There's a new weekly game going on at Magic Smoke. This game was started by me and my sister Valerie of There is a Season. In case you haven't seen it yet, why not pop over to this week's game, and give it a try?
To play, go here:
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
John's almost better!
I don't know how long it has been since John got bronchitis and the flu. Maybe it has been two weeks. I do know he has stopped fevering (he just stopped fevering about two nights ago!). He is still weak though, and can't do as much as he used to yet. He has to rest a lot. But he is definitely on the mend! Thanks for all the prayers.
I am making progress on my shoulder and arm. Sometimes I get discouraged and think it is impossible to make enough progress without having to go through with the procedure. But I am not going to give up yet, by any means. I do my exercises at home, and go to Occupational Therapy. I let them torture me there! I may have mentioned this, but I don't recall anything hurting as much in my life as trying to get my shoulder/ arm in working order again . I let my OT, Tracy, stretch my shoulder/ arm while I am lying down. She is breaking apart the adhesions/ scar tissue that is there. It must either be done that way, or I have to get it done under anesthesia. And if I do get it done under anesthesia I will still have to come in after the procedure for OT anyway. So I am trying for not having the surgery (procedure really - they are not going to cut - they are going to stretch and pull my muscles around breaking up scar tissue, while I am under).
My arm aches all the time. The pain wakes me or gets into my dreams. I feel the pain pretty bad right now.
Okay, now I feel whiney, LOL. I'm just mentioning what is going on because I get emails on how John and I are doing. Thanks for the emails! And for the prayers.
How else are we doing? We are behind on a million things, LOL. I don't know which way to turn my head, to start first.
Some cool things are coming up though. I am looking forward to the Spring and Summer. We will be doing some special things. Oooooh, I think spending some time at the park sounds nice. And some grilling and some walks.
John and I are also going to plant a rose bush. A yellow one. In memory/ honor of John's Mom. I will tell you more about that later, when we do it. I've already picked it out.
Love you all,
Krissy :)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
JLand Photo Shoot #133 participants... (Spring)
JLand Photo Shoot #133: Spring
Once again I am late and a dollar short in posting these photo shoot links. It's because I have a lot going on in my life. I am hoping you understand. Please understand that I take very seriously the fact that you take time taking photos.
I am asking that you all try to visit these entries, even though you may be busy.
Thanks to all of you who participated this week. We had 20 participants. I hope you all are having fun!!! I want to say that this week's entries were particularly special. I was able to view Spring around the world, and what I viewed was breathtaking!
Now let's get on with it! Here are the participants for this week! :
Greg of Photo Trek shows us an "Inviting Bench" at the Bicentennial Gardens
Linda of Linda's World shows us how her rhododendron bush grew even without pruning
Kristi of Rambling Woolysheep shows us a little bit of Spring finally coming to Texas
Ulla of The Sky is the Limit shows us beautiful nature from the Dallas Arboretum
Missie of Missie's Upside Down World brings us a pretty little flower!
Dana of My Photo Lounge delights us with some beautiful Spring flowers
Sharon of I'm A Survivor shows us 3 Spring things. Go check them out!
Sharon of Coastal Comfort shows us her parent's cherry tree and her stunning pear tree
Donna of This and that, and hockey! brings us a breathtaking shot of a bird
Betty of Koda's Corgi Tales shows us the beautiful flowers of Southern CA
Monica of Mamarrazi shows us Spring in DC. Cherry blossoms, of course!
Linda of Footprints in the Sand brings us a bountiful array of beautiful flowers
Gina of Gina's space takes us to one of Alabama's state parks
Deb of Sassy's EYE shares with us a shot she took at a fair she visited in Santa Rose, CA
silverdoe64 of yathink? shows us pictures of "Spring fishin'" and "Stuck in Spring"
Connie of TIMELESS_MY PHOTOS SHOWCASE displays photos of flowers
Antonette of Jottings From Jersey shows us a purple lilac bush
Jama of SWEET MEMORIES..... shows us young shoots on trees ready to uncurl into leaves
Diama of Just Getting It off My Chest! shows us why she dislikes Spring!
Lisa of Adventures From Florida to Kentuckiana shows us her jewelry, buttons & pretty littlethings (photo shoot 132)
Just a note. There will be no JLand Photo Shoot this week. This is because it is already so late in the week, and I want you all to have enough time to take your photos!
A new photo shoot topic will be posted on Monday, May 5.
Thank you all for playing along!
Krissy :)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
some photo tips and tricks from Kodak
Hi. I hope you all are having a good weekend!
I just got on the computer to find some photo tips. I found some that I believe are very helpful yet still simple enough.
What I came up with is a Kodak site:
I really like this site. Why not bookmark it? I think the tips are worth reading, and saving for when you are going out to take shots.
Okay, have fun reading, and have even more fun with your cameras!
Love, Krissy :)
I probably don't have lung cancer/ John is still sick/ I hate narcolepsy
Where to start? Perhaps with the best first. The CT scan came back. It looks like I probably don't have lung cancer. Praise God for that. They can't be sure, so they will take another CT scan in three months. But right now they are leaning towards no cancer, because there was no growth in what they were looking at.
Thanks for all the emails of concern, asking about John and me. And so sorry I didn't reply to all of you sooner. It has been so hectic and I have just been trying to keep up with things at home, and doctor's appointments. John still has bronchitis and the flu. He went back to the Physician's Assistant today, because he still has been running fever's all week. This has been for a week and a half now that he has been sick. The Physician's Assistant ordered him some more antibiotics. We found out that the antibiotic was contraindicated with another med and he can't take it anyway. Hopefully this matter will get straightened out by tomorrow night when John is supposed to start a new antibiotic.
John has a follow up appointment on Monday, hopefully he will be substantially better by then. I don't know. His fever just spiked again a few minutes ago.
Okay, so what's going on with me? I've been running around trying to do a lot, LOL. I am so behind on chores, errands, etc.
And my shoulder and arm have been killing me. I have been going to Occupational Therapy and working really hard. I was given an extra week by my Orthopedic doctor to get my shoulder/arm in shape, to try to avoid surgery. But I don't think I will be successful in avoiding surgery. I have made tremendous progress, yes, but don't see how I can avoid having the surgery. This is not a bad attitude, it is just a fact. Maybe I am wrong. We will see. I am working SO hard. I am slightly discouraged I guess. I let the therapist stretch my arm until I am in severe pain every time I go to Occupational Therapy. She does it for maybe 20 minutes. Sometimes I scream a little bit while she does it, and say "you HAVE to stop now". Then she stops. Sometimes, LOL. Sometimes she waits a few more seconds before she stops. Ugh.
So we will see what happens in the next few weeks. I don't know what the recovery time is for that surgery, but I just don't have the time to have an operation right now.
So that's about it. I haven't had time to have fun. I would watch a movie tonight just for fun, but I keep having these narcolepsy fits. As a matter of fact, I started writing this entry well over two hours ago and am just finishing it now, because I keep falling asleep. I can't stand this Narcolepsy.
Okay, I guess that's it for now. Sorry I don't sound real positive tonight. I'm mainly just tired. And I am trying to get off this entry. My narcolepsy is so bad tonight that I keep falling asleep and this entry has taken me over 2 hours to write, maybe three. I hope I have not made a bunch of errors in this entry, LOL, I am too tired to go back and read.
Okay,so that is me. I really am fine, though. Just tired. If I could just get past this narcolepsy...
Love you all, Krissy :)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
JLand Photo Shoot #133 - Spring
This week's JLand Photo Shoot will begin today (Tuesday) and will be due on Saturday, April 26, at 11 PM Eastern Time. That's Saturday, almost midnight, an hour before Sunday, for those of you who are getting confused!
Our subject for this photo shoot is:
Spring
After you've posted your entry in your journal/blog, please come back here and put the address of your entry in my Comment Section below. If you need an explanation on how to do this, or need to know any other instructions concerning this photo shoot, please click on the link below.
Instructions for JLand Photo Shoot
Thank you. We can't wait to see your pictures!
Love you all, Krissy :)
Monday, April 21, 2008
monday morning question
Actors and actresses often have unusual names. You know - they often change their name to a stage name upon reaching popularity. If you were an actor or actress, it would be easy to find a new name! Just combine the name of your first cat (if you've never had a cat use a neighbor cat's name) and the name of the street you live on.
So what is your actor/actress name?
My answer: Penelope Martin Yes, that fits me, LOL
Love you all, Krissy :)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
John has bronchitis and the flu
Hi you all. This is my second attempt at making an entry, so this one will be much shorter
John and I are back from the hospital. He has bronchitis and Influenza B. They ran a lot of tests on him, and yes, they can test for the flu nowadays. That surprised me, I didn't know they could test for a viral infection. So he has a bacterial infection (bronchitis) and a viral infection (the flu).
He was given Tamaflu (for the flu) and Levaquin (for bronchitis). I was surprised, once again, that there was a medication that could help one get over the flu. The doctor said it speeds you through the recovery process. Wow, imagine that.
So John just woke up after a few hours of sleep in his own bed. His temperature is 102.1 degrees right now. Drat. I thought it would go down, but I guess not. Maybe it will go up for awhile. At least he doesn't have "gram negative bacteria", which could be deadly. Actually, he probably doesn't have anything extremely serious, but he could. I just read on John's discharge sheet a few minutes ago that there were some additional cultures that were done last night, and they take 24 hours to grow, and if the doctor finds anything in a day or two when the results of the cultures come back, he will notify us.
One more thing. John's immunities are very low. They did a test at the hospital. But his immune system is not compromised enough to keep him in the hospital. So they released him into my care at home.
They told me John would have to stay in bed 10 days.
So, like, I am going to be plenty tired, as my fibro is acting up and my shoulder/arm is trying to heal. And I am going to have to do everything myself, as well as take care of John. Oh well. I am just so tired, because we have had a lot going on lately. I need to take it one day at a time, one thing at a time, so I don't get overwhelmed.
Okay, let me get this posted before it gets eaten or I delete it, LOL. I need to get back to John also. And go to the drug store and get him some medication.
I will have to take the bus, as my narcolepsy will not allow me to drive yet. Ugh, there is a transfer and it will take hours before I get home, between getting the script filled and waiting in line between transfers, LOL. There is, like, a half hour to an hour wait for a switch over to the next bus when I transfer!
Thank you all for your support and prayers. I am sorry if I scared you with that last entry, saying John was so sick. He could be a lot worse. Poor guy feels miserable though.
Okay, off to get some things done.
Love you all, Krissy
Saturday, April 19, 2008
John is off to the Emergency Room - please pray
John and I are off to the Emergency Room right now. He has a fever of 101, which is not high for the average person, but too high for a post bone marrow transplant patient.
He is going to get his wbc and anc checked first (to see how his immune system is doing), then he will be cultured. The cultures will see if he has a serious bacterial infection, such as "gram negative". That is what he had when he was in the hospital this past Thanksgiving with a 104.5 temperature and almost didn't make it.
So I don't know if he will be hospitalized or sent home. We will see. Could you all pray? Thanks.
Krissy
JLand Photo Shoot #132 participants... (jewelry, buttons & pretty little things)
JLand Photo Shoot #132:
jewlry, buttons & pretty little things
Hi. I wanted to let you all know that I am terribly sorry that I haven't posted the submissions to this photo shoot yet. My shoulder injury has prevented me from spending a lot of time on the computer. I do want you to know, however, that I take the JLand Photo Shoots very seriously. When you all spend the time taking a photo, I very seriously plan on posting the links to your entries.
So here are those who participated this past time:
Linda of Linda's World shows us a pretty jewelry box containing her treasures
Sharon of I'm A Survivor shows us her favorite necklace!
Missie of Missie's Upside Down World graces us with a beautiful heirloom
Chuck of Dribble by Chuck Ferris shows us pretty little things from nature
Terry of Terry Mac'sPhoto Blog brings us a CUTE pretty little thing!
Linda of Footprints in the Sand gives us a peek into her treasure boxes
Betty of Koda's Corgi Tales shows us see her son's jewelry. He has good taste!
Martha of Perception shows her son's collection of gemstones. They're absolutely breathtaking.
Greg of Photo Trek shows us a piece of his stunning and colorful wall art
Jama of SWEET MEMORIES..... shows us brooches and other pretty things
Thanks to each of you who participated.
Please check out these entries this weekend. We all know what it is like to want others to visit our photos. Thanks for visiting them and for leaving a comment!
I will post a new photo shoot subject on Monday.
Love you all,
Krissy :)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
John's Mom passed away
John's Mom passed away yesterday.
I am glad she and I had the phone conversation we did a few weeks ago. It was a really good call, and I reassured her of a lot of things. Then I said, "Mom, I love you and I like you."
I'm glad I said that. It made her so very happy.
This is going to be hard for me. And of course even way more so for John. But I am glad Heaven is a real place where we will see her again.
If you get a chance, maybe you could stop over at John's blog and let him know you care about his loss. His blog is: too-stubborn-to-die
Thanks, Krissy
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
the CT scan hurt!
I'm back from the hospital fresh out of the CT scan. It was hard. The technician made me hold my arms a certain way. He told me I would have to pull my arms all the way backward! You know, prior to coming to the hospital, I totally forgot about that part - that they would want me to do that for a lung scan.
I started to panic when the tech gave me the instructions, and I told him it would be IMPOSSIBLE - that my left arm wouldn't go back, and that I was probably going to have to have surgery on my shoulder, my lack of mobility was so bad. Fortunately, he didn't make me put my arm up all the way. I stretched as far as I could, and while wincing in pain (well, really whining), the technician took the photos. Then when I was done, he told me he was proud of me, and that I had done well, for the shape my arm was in, and that the pictures had turned out well! I was so glad because I really wanted the CT scan to be done today. If there was something to be found out, I want to know as soon as possible.
So, if I know anything in the next few days I will let you all know.
After the CT scan, John and I finished up our taxes and went and stood in line at the post office, LOL. Well, we are getting money back anyway. Yay! The line was not that bad at the post office.
So I wanted to let you all know a few things.
First I will try to post the JLand Photo Shoot tonight. With my arm hurting so much, I haven't been able to do it yet. But I promise to try to do it tonight.
Then tomorrow I will post a new topic for the next photo shoot. I haven't forgotten.
And hopefully I can get a new digital camera in the next few weeks so I can play too. If I can't afford it, then it will have to wait till next month. We'll see.
One more thing. My sister Valerie wants to remind you all that if you want to play "Weekly Sentence with Val" this week, your answer is due by tomorrow (Wednesday, April 16) at 4 PM.
To play go here: Weekly Sentence with Val #10
Okay, love you all,
Krissy :)
Monday, April 14, 2008
I'll probably have shoulder surgery
Hi. I guess you've probably noticed I haven't done an entry for a week.
I've been in a whole lot of pain. It is my rotator cuff injury. I have been going to Occupational Therapy for three weeks now. It seems that the tear in the muscle may be healing, but my shoulder has frozen up somehow. I went back to my Orthopedic doctor the other day. He was very concerned with my progress. My arm can barely move, except for a few inches up.
So Dr. Bosha wants me to come back in less than two weeks. At that point he is going to recommend me to an Orthopedic Surgeon. If I have not made substantial progress, I am going to have to have surgery. I mean, like, go to the hospital and have my shoulder stretched out while asleep. He said they will move it all around, and break up whatever needs to be broken up, such as scar tissue which is causing me not to be able to move much. Ugghh, sounds painful! I think I will hurt when I wake up. The therapists at Physical Therapy said it will hurt really bad, and they encouraged me to try to work real hard in the last two weeks before I see the surgeon, so that if there's any possible way that I won't have to have the surgery, I could skip it.
Gee, I don't want a surgery.
Okay, one more thing. Tuesday morning (as in April 15), I'm having a CT scan, to get my lung checked out. Remember I mentioned I am getting the scan to see if I have lung cancer? Dr. Raquet said that they could rule in cancer, but they could not rule it out at this time. So if it doesn't look like the nodule has grown sufficiently enough to be cancer at this point, he will not do anything invasive. He will just leave it alone, and do another CT scan in a few months (two or three?) and then again another few months after that (until/unless he determines it won't be necessary anymore).
He also promised me that if he did find cancer (which would be lung cancer) he would call me right away. I am assuming he means in a couple of days.
So that is what I am dealing with in the next few weeks.
Oh, and I am finishing up my taxes, LOL. After the CT scan I am going to stand in line at my post office to get that precious postmark on the letter to go to the IRS. But we will be getting money back! I dread standing in that line, though, LOL.
Okay, please pray for me. Ugh, like, there's too many health things going on at once.
Love you all, Krissy
monday morning question
Thursday of this week is National Blah Blah Blah Day. National Blah Blah Blah Day was invented by Thomas and Ruth Roy, and always falls on April 17. The intent of this day is to do all the things/projects people have been nagging you to do. For example: quit smoking, get a real job, lose weight, gain weight, take out the trash...
Now for the Monday Morning Question ... If you were to work on one thing for National Blah Blah Blah Day, what would it be?
My answer: organizing my home
Now what is YOUR answer?
Monday, April 7, 2008
monday morning question
What is the most memorable activity you did with your family as a child?
My answer: Walking the trails in parks. We went to a lot of different parks as a child - National parks, local parks, you name it. There was nothing so fun to me as taking a day on a weekend just to go to a park and follow one of those long trails to the end. One of the reasons it was special was because the whole family came along (my parents and all six of us kids!). Another reason it was special was because we were in nature and the surroundings were fascinating.
Now it is your turn. Leave your answer in the Comments Section below.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
a new journal to visit - Rambling Woolysheep
Please stop by Kristi's journal and say hello.
Kristi has an interesting blog. She writes about "Urban Homesteading". She does not live on a large piece of land, yet finds ways to manage this way of living. Please click on the links in her sidebar to find out what Urban Homesteading is.
Currently, Kristi is raising chickens for eggs and is growing tomato plants. She has encouraged me to grow tomato plants, even if it means growing them in flower pots on my patio (as my landlord may not allow me to grow them in the ground on the property). I just may take her up on this suggestion, as tomatos are very expensive!
Here is her journal:
Let's stop by and make her feel welcome in JLand!
Krissy :)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
JLand Photo Shoot #132 - jewelry, buttons & pretty little things
This week's JLand Photo Shoot will begin today (Tuesday) and will be due on Saturday, April 12, at 11 PM EDT. That's Saturday, almost midnight, an hour before Sunday, for those of you who are getting confused!
Please notice that this week's photo shoot has been extended for an extra week. That's because I wasn't able to post the subject until late today instead of yesterday morning. Submissions are not due this Saturday. They won't be due until April 12, 2008, at 11 PM EDT! This gives you more time to get a submission in!
Our subject for this photo shoot is:
jewelry, buttons & pretty little things
After you've posted your entry in your journal/blog, please put the address of your entry in my Comment Section below. If you need an explanation on how to do this, or need to know any other instructions concerning this photo shoot, please click on the link below.
Instructions for JLand Photo Shoot
Thank you. I can't wait to see your pictures!
Love you all, Krissy :)
A couple of April Fools' jokes
Happy April Fools ‘Day!
Today I wanted to share with you a couple of April Fools’ jokes that happened, one in 1998, and one in 1962.
Whopper
In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."
Instant Color TV
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
There jokes are from the site The Top 100 April Fools' Day Hoaxes of All Time. Check out the above site to find more true April Fools' jokes. Thanks to Valerie (valphish) for showing us this site!
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