surgery. Now I have to wait til the 28th (which is my mom's birthday - lol) to have it done. So I have to continue to hobble around with my painful foot for a few more days. Go figure.

Look what I bought for myself - hehe

I have wanted a die cutting machine for just about forever. Michael's was having a 40% off sale on all their Sizzix products, so I caved and bought me one ... and some dies too :) Sales are so great! I can't wait to start using it!!!! Woo hoo. I am in craft heaven :)

Long time, no blog (again!)

Ok. This is so sad. I haven't posted a blog since August! Oh man. I am such a lazy ass! lol

Well, tomorrow morning is my foot surgery to remove this Tailor's Bunion I have and to realign my little toe. I am kinda dreading it, but will be glad when it's all over and my foot is all better so I can actually go walking for more than a quarter of a mile before the pain is too unbearable to go any further. Yes, that is the point I am at now. I was able to make it thru half a day at work before it started aching and hurting, and after work I didn't even want to go to the grocery store or anywhere else because it just hurt too much to do anything. But hopefully, by this Spring, my foot will be good to go again. I am thinking "Road trip" already - lol. Ah, the power of positive thinking

My foot pre-operation:
(warning: extremely UGLY foot!)




















I will be off work for 2 weeks. I just wish it was an actual vacation instead of 2 weeks laid up in bed and not being able to drive anywhere - grrrr. But oh well. I have plenty of craft projects to work on (Christmas will be here before I know it, and I have plenty of cards to make and ornaments to paint) and loads of files to unzip and organize. So I doubt I will have a lack of things to do.

I can't help but be a little nervous. After all, it has been at least 10 years since I have had any kind of surgery, and that was oral surgery. I guess I am just a scaredy cat after all.

Wish me luck!

Lots of me's - hehe

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 446 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Go HERE to see how many people have your name.

I'm sharp! hehe

You are a Knife

You are precise, determined, and detail oriented. You mean what you say, and you say what you mean. You enjoy taking risks and living on the edge. You are a controversial person. You opinions tend to be divisive.

What Utensil Are You?

Long time no blog, part deux

Shoot, it has been a long time since I blogged. I have been busy road trippin' on the weekends. But with gas being over $4.49 a gallon nowadays, am gonna have to limit my trips to maybe 2 a month. And I already met my quota for this month - lol. But I am going to the Easter Sierras next month. Already have a campground reservation at Rock Creek, near Mammoth Lakes. I just love that place. The Little Lakes Valley hike is gorgeous! I can't wait to go! I wanna take a drive to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite on the way back, because that place is absolutely beautiful.

You can check out my TRAVEL BLOG if you wanna check out the pictures I took on my recent trips.

I had some good news from the doctor. My MRI came back normal. Thank goodness. My back has been feeling so much better. Of course, now my knee has started hurting. But my doctor gave me a cortisone injection yesterday, and tho, while sore, it has already started to feel better. Now I have a freakin' bunion on my little toe, so I have to go to a podiatrist. But that ain't gonna stop me from that Little Lakes Valley hike. No how, no way!

I got a new car, too. A 2008 Saturn Aura, and I love it. My little Chevy Cavalier took me so many places, and I miss it, but my new car is bigger and has 4 doors, which makes it so much more convenient when I go grocery shopping....or any shopping for that matter. It has OnStar and XM Radio too, which are great. I had hit a big rock on one of my road trips (it was an unmaintained road that had a rock slide recently). Came around a hairpin turn and it was right in the middle of the road. I tried to stop, but was unable to avoid the rock, and it just messed up the poor Cavalier's transmission, oil pan and radiator. It was either hit the rock or go tumbling down the side of the mountain - lol. I am going to stick to the good roads in this new car from now on! No more rocky bumpy roads!

It has been hotter than the devil's crotch here in Bakersfield. Shoot! It was 112 or some ridiculous temperature last weekend. And it is setting up to be a blazing hot weekend this weekend too, with temps getting up into the high 90's. And with all of the wildfires burning in California, the sky is an ugly brownish color from all of the smoke. Yeah, it is just soooo lovely here in Bake-O.

Well, that's all for now. See you in another few weeks - lol.

Bork, bork, bork!!

You Are the Swedish Chef

"Bork! Bork! Bork!" Your happy and energetic - with borderline manic tendencies. No one really gets you. And frankly, you don't even get you. But, you sure can whip up a great chocolate mousse

The Muppet Personality Test