I had a lot of feedback after my 1st post on this and people wanted to know more, so here it is.
My first post on this was fairly clinical and sketchy on how it affects me personally. Some of you wanted more details and info. There will be things I forget to put in this, but you'll get most of it.
Pain & fatigue are my two biggest complaints with this disease, which is pretty common. But besides that I have the following:
Stiffness. If I stay in the same position for too long, it's hard for me to move. It can really take a long time, and it's very painful, to change my position. Once I get up (off of the chair, or out of bed) and move around for a couple of minutes, I start to loosen up. Unless it's a bad day weather wise. Cold, wet days are the worst for me because I also have arthritis and when they're both flaring up I have a hard time. But any weather change in which the barometric pressure changes hurts a lot.
Memory. Mine is soooo bad. I hate it. I can't believe Steph still lives in the same house with me. It must drive her nuts. I know it drives me nuts.
Hearing. Mine is very bad, and it's getting worse all the time. It's pretty common for Fibro patients to go deaf. That is, ultimately, going to be the worst part of it for me. You can learn to live with pain, and of course I'm on pain killers and muscle relaxers. They help. Sometimes. But unless they find a cure for this particular deafness, there will be no help for it. I don't mind the idea of having to learn sign language. I already know a little bit, and Steph's real good at it, so I know I'll be able to communicate at home. What bothers me is knowing I'll never again hear my daughters speak to me. I'll never hear Steph sing, or John, my son-in-law tell a joke, or be able to communicate with my grandkids when they're very young and only know how to speak. I LOVE music...I'll miss that A LOT. Ok, I just realized that that looks like I rank that higher than my kids...I don't. But I will miss it. I love watching movies and going to plays. I know I can turn on subtitles, and that will be fine, but it won't be the same. I'll miss the music and there's so much acting in a person's inflection. Plays would be extremely difficult. I've seen signers at many plays acting like subtitles, but it would be near impossible to watch them, and what's going on on stage.
I have a super comfy memory foam bed. I think that most nights I don't move at all. It has taken me several minutes to get out of bed. That happens a lot. And when I finally do I'm so stiff and hurt so much that I tend to walk with my legs perfectly straight. I can't seem to bend at the knee. Again, just moving around helps that.
I have a relatively new problem. For about the last year my arms and legs will just randomly jerk. It's the oddest thing. I'll be in the kitchen getting breakfast, moving slow and quietly because Steph's still in bed and her bed is right over the kitchen. I'll open the cupboard door and quietly take a bowl from the stack, then as I'm closing the door my arm will shoot straight out. That means I slam that cupboard door soooo hard. It makes me roll my eyes...and then I giggle. I'm not sure why. Probably because it happens a lot, but seems to happen a lot when I'm just starting my day. It makes me laugh even harder when I do that with the silverware drawer. They make a lot of noise in that little drawer when I slam it.
Fibromayalgia makes you feel like you have the flu. I'm not talking about what some people call stomach flu (is no such thing), I'm talking about influenza. If you've ever had, REALLY had it, you know how painful it is. I've had it 3 times, and every time I had a fever that went so high I ached everywhere. Everywhere!!!!! You can't get comfortable, you can't stop hurting. That's how I feel all the time. Then, when it flares up, I have charlie horses. Anywhere on my body. And I do mean anywhere. For years I stupidly said things like, yeah, but I've never had one in my back. Or, well, I've never had one in my arms. I've had them in my face, my neck, my torso, my hands, arms, legs, feet, I've even had 2 in my head. Both times I thought I was having an aneurysm. I felt unbelievable pain, like something sharp, hard, and hot was being driven into my head. Both times I saw white, and almost passed out. It was horrible.
Fibromayalgia is caused by different things. I used to have a neighbor who was in a car accident and she hurt her upper back, and ended up with it. It will never go away, but she might not ever develope it anywhere else. I've had it since birth, and it's all over my body. I hate that part most of all. I don't just get an ache here or there. It hurts everywhere.
That's what Fibro pain is. It never leaves you. And I hope and pray that none of you ever get it. It causes a lot of other problems for me, but this could go on and on, and I think this has answered all of the questions I've been asked.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Life with Fibromayalgia
I have a disease called Fibromayalgia. So many people have never heard of it. It's not that common. The best way, until today, that I've ever heard it explained was when I saw a commercial on t.v. The voice over said that Fibro (it's pronounced fie-bro-my-al-gia) is over active nerves that radiate pain out to the surrounding tissue.
It's actually so much more than that. You can Google it. You can find it mentioned in Medical books and articles. You can ask your Dr about it. And everything you hear, or read, will probably be true even if the descriptions are vastly different. There are over 100 symptoms to the disease. It's debilitating, but not fatal.
My daughter works with a woman who has it, and she found something on the net. She printed a copy for me, and it explains a lot of it. I thought I'd share.
Fatigue
Irritability
Brain Fog
Restless Legs
Overlapping Syndromes
Muscle & Joint Pain
You Never Feel Good
Anxiety & Depression
Loss of Control
Grief & Worry
Immune Dysfunction
A Lifetime Fight
They're all pretty much self explanatory, except for overlapping syndromes. O.S. are usually autoimmune diseases that either literally are 2 or more syndromes, or it causes you to exhibit the symptoms of 2 or more syndromes. I have a true O.S. because I also have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
I've had both diseases since birth, but we only knew about the Lupus when I was growing up. No one had even heard of Fibromayalgia.
Because of the Fibro, I have everything on that list, but I also have a little bit of brain damage to the portion that controls tolerance to pain, and memory. I can remember some things, from many years ago, very clearly. I don't know why it works like that. For the most part my memory is really, really bad. I also am losing my hearing because of it. It's very common for people with it to go deaf.
My Lupus is in remission, thank God!, and since that is the one that's an autoimmune disease I'm very happy about that.
So, now you know a little bit more about it. There is a ton of info about them both online, if you're interested.
Thanks! And have a fibro-fog free day!!!
It's actually so much more than that. You can Google it. You can find it mentioned in Medical books and articles. You can ask your Dr about it. And everything you hear, or read, will probably be true even if the descriptions are vastly different. There are over 100 symptoms to the disease. It's debilitating, but not fatal.
My daughter works with a woman who has it, and she found something on the net. She printed a copy for me, and it explains a lot of it. I thought I'd share.
Fatigue
Irritability
Brain Fog
Restless Legs
Overlapping Syndromes
Muscle & Joint Pain
You Never Feel Good
Anxiety & Depression
Loss of Control
Grief & Worry
Immune Dysfunction
A Lifetime Fight
They're all pretty much self explanatory, except for overlapping syndromes. O.S. are usually autoimmune diseases that either literally are 2 or more syndromes, or it causes you to exhibit the symptoms of 2 or more syndromes. I have a true O.S. because I also have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
I've had both diseases since birth, but we only knew about the Lupus when I was growing up. No one had even heard of Fibromayalgia.
Because of the Fibro, I have everything on that list, but I also have a little bit of brain damage to the portion that controls tolerance to pain, and memory. I can remember some things, from many years ago, very clearly. I don't know why it works like that. For the most part my memory is really, really bad. I also am losing my hearing because of it. It's very common for people with it to go deaf.
My Lupus is in remission, thank God!, and since that is the one that's an autoimmune disease I'm very happy about that.
So, now you know a little bit more about it. There is a ton of info about them both online, if you're interested.
Thanks! And have a fibro-fog free day!!!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Crappy weather
So, when you have little kids you can have 1 of 2 crappy weather days.
The best is to have a snow day with the wind blowing, the snow coming down, and temps that are too cold to be out in. Every one is safe inside, and the order of the day is to make chocolate chip cookies and play games all day long. My girls and I had a lot of days like this and they have made wonderful memories. This would also sometimes happen on cold rainy days. I loved days like that! They are what make life worth it. Just the simple little things. Like your 4 year old coming to you with a dandelion. The first time you get flowers from your child is something you'll never forget.
Then there are the days when everyone's stuck in the house together and nothing goes right. Breakfast gets burned because you're suddenly having to pull one child off of the other before someone gets hurt. Then the kids fight over who has to wash and who gets to dry the dishes. Then they fight over "You didn't get it clean enough. Do it again!" Then they fight over where the wet dishtowels should hang to dry.
And the fighting goes on and on and by 8:30 you have a migraine. And it's ONLY 8:30. You live in a little house and there are few chances for them to stay away from each other, especially when they share a bedroom. By noon you're calling your mom at work to apologize for ever being born and wishing that you were a drinker. Of course, even if you were, there's no such thing as a drink big enough to make it through this day.
On days like this you think to yourself, many, many times, that you can't wait until they're grown and gone and you can have some peace and quiet.
Then they grow up, move out and you have a crappy weather day and you're too stiff and sore to do anything and you end up realizing you miss your kids more than words can say. I'm very fortunate. I have a 30 year old with a family of her own who doesn't even live in this country and I miss them something fierce! But, I have a 27 year old who decided to go back to college and she lives at home. Plus, thanks to modern day technology, I have a little camera on my monitor and can Skype with Sara and her family. It's wonderful! I love it!!!! Basically, I can still see my grandsons', daughter, and son-in-law almost anytime I want to. It's not the same as having them here, of course, but it's awesome! They will live all over the world in their lifetimes, but I'll still be able to see and talk to them. What a blessing!!!
So, on a day like today when the sky is gray, the trees are still, the temp is low and it's raining, grab your kids and tell them how much you love them. If they're too old for this (I'm speaking more about boys here), or they no longer live at home, make some hot chocolate, grab your kindle or a book, and sit with a throw on your lap and remember that it's days like these that are life. The holidays, birthdays and anniversaries are all very nice, but there are just a small handful of those each year, and many, many crappy weather days each year. Especially if you live in MN!!! :)
The best is to have a snow day with the wind blowing, the snow coming down, and temps that are too cold to be out in. Every one is safe inside, and the order of the day is to make chocolate chip cookies and play games all day long. My girls and I had a lot of days like this and they have made wonderful memories. This would also sometimes happen on cold rainy days. I loved days like that! They are what make life worth it. Just the simple little things. Like your 4 year old coming to you with a dandelion. The first time you get flowers from your child is something you'll never forget.
Then there are the days when everyone's stuck in the house together and nothing goes right. Breakfast gets burned because you're suddenly having to pull one child off of the other before someone gets hurt. Then the kids fight over who has to wash and who gets to dry the dishes. Then they fight over "You didn't get it clean enough. Do it again!" Then they fight over where the wet dishtowels should hang to dry.
And the fighting goes on and on and by 8:30 you have a migraine. And it's ONLY 8:30. You live in a little house and there are few chances for them to stay away from each other, especially when they share a bedroom. By noon you're calling your mom at work to apologize for ever being born and wishing that you were a drinker. Of course, even if you were, there's no such thing as a drink big enough to make it through this day.
On days like this you think to yourself, many, many times, that you can't wait until they're grown and gone and you can have some peace and quiet.
Then they grow up, move out and you have a crappy weather day and you're too stiff and sore to do anything and you end up realizing you miss your kids more than words can say. I'm very fortunate. I have a 30 year old with a family of her own who doesn't even live in this country and I miss them something fierce! But, I have a 27 year old who decided to go back to college and she lives at home. Plus, thanks to modern day technology, I have a little camera on my monitor and can Skype with Sara and her family. It's wonderful! I love it!!!! Basically, I can still see my grandsons', daughter, and son-in-law almost anytime I want to. It's not the same as having them here, of course, but it's awesome! They will live all over the world in their lifetimes, but I'll still be able to see and talk to them. What a blessing!!!
So, on a day like today when the sky is gray, the trees are still, the temp is low and it's raining, grab your kids and tell them how much you love them. If they're too old for this (I'm speaking more about boys here), or they no longer live at home, make some hot chocolate, grab your kindle or a book, and sit with a throw on your lap and remember that it's days like these that are life. The holidays, birthdays and anniversaries are all very nice, but there are just a small handful of those each year, and many, many crappy weather days each year. Especially if you live in MN!!! :)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Bathroom Debacles
Alright. I don't know who's idea this was, but an aging bladder, not to mention bladder control, is NOT funny.
I live in a townhome, that has one bathroom. It's on the upper level. If I'm in the family room, or am doing laundry, I have to climb 2 flights of stairs to use the bathroom. About half of the time, I don't realize I need the bathroom until I stand up. Then, when I'm about half way there my bladder starts to talk to me. That's right. It talks. And can I just say this: It has no sense of humor, or tact.
I'll be up the first flight of stairs, and half way across the kitchen when it starts out slow, and quiet. "You're not going to make it. We're going to embarrass ourselves." That's always encouraging. Then, when I get to the bottom of the second flight of stairs, it raises it's voice a little and there's a sense of urgency coming from it. "You aren't in good enough shape to run up this flight. You might as well have grabbed the mop when you went by it!" or, my personal favorite "Well. You should just be thankful that no one is visiting. At least you're alone. Of course, anyone could come walking in at any time. I'm just sayin'."
I have other problems in the bathroom that are completely unrelated to my bladder.
Like, putting on make up. I have one big mirror hanging over the vanity. Then I have a medicine cabinet on the wall next to that, hanging over the side of the vanity. Now, when I was about 10 I got my first pair of glasses. I'm nearsighted. I'm so nearsighted that 40 years later, if the object I'm trying to focus on, without my glasses, needs to be about 4 inches from my face. That means that I have to fold my body in half and rest the upper part on the vanity, to use the big mirror, or I have to twist my body at the waist AND lean to the left, but just from the waist up. Either way, I'm ready for traction long before I'm done putting on makeup.
I get mascara under my lower lid and my eye shadow, which is a powder, ends up sprinkled across my cheek. My eyebrow pencil ends up highlighting areas where eyebrows never grew. If I use the big mirror I stand up after and realize I have to change my shirt because I haven't cleaned the bathroom yet and that little bit of toothpaste that ended up on the vanity is now on my shirt. Whitening it. Forever. If I use the little mirror on the medicine cabinet I can't do anything else for the rest of the day because I've put my back out.
In other words, if I haven't made my bed, cleaned the bathroom, washed the dishes I didn't do the night before, swept the kitchen floor, picke up the living room and done a load or two of laundry BEFORE I put my makeup on, I will get nothing done all day. The only problem with that is that by the time I do that, and make dinner and clean it up, it's time for bed, and it would just be silly to put on makeup. It's quite the dilemma.
Of course, the perfect solution would be to move into a rambler, and have lasic surgery done. Too bad I hate to move! I'll cover lasic surgery at a later date.
I live in a townhome, that has one bathroom. It's on the upper level. If I'm in the family room, or am doing laundry, I have to climb 2 flights of stairs to use the bathroom. About half of the time, I don't realize I need the bathroom until I stand up. Then, when I'm about half way there my bladder starts to talk to me. That's right. It talks. And can I just say this: It has no sense of humor, or tact.
I'll be up the first flight of stairs, and half way across the kitchen when it starts out slow, and quiet. "You're not going to make it. We're going to embarrass ourselves." That's always encouraging. Then, when I get to the bottom of the second flight of stairs, it raises it's voice a little and there's a sense of urgency coming from it. "You aren't in good enough shape to run up this flight. You might as well have grabbed the mop when you went by it!" or, my personal favorite "Well. You should just be thankful that no one is visiting. At least you're alone. Of course, anyone could come walking in at any time. I'm just sayin'."
I have other problems in the bathroom that are completely unrelated to my bladder.
Like, putting on make up. I have one big mirror hanging over the vanity. Then I have a medicine cabinet on the wall next to that, hanging over the side of the vanity. Now, when I was about 10 I got my first pair of glasses. I'm nearsighted. I'm so nearsighted that 40 years later, if the object I'm trying to focus on, without my glasses, needs to be about 4 inches from my face. That means that I have to fold my body in half and rest the upper part on the vanity, to use the big mirror, or I have to twist my body at the waist AND lean to the left, but just from the waist up. Either way, I'm ready for traction long before I'm done putting on makeup.
I get mascara under my lower lid and my eye shadow, which is a powder, ends up sprinkled across my cheek. My eyebrow pencil ends up highlighting areas where eyebrows never grew. If I use the big mirror I stand up after and realize I have to change my shirt because I haven't cleaned the bathroom yet and that little bit of toothpaste that ended up on the vanity is now on my shirt. Whitening it. Forever. If I use the little mirror on the medicine cabinet I can't do anything else for the rest of the day because I've put my back out.
In other words, if I haven't made my bed, cleaned the bathroom, washed the dishes I didn't do the night before, swept the kitchen floor, picke up the living room and done a load or two of laundry BEFORE I put my makeup on, I will get nothing done all day. The only problem with that is that by the time I do that, and make dinner and clean it up, it's time for bed, and it would just be silly to put on makeup. It's quite the dilemma.
Of course, the perfect solution would be to move into a rambler, and have lasic surgery done. Too bad I hate to move! I'll cover lasic surgery at a later date.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Families, on Holidays
Hello,
It's been a while, so I figured I'd take a few minutes and get you caught up on what's happening in this 50 year old's life.
Winter is mostly over, and some days are very nice, which is a wonderful thing. I've noticed that the older I get, I have less tolerance to cold weather. My mom winter's in AZ, for about 6 months, and she will be home Thursday, barring any storms they might drive into. There have been a lot already this year, and there have been a LOT of tornadoes. By they, I mean mom and my sister-in-law.
Speaking of my sister-in-law, she does this every spring and fall. She uses her vacation weeks to fly one way and drive mom the other way. What a saint!! I did it once and thought I was going to die. I get motion sickness, and driving through the mountains is no place for someone like me. I digress...
I'm still looking for a job *sigh*, I visited my grandsons, Steph & I rearranged, and redecorated the living room, I've read a TON since I got my Kindle, and I've seen some really good movies lately. So, that gets you caught up.
The main thing I was getting to is that when mom's coming home, that means that spring and Easter are coming, quickly, so it's time to do a little spit shining, and so forth, when doing the cleaning/preparing for Easter at my house. Some years we have it at the party room where my brother lives, but sometimes not. And, really, it doesn't matter if we're having it or not. I still have to super clean my house because my mom's coming over for the first time in 6 months.
This year is Easter at my house, and while I started some preparing for it, I realized a few things. First, and foremost is that I LOVE having people over, but my favorite is having family for a holiday. We frequently will also have someone who's not family, because they have nowhere to go, so for that day they're family. This year we're having a schoolmate of Steph's. Her name is MacKenzie, and she's from New York. Going home just isn't always feasible, and she's more than welcome here.
Steph & I live in a tiny little 2 bedroom townhouse, but we put in a family room in the basement, which is mostly finished, and between that, living room, and kitchen, we can always make do. Every time we get together we have way too much food. But the food is VERY good. That's the second thing I realized. The food is always so good! My mom and my sister-in-law are very good cooks!
Also, every time we get together we play a lot of games. There's usually a few people in the basement playing SceneIt of one kind, or another. We have several of them. And at the kitchen table you can find people playing 13, Pictionary, Scrabble, Parcheesi, Upwords, Yahtzee, or Boggle. There are many more, I just can't think of them all.
The third thing I realized is that because of the game playing, we spend a lot of time laughing. I love that most of all. I'm related to a lot of very funny people, and we always have a good time when we get together. We can just sit and talk and we have a good, funny time.
Sometimes my brother brings over his dog, which I also love. This is a good thing. A very good thing because Stella is as sweet as they come. She's such a cute, and good little dog. We love her because she's family, too.
This year my nephew and his wife are coming over, which is also a good plus. They're a lot of fun to hang out with.
But, the very best holiday is any holiday when Sara, John and the boys can be here. I don't care which holiday it is, I just love it. It reminds me of when the girls were young and right around the time of the gloaming, my kids would be in the house. Every family member would be here, and everyone was safe. I don't really know how to describe the feeling...I just love it, and having them here for a holiday brings that feeling back. I have my daughters, my son-in-law, my grandsons, my mom, my brother and his family here and life couldn't get better. I love being with them all.
My brother and Patty frequently host holidays at their place. She has a party every 4th of July, and every New Year. We get together early, we eat way too much, really good food, we play games, we visit, we play games, we eat some more and see fireworks. These parties are not family only. They invite a lot of people and it's like being with extended family. Some of them we've gotten to know quite well, and it's always nice to see them.
I feel bad for people who have no one to spend their holidays with. I have an older brother who moved to AL 27 years ago, and the first few years, before he was married, he was invited to the homes of his boss or a friend for the holidays and I was always very thankful for that. So, I figure what goes around...someone who's alone is always welcome here.
I feel very blessed. We've lost one brother, who moved away, and my dad, who passed away. But I still have a lot of family. People around me on holidays who know me well enough to know they can bring a stranger with them, and that they have to bring chocolate to my house. Otherwise, no egg bake for them!!
It's been a while, so I figured I'd take a few minutes and get you caught up on what's happening in this 50 year old's life.
Winter is mostly over, and some days are very nice, which is a wonderful thing. I've noticed that the older I get, I have less tolerance to cold weather. My mom winter's in AZ, for about 6 months, and she will be home Thursday, barring any storms they might drive into. There have been a lot already this year, and there have been a LOT of tornadoes. By they, I mean mom and my sister-in-law.
Speaking of my sister-in-law, she does this every spring and fall. She uses her vacation weeks to fly one way and drive mom the other way. What a saint!! I did it once and thought I was going to die. I get motion sickness, and driving through the mountains is no place for someone like me. I digress...
I'm still looking for a job *sigh*, I visited my grandsons, Steph & I rearranged, and redecorated the living room, I've read a TON since I got my Kindle, and I've seen some really good movies lately. So, that gets you caught up.
The main thing I was getting to is that when mom's coming home, that means that spring and Easter are coming, quickly, so it's time to do a little spit shining, and so forth, when doing the cleaning/preparing for Easter at my house. Some years we have it at the party room where my brother lives, but sometimes not. And, really, it doesn't matter if we're having it or not. I still have to super clean my house because my mom's coming over for the first time in 6 months.
This year is Easter at my house, and while I started some preparing for it, I realized a few things. First, and foremost is that I LOVE having people over, but my favorite is having family for a holiday. We frequently will also have someone who's not family, because they have nowhere to go, so for that day they're family. This year we're having a schoolmate of Steph's. Her name is MacKenzie, and she's from New York. Going home just isn't always feasible, and she's more than welcome here.
Steph & I live in a tiny little 2 bedroom townhouse, but we put in a family room in the basement, which is mostly finished, and between that, living room, and kitchen, we can always make do. Every time we get together we have way too much food. But the food is VERY good. That's the second thing I realized. The food is always so good! My mom and my sister-in-law are very good cooks!
Also, every time we get together we play a lot of games. There's usually a few people in the basement playing SceneIt of one kind, or another. We have several of them. And at the kitchen table you can find people playing 13, Pictionary, Scrabble, Parcheesi, Upwords, Yahtzee, or Boggle. There are many more, I just can't think of them all.
The third thing I realized is that because of the game playing, we spend a lot of time laughing. I love that most of all. I'm related to a lot of very funny people, and we always have a good time when we get together. We can just sit and talk and we have a good, funny time.
Sometimes my brother brings over his dog, which I also love. This is a good thing. A very good thing because Stella is as sweet as they come. She's such a cute, and good little dog. We love her because she's family, too.
This year my nephew and his wife are coming over, which is also a good plus. They're a lot of fun to hang out with.
But, the very best holiday is any holiday when Sara, John and the boys can be here. I don't care which holiday it is, I just love it. It reminds me of when the girls were young and right around the time of the gloaming, my kids would be in the house. Every family member would be here, and everyone was safe. I don't really know how to describe the feeling...I just love it, and having them here for a holiday brings that feeling back. I have my daughters, my son-in-law, my grandsons, my mom, my brother and his family here and life couldn't get better. I love being with them all.
My brother and Patty frequently host holidays at their place. She has a party every 4th of July, and every New Year. We get together early, we eat way too much, really good food, we play games, we visit, we play games, we eat some more and see fireworks. These parties are not family only. They invite a lot of people and it's like being with extended family. Some of them we've gotten to know quite well, and it's always nice to see them.
I feel bad for people who have no one to spend their holidays with. I have an older brother who moved to AL 27 years ago, and the first few years, before he was married, he was invited to the homes of his boss or a friend for the holidays and I was always very thankful for that. So, I figure what goes around...someone who's alone is always welcome here.
I feel very blessed. We've lost one brother, who moved away, and my dad, who passed away. But I still have a lot of family. People around me on holidays who know me well enough to know they can bring a stranger with them, and that they have to bring chocolate to my house. Otherwise, no egg bake for them!!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Aging and teeth
My poor mom had full dentures, top and bottom, by the time she was 25. I remember growing up, feeling so sorry for her. It probably went a long way towards me keeping good dental hygiene habits. However, despite those habits, I ended up with gum disease when I was 18. I had to get 5 teeth pulled, and braces which I wore for 2 years.
Over the next several years I had 2 root canals, and 1 little cavity. My teeth were in really good shape. They were all my own, and dentists always commented on how nice they were. I got them cleaned regularly, brushed and flossed a couple of times every day, and twice a week, for many years, I rinsed with peroxide and brushed with baking soda. My teeth looked really good. They felt good, too.
As my root canals aged, about 15-20 years, they got brittle and they broke. Right at the gum line. So, I had two gaps in my teeth because there was no way I was going to get implants. I didn't have the money, plus they both were in the back, on opposite sides of my mouth so I figured no one would ever see the gaps. Little did I know that was the beginning of the end of my nice teeth!
I inherited a lovely habit from my dad. It's called grinding of teeth. Otherwise known as "What is that hideous sound?!?!" I'm not certain, but I think it may have contributed to the end of my marriage. If not, it certainly must have made it easier, to make the decision, to call it quits!! Personally, I've never heard it but my mom has said it's the loudest, grossest sound she's ever heard come out of a human body. She hated it when my dad did that.
Because I had an old silver filling in a tooth next to one of the gaps, and I started grinding my teeth, I ended up having a tooth pulled yesterday. Those old silver fillings are a little soft and the grinding pushed the filling farther into my tooth. The only problem with that is that the filling has to go somewhere, so it pushes out against the sides of the tooth. Which caused cracks, which caused the tooth to break. Who would think they'd break a tooth while eating chicken wild rice soup? Certainly not me. But there I was, in the Denver airport, waiting for my connection and was suddenly chewing on something hard. I knew it couldn't be right so I took it out and there was 1/4 of a molar. Made me think twice about the soup! And, after the second thought, I decided not to finish it. That might have been one of the best decisions I make all year!
When I got to my destination (Costa Rica) I told my daughter and son-in-law about it and then pretty much forgot about it. But a few nights later I must have been grinding, because I woke up with a lot of tooth pain. She made an appointment for me with a dentist down there. Unfortunately, I couldn't see anyone until the day before I returned to the states, so there wasn't a whole lot she could do for me.
As it turned out, I had another tooth, right below the newly broken one, that I had broken a couple of months before. I had not done anything about it because I didn't have any insurance and it only hurt a couple of times and rinsing with peroxide took care of that right away.
Eventually, they both started giving me problems so I made an apt, but the day of there was a bunch of ice on my car, and the roads, and we didn't get up early enough to still make it to the apt on time. So I rescheduled and I have to say that those last 3 days before my apt were miserable. I had a lot of pain, and to exacerbate the problem, I was grinding my teeth the night before. I woke up in so much pain that a vicadin, Anbesol, and ice didn't stop the pain from increasing. I've never been so happy to see a dentist! He pulled the badly broken tooth, fixed the other broken tooth, which included drilling a cavity in it, drilled a cavity in the tooth next to that one and pulled an old tooth chip from one of my broken crowns. Zoikes! It sounds like it was a lot, but let me tell you...I feel much better today than I did yesterday before he did all of that!
So, the moral of the story is, if you have enjoyed healthy teeth all of your life, don't relax your oral hygiene habits when you get older. They actually need more care then. Eat healthy (which I can't say I do), floss and brush at least 2 times a day, try to stay away from sugar and carbonation, and keep regular 6 month apts for cleaning and exam. You may save yourself a lot of pain.
Now, I'm going to take a pain killer and go enjoy a book. Of course, I'll have to read it again later, because I don't remember much when I'm on Vicadin, but that's ok!
Over the next several years I had 2 root canals, and 1 little cavity. My teeth were in really good shape. They were all my own, and dentists always commented on how nice they were. I got them cleaned regularly, brushed and flossed a couple of times every day, and twice a week, for many years, I rinsed with peroxide and brushed with baking soda. My teeth looked really good. They felt good, too.
As my root canals aged, about 15-20 years, they got brittle and they broke. Right at the gum line. So, I had two gaps in my teeth because there was no way I was going to get implants. I didn't have the money, plus they both were in the back, on opposite sides of my mouth so I figured no one would ever see the gaps. Little did I know that was the beginning of the end of my nice teeth!
I inherited a lovely habit from my dad. It's called grinding of teeth. Otherwise known as "What is that hideous sound?!?!" I'm not certain, but I think it may have contributed to the end of my marriage. If not, it certainly must have made it easier, to make the decision, to call it quits!! Personally, I've never heard it but my mom has said it's the loudest, grossest sound she's ever heard come out of a human body. She hated it when my dad did that.
Because I had an old silver filling in a tooth next to one of the gaps, and I started grinding my teeth, I ended up having a tooth pulled yesterday. Those old silver fillings are a little soft and the grinding pushed the filling farther into my tooth. The only problem with that is that the filling has to go somewhere, so it pushes out against the sides of the tooth. Which caused cracks, which caused the tooth to break. Who would think they'd break a tooth while eating chicken wild rice soup? Certainly not me. But there I was, in the Denver airport, waiting for my connection and was suddenly chewing on something hard. I knew it couldn't be right so I took it out and there was 1/4 of a molar. Made me think twice about the soup! And, after the second thought, I decided not to finish it. That might have been one of the best decisions I make all year!
When I got to my destination (Costa Rica) I told my daughter and son-in-law about it and then pretty much forgot about it. But a few nights later I must have been grinding, because I woke up with a lot of tooth pain. She made an appointment for me with a dentist down there. Unfortunately, I couldn't see anyone until the day before I returned to the states, so there wasn't a whole lot she could do for me.
As it turned out, I had another tooth, right below the newly broken one, that I had broken a couple of months before. I had not done anything about it because I didn't have any insurance and it only hurt a couple of times and rinsing with peroxide took care of that right away.
Eventually, they both started giving me problems so I made an apt, but the day of there was a bunch of ice on my car, and the roads, and we didn't get up early enough to still make it to the apt on time. So I rescheduled and I have to say that those last 3 days before my apt were miserable. I had a lot of pain, and to exacerbate the problem, I was grinding my teeth the night before. I woke up in so much pain that a vicadin, Anbesol, and ice didn't stop the pain from increasing. I've never been so happy to see a dentist! He pulled the badly broken tooth, fixed the other broken tooth, which included drilling a cavity in it, drilled a cavity in the tooth next to that one and pulled an old tooth chip from one of my broken crowns. Zoikes! It sounds like it was a lot, but let me tell you...I feel much better today than I did yesterday before he did all of that!
So, the moral of the story is, if you have enjoyed healthy teeth all of your life, don't relax your oral hygiene habits when you get older. They actually need more care then. Eat healthy (which I can't say I do), floss and brush at least 2 times a day, try to stay away from sugar and carbonation, and keep regular 6 month apts for cleaning and exam. You may save yourself a lot of pain.
Now, I'm going to take a pain killer and go enjoy a book. Of course, I'll have to read it again later, because I don't remember much when I'm on Vicadin, but that's ok!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Costa Rica, cont. I swear this is the last one
Right. Per usual I forgot to put something important in my last blog. I should keep a list!
If you're interested in seeing clips of the "talent show", just google Frontier Flight 2025. You'll be able to see it in YouTube, or on our FB page.
That is all.
I think.
If you're interested in seeing clips of the "talent show", just google Frontier Flight 2025. You'll be able to see it in YouTube, or on our FB page.
That is all.
I think.
Costa Rice, The Flight Home
Monday we just took it easy. I stayed up late the night before and got up early so that I could go to bed early and be up by 4:30.
I spent the day mostly just enjoying my grandsons. They are so cute, and so smart! When it was time to go to bed Malachi hugged me really hard and said "I'm going to miss you so much." I cried, but not until he was upstairs.
Tuesday started very early, and it went smoothly. I packed the night before (except Steph's camera which is still there!) so I didn't have much to do to get ready. Sara woke me up, we spent a few minutes talking and I got up. The taxi driver was right on time, which was great. Since John was still in Equadore we decided it would be best if we just let the kids sleep, and that I take a cab. I think it was a very good choice. I know Sara thinks that, too. :)
The ride to the airport was very pleasant. Sara had asked the driver if I could sit in front, so I sat there saying goodbye to Escazu, and surrounding areas. The driver spoke no English, so we had nothing to say to each other. I wouldn't have minded trying, but I think he was a bit shy.
I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and after luggage, security, & customs I found the right gate and sat down with my book. It was pretty quiet there. People started to come in and the place filled up pretty fast. It's not a huge airport, and there were 150 of us on our flight.
Got onto the plane just fine and was very happy to have an aisle seat. I didn't say hi to the two men next to me because they were complaining, loudly, about something, so I figured I'd talk to someone else, if I had to talk.
About 20 minutes after we boarded the pilot came on and said that there was a problem with one of the engines and that the mechanic had to put some oil in. About 20 minutes later he started to taxi and there was this HUGE bang from the left wing, and a metal on metal grating sound that was very loud. The man next to me, who was frequently putting his head on his arms and sighing loudly (and occasionally swearing and comoplaining), started up with some very loud and rude complaining. I understand the saying "the ugly American" now, perfectly. We started to move back towards the airport (we really weren't very far away), and the pilot came on to say that there was definitely a problem with an engine and he would get back to us with more info as soon as he had it. At this point the man next to me started in on a flight attendant. Her name is Carol, and I've never met a nicer person. She is just the sweetest thing! She apologized, and he just kept going on and on. I was on the verge of asking if he'd never had a car that broke down on the road. I mean, really! It's a piece of machinery. Personally, I'd rather it be working well while flying around. But the flight attendant said to him "I'm just glad it happened on the ground, and not over the ocean." I said "Amen!!" He got pretty quiet.
They rolled one of those metal staircases right up to the door, and asked us to disembark. We were ushered into a gate that was not in use and asked us to sit tight, have lunch on them (it was 9:30 am.), and wait until they had instructions from the airline. They said it could take a couple of hours. Which it did. We were told that the engine needed a part, that they had to get from the States, and that we'd be taken to a hotel where room and board would be, again, on them. There were about 10 people who had to get home asap, so they found them flights on another airline. We were taken to a hotel that was absolutely beautiful! And it had everything. Swimmong pool (my room was right off of it, and it was the most beautiful patio/pool I've ever seen in person), hot tubs, jacuzzi, gym, tennis courts... I was able to make 4 calls to the States, with no charge, and use their pc's in the computer room, using the internet, at no charge. Had a fairly decent meal and just had a very relaxing and fun time. I started to get to know some of my fellow passengers, and the whole crowd, and I mean all but maybe 20 ended up in the bar, which is wide open to the outside, and had seating for about 20. They scrounged and got more tables, and chairs, and played their music too loud and everyone just sat around talking and laughing and having a great time.
We were told to be ready to leave the hotel at 11:00, which was later changed to 11:30, but we'd all turned in our keys by then. So, about 100 people sat on the floor, around the bar, and gift shops, and spilled out onto the sidewalk. We talked and laughed and had a really good time again. One guy whipped out his banjo and started playing. Another guy saw him and took out his guitar and they started to jam.
Well, we were picked up and taken to the airline and were told that if we all got through everything quickly enough the plane would take off at 3:20. A bunch of people were still waiting to check their luggage at 3:00 so we knew that wouldn't happen. But we didn't mind. The complainers had left our group the day before, and I can say in all honesty, they weren't missed. Everyone else had such a good attitude about everything and we just had so much fun. Little did we know that it was going to get better!
When we boarded our newly fixed plane, around 4:30, we were told that we'd be taking off shortly. We were also told that there had been an odd, but interesting, request by one of our fellow passengers. He wanted to organize a talent show when we were safely up in the air. Everybody clapped and yelled and some whistled. Then the pilot started to taxi to the runway and there were no bad or scary sounds so we all clapped and cheered. Then we took off and the clapping and yelling continued, then we were at cruising altitude and you could feel the excitement in the air.
One of the passengers got up and introduced himself in a unique way. He asked how many of us had ever read any of the "Chicken Soup For The..." books. A bunch of us raised our hands, and he said that he'd written the "Chicken Soup For the Workplace" book and a bunch of us cheered. LOL Ok, we had been having a great time since the day before, but we were starting to get homesick, so we were very happy to cheer for everything. Anyhow, this man organized an entertainment for us that was so unique, and so good. We had the best time. I think it lasted about 45 minutes and we saw and heard:
The banjo player who played one song, then played a second and sang along. He was so good!!
He was followed by a singer who sang blues. He was also very good.
Then we had a 12 year old tell us jokes.
Then we had a lecture, from a wildlife preserve person (sorry! can't remember your actual title!) on mountain cats.
There was a young woman who stood on her head and drank a glass of water.
A baby who laughed on command and was SO ADORABLE!!!
Another blues singer who was spectacular! He was my favorite, and probably the favorite for most of us.
Then, we told him there was a young man who could play the harmonica and he said no way, he wasn't going up there because he'd only been playing for 2 weeks and didn't even know any songs. But, he'd be happy to accompany someone. So, we ended with the banjo play, the guitarist, and blues singer (the 2nd one) and the guy with the harmonica, and they jammed for about 5 minutes. It was THE BEST FLIGHT EVER!!!!
I have, of course, left out a lot because it would fill a book. But, I will never, ever forget Frontier Flight 87 that was cancled, or Frontier Flight 2025 that brought us home the next day.
BTW Sara, on the shuttle bus to our hotel on Tuesday, I sat by and talked to a man who, with his wife, lives in the states for half of the year, and in Costa Rica the other half. He said they live across the valley from Escazu, and that they've been to the same falls a few times. I asked if he'd ever been on the road when it was fine, and he said the rocks were the after effects of a big earthquake they'd had 2 years ago, and the result was that there were tons of rock and dirt slides. They just don't have the money needed to fix the road.
We got to Denver late, and we'd all missed our connecting flights so they put us up at a hotel again. Small, but still very nice. The Denver airport is HUGE!!!!! Even though there was nothing wrong with the hotel, it felt lonely and dull. I was anxious to get home. When I saw Steph, I was so happy! All I could think was "I'll be home soon!!"
So, that's my great Costa Rica experience. I will never regret going. I had so much fun and it was so great to spend that time with Sara & family! I actually kind of miss the valley. Life was very different there. They have a slower, more gentle approach to life. I sometimes wish we were like that. And yet, yesterday I was in my car and was mad because it was taking SO LONG for the stop light to turn green. Then I remembered Escazu and realized that I was being a major dork!
Goodbye C.R. I will miss you!!!
I spent the day mostly just enjoying my grandsons. They are so cute, and so smart! When it was time to go to bed Malachi hugged me really hard and said "I'm going to miss you so much." I cried, but not until he was upstairs.
Tuesday started very early, and it went smoothly. I packed the night before (except Steph's camera which is still there!) so I didn't have much to do to get ready. Sara woke me up, we spent a few minutes talking and I got up. The taxi driver was right on time, which was great. Since John was still in Equadore we decided it would be best if we just let the kids sleep, and that I take a cab. I think it was a very good choice. I know Sara thinks that, too. :)
The ride to the airport was very pleasant. Sara had asked the driver if I could sit in front, so I sat there saying goodbye to Escazu, and surrounding areas. The driver spoke no English, so we had nothing to say to each other. I wouldn't have minded trying, but I think he was a bit shy.
I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and after luggage, security, & customs I found the right gate and sat down with my book. It was pretty quiet there. People started to come in and the place filled up pretty fast. It's not a huge airport, and there were 150 of us on our flight.
Got onto the plane just fine and was very happy to have an aisle seat. I didn't say hi to the two men next to me because they were complaining, loudly, about something, so I figured I'd talk to someone else, if I had to talk.
About 20 minutes after we boarded the pilot came on and said that there was a problem with one of the engines and that the mechanic had to put some oil in. About 20 minutes later he started to taxi and there was this HUGE bang from the left wing, and a metal on metal grating sound that was very loud. The man next to me, who was frequently putting his head on his arms and sighing loudly (and occasionally swearing and comoplaining), started up with some very loud and rude complaining. I understand the saying "the ugly American" now, perfectly. We started to move back towards the airport (we really weren't very far away), and the pilot came on to say that there was definitely a problem with an engine and he would get back to us with more info as soon as he had it. At this point the man next to me started in on a flight attendant. Her name is Carol, and I've never met a nicer person. She is just the sweetest thing! She apologized, and he just kept going on and on. I was on the verge of asking if he'd never had a car that broke down on the road. I mean, really! It's a piece of machinery. Personally, I'd rather it be working well while flying around. But the flight attendant said to him "I'm just glad it happened on the ground, and not over the ocean." I said "Amen!!" He got pretty quiet.
They rolled one of those metal staircases right up to the door, and asked us to disembark. We were ushered into a gate that was not in use and asked us to sit tight, have lunch on them (it was 9:30 am.), and wait until they had instructions from the airline. They said it could take a couple of hours. Which it did. We were told that the engine needed a part, that they had to get from the States, and that we'd be taken to a hotel where room and board would be, again, on them. There were about 10 people who had to get home asap, so they found them flights on another airline. We were taken to a hotel that was absolutely beautiful! And it had everything. Swimmong pool (my room was right off of it, and it was the most beautiful patio/pool I've ever seen in person), hot tubs, jacuzzi, gym, tennis courts... I was able to make 4 calls to the States, with no charge, and use their pc's in the computer room, using the internet, at no charge. Had a fairly decent meal and just had a very relaxing and fun time. I started to get to know some of my fellow passengers, and the whole crowd, and I mean all but maybe 20 ended up in the bar, which is wide open to the outside, and had seating for about 20. They scrounged and got more tables, and chairs, and played their music too loud and everyone just sat around talking and laughing and having a great time.
We were told to be ready to leave the hotel at 11:00, which was later changed to 11:30, but we'd all turned in our keys by then. So, about 100 people sat on the floor, around the bar, and gift shops, and spilled out onto the sidewalk. We talked and laughed and had a really good time again. One guy whipped out his banjo and started playing. Another guy saw him and took out his guitar and they started to jam.
Well, we were picked up and taken to the airline and were told that if we all got through everything quickly enough the plane would take off at 3:20. A bunch of people were still waiting to check their luggage at 3:00 so we knew that wouldn't happen. But we didn't mind. The complainers had left our group the day before, and I can say in all honesty, they weren't missed. Everyone else had such a good attitude about everything and we just had so much fun. Little did we know that it was going to get better!
When we boarded our newly fixed plane, around 4:30, we were told that we'd be taking off shortly. We were also told that there had been an odd, but interesting, request by one of our fellow passengers. He wanted to organize a talent show when we were safely up in the air. Everybody clapped and yelled and some whistled. Then the pilot started to taxi to the runway and there were no bad or scary sounds so we all clapped and cheered. Then we took off and the clapping and yelling continued, then we were at cruising altitude and you could feel the excitement in the air.
One of the passengers got up and introduced himself in a unique way. He asked how many of us had ever read any of the "Chicken Soup For The..." books. A bunch of us raised our hands, and he said that he'd written the "Chicken Soup For the Workplace" book and a bunch of us cheered. LOL Ok, we had been having a great time since the day before, but we were starting to get homesick, so we were very happy to cheer for everything. Anyhow, this man organized an entertainment for us that was so unique, and so good. We had the best time. I think it lasted about 45 minutes and we saw and heard:
The banjo player who played one song, then played a second and sang along. He was so good!!
He was followed by a singer who sang blues. He was also very good.
Then we had a 12 year old tell us jokes.
Then we had a lecture, from a wildlife preserve person (sorry! can't remember your actual title!) on mountain cats.
There was a young woman who stood on her head and drank a glass of water.
A baby who laughed on command and was SO ADORABLE!!!
Another blues singer who was spectacular! He was my favorite, and probably the favorite for most of us.
Then, we told him there was a young man who could play the harmonica and he said no way, he wasn't going up there because he'd only been playing for 2 weeks and didn't even know any songs. But, he'd be happy to accompany someone. So, we ended with the banjo play, the guitarist, and blues singer (the 2nd one) and the guy with the harmonica, and they jammed for about 5 minutes. It was THE BEST FLIGHT EVER!!!!
I have, of course, left out a lot because it would fill a book. But, I will never, ever forget Frontier Flight 87 that was cancled, or Frontier Flight 2025 that brought us home the next day.
BTW Sara, on the shuttle bus to our hotel on Tuesday, I sat by and talked to a man who, with his wife, lives in the states for half of the year, and in Costa Rica the other half. He said they live across the valley from Escazu, and that they've been to the same falls a few times. I asked if he'd ever been on the road when it was fine, and he said the rocks were the after effects of a big earthquake they'd had 2 years ago, and the result was that there were tons of rock and dirt slides. They just don't have the money needed to fix the road.
We got to Denver late, and we'd all missed our connecting flights so they put us up at a hotel again. Small, but still very nice. The Denver airport is HUGE!!!!! Even though there was nothing wrong with the hotel, it felt lonely and dull. I was anxious to get home. When I saw Steph, I was so happy! All I could think was "I'll be home soon!!"
So, that's my great Costa Rica experience. I will never regret going. I had so much fun and it was so great to spend that time with Sara & family! I actually kind of miss the valley. Life was very different there. They have a slower, more gentle approach to life. I sometimes wish we were like that. And yet, yesterday I was in my car and was mad because it was taking SO LONG for the stop light to turn green. Then I remembered Escazu and realized that I was being a major dork!
Goodbye C.R. I will miss you!!!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Costa Rica, cont. some more
Sunday-the waterfall.
Sara heard from a friend at work that someone was organizing a trip to see this really great waterfall. We'd be going on Sunday, it would take about 2 hrs to get there, pack a lunch, bring swimming suits... We were so excited to go!!
So, the day before Sara went to the store to pick up a few groceries and to buy Ginger Ale for the 2 of us. She packed a big bag with suits, towels, and sunscreen. She made our picnic lunch, and we grabbed the kids and took off.
We crossed the valley, and headed up into some absolutely gorgeous mountain area. I've been through the mountains in AZ, but this was very different mountain driving. The road, for the most part, was in really good condition. Sometimes we'd have to cross a gorge, but the bridge was just as good as any you'd find here. What was so different from the AZ mountains was that most of the time the ground on both sides of the car came down to the road, and there were trees right up to the edge of the road. Trees, and bushes, and all sorts of flora and fauna. There was one thing, we couldn't really tell if it was a bush, or a weed, that had leaves that were twice the size of my end table. Absolutely HUGE!!! And, very pretty. Every now and then the ground would level out, or go down on the drivers side, and the trees would thin or they'd be gone altogether. When this happened we saw the most amazing thing. Down the side of the road, across a deep, or small ravine, and up the next side of that mountain was all green. Trees, that were huge, and beautiful. I don't even know how many different kinds there were, but it was beautiful. The trees were so dense that you could see nothing else. Sara told me that this was where Jerrasic Park was filmed, and that was something I actually had remembered, but seeing it made it so clear. They did not have to use any cg, or pc programs to enhance the look of the island in that movie. That is just how wild and beautiful it was.It made me wish that I could get down there and walk around and see, up close, all of the trees, bushes, vines, and wildlife as I possibly could. I thought of the monkeys and just wanted to see some so badly. Then I thought of the mountain lions and decided the car ride was good enough for me.
Suddenly, with no warning, we were out of the valley and though the ground was still hilly, we were out of the mountains. And Costa Rica looked like northern Minnesota! There were open fields, farmers fields, forests, lakes and rivers. There were cows, and horses, horses, horses. And, there were a ton of dogs. (the dogs in C.R. are numerous, and have the run of the land. In the cities and towns they walk right down the middle of the road, or cross it at a nice slow pace, and no one honks, or yells at them.) We'd see nothing man made for many miles, then come suddenly to a village. The houses were pretty poor, and they came up very close to the road. Most of them must have been farmers, because a lot of them had produce stands along the road, and the produce looked great! So fresh. We'd be driving down the highway, and we'd come up to a school, and there would be speed bumps in the road on either side of it. It was kind of strange, but very smart!
But what happened next was a real shock. The paved road ended, and the gravel road began, but this was no ordinary gravel road. It was all rocks! I think the smallest ones were the size of my fist. There were rocks the size of bowling balls, and everything was a mess. I don't mean there was a dirt road, and every now and then you'd see a big rock. That is what the road consisted of. Rocks, and little boulders. Sara's poor car sits pretty low to the ground and I just started praying right away. We could not believe that her car didn't break down. You should have heard those rocks hitting the bottom of her car. She went as slow as she could, but the ground underneath was pretty soft, and we were going uphill, and there were pretty big dips in the road, so she couldn't go too slow. At one point the dip was so deep, so long, and it was so full of big rocks, that we almost got stuck. I don't know how long that road was, but it felt like many miles. It was really scary. But, we took another turn, the road continued like that for maybe 2 or 3 blocks distance, and we were out of it and at the "hotel" on who's property the waterfall is.
This hotel consisted of a big, beautiful lodge, with a patio in which is the swimming pool, and a many layered deck that started at the open sided gazebo. There were 5 or 6 bungalows, and horses as well. We had to go into the lodge to pay for the trip to the waterfall, and while that was all being taken care of, we found out that to get to the falls we had to get back on that road, and drive 2 miles to it. There was a way to hike from the lodge, but it was, at places, a pretty steep walk and there were several small children with, and of course, a pregnant lady. Our caravan consisted of 1 big pickup, 3 suv's, 1 mini van and Sara's car. Apparently the guy driving the mini van (which also sits low to the ground), got upset about driving some more on that road. He had had some trouble in the same spot we did. So, the plans were changed and we were hiking. Only, there's no way I could have done that. I have some health issues that made that impossible. So, I stayed behind. But I wasn't upset by that. I had some truly exquisite scenery to watch, and they had a small "library". I thought maybe I'd be able to find something in English.
Well, every book they had was in English. So, I sat by the pool, with my book, and my ginger ale, and frequently looked up because I couldn't keep my eyes off of that view. This is what I saw-on the far side was a mountain, all green and lush like the others, and in between was, well, I don't know what it's called. It was kind of like a valley, but not at all, if that makes any sense. There were huge forests, and multi-layered rocky areas, and a river that was deep, and long, and that snaked around. Only, you can't see the river, even from up that high, because both sides of the river are rock that go straight up. The manager told me that the river is so deep, and so wide, that big (we're talking ocean liners) travel up and down it and sometimes you can see the tops of the masts! I wished I could see it. This whole valley, ravine, whatever it is, is crescent shaped and surrounded 3 sides of the hotel. It was a great, relaxing day. I had really wanted to see the falls, but I don't feel like I was ripped off, because I had a great afternoon! And, it felt like it went very quickly.
Sara had left a sandwich for me, and some money so I could get a snack, or something cold to drink. I did get a coke later on, but the people running this place were so wonderful. They even invited me to have lunch with them. The manager speaks English very well, and his assistant is just learning it. None of the others could speak it at all, but I didn't feel at all unwelcome. The manager asked me if I speak Spanish and when I shook my head no, and said "no hable espaniole" every one laughed. Then he said "none? not at all" so I started listing off what I know:
Agua - water
Asta meniona - see you tomorrow, or later
Felice navidad - merry christmas
No hable espaniol - don't speak spanish
gracias - thanks
mucho gracias - thanks, a lot
de nada - you're welcome
mucho gusto - you're very welcome and several more that I'm just too tired to remember right now.
And, they all laughed at me some more, but it wasn't mean. We were just having a good time. Then I said "Wait! there's one more. Abuela (I doubt very much it's spelled this way) which means grandma. I said I was an Abuela. That my 2 grandsons call me Nana, or grandma Laurie and that they live in Escasu, and they said I wasn't old enough to have 2 grandsons. I wanted to kiss them all, but we didn't know each other very well, so I decided that might be a bad idea!
I cannot remember what lunch was called, but we ate out in the open air and it was so good. And they were so nice to invite me. I really never will forget the Tico's. They're wonderful, generous, kind people who love to laugh, and love. They're openly affectionate with each other and it was very nice to see.
The group came trudging back, and they all looked so tired. One man had been nice enough to put on a carrier, and take Simon, the baby. That was a huge help to Sara. He took him to the falls, and back. The last part of the hike is to come down a hill behind the bungalows, and it got pretty steep, so there were steps and a railing. I knew right away Sara was hurting because she was walking sideways down the steps, just one step at a time. Everyone was tired, and had gotten a lot of sun, and they all said the falls were beautiful. I asked Sara if she took pictures, fully prepared to kill her if she hadn't. But, she's safe. She took pics. She also said that it was a good thing I didn't go. Apparently, the walk back is almost all uphill, and at times it was really steep. I knew it had to be bad when I saw Malachi and told him I'd missed him and he mumbled something I couldn't understand as he walked by. He didn't even stop to visit with the horses.
The drive home, as always, went so much faster. Even the gravel road didn't seem as long, and the really bad spot was better going down. Sara put the car in 1st gear and had a much easier time going down. Her legs didn't get as tired, which was a good thing considering how much walking and climbing she'd just done. There was one spot where a big mound of soil had shown up and was covering more than half of the road.
It was a great day, and a great trip. I got a little sunburned, but not too bad. Sara got badly sunburned, especially on her shoulders, and we all slept pretty well that night. I think. Ok, so I slept really well that night. I don't know about the others, but it was a great day for all of us. We missed John, tho.
Sara heard from a friend at work that someone was organizing a trip to see this really great waterfall. We'd be going on Sunday, it would take about 2 hrs to get there, pack a lunch, bring swimming suits... We were so excited to go!!
So, the day before Sara went to the store to pick up a few groceries and to buy Ginger Ale for the 2 of us. She packed a big bag with suits, towels, and sunscreen. She made our picnic lunch, and we grabbed the kids and took off.
We crossed the valley, and headed up into some absolutely gorgeous mountain area. I've been through the mountains in AZ, but this was very different mountain driving. The road, for the most part, was in really good condition. Sometimes we'd have to cross a gorge, but the bridge was just as good as any you'd find here. What was so different from the AZ mountains was that most of the time the ground on both sides of the car came down to the road, and there were trees right up to the edge of the road. Trees, and bushes, and all sorts of flora and fauna. There was one thing, we couldn't really tell if it was a bush, or a weed, that had leaves that were twice the size of my end table. Absolutely HUGE!!! And, very pretty. Every now and then the ground would level out, or go down on the drivers side, and the trees would thin or they'd be gone altogether. When this happened we saw the most amazing thing. Down the side of the road, across a deep, or small ravine, and up the next side of that mountain was all green. Trees, that were huge, and beautiful. I don't even know how many different kinds there were, but it was beautiful. The trees were so dense that you could see nothing else. Sara told me that this was where Jerrasic Park was filmed, and that was something I actually had remembered, but seeing it made it so clear. They did not have to use any cg, or pc programs to enhance the look of the island in that movie. That is just how wild and beautiful it was.It made me wish that I could get down there and walk around and see, up close, all of the trees, bushes, vines, and wildlife as I possibly could. I thought of the monkeys and just wanted to see some so badly. Then I thought of the mountain lions and decided the car ride was good enough for me.
Suddenly, with no warning, we were out of the valley and though the ground was still hilly, we were out of the mountains. And Costa Rica looked like northern Minnesota! There were open fields, farmers fields, forests, lakes and rivers. There were cows, and horses, horses, horses. And, there were a ton of dogs. (the dogs in C.R. are numerous, and have the run of the land. In the cities and towns they walk right down the middle of the road, or cross it at a nice slow pace, and no one honks, or yells at them.) We'd see nothing man made for many miles, then come suddenly to a village. The houses were pretty poor, and they came up very close to the road. Most of them must have been farmers, because a lot of them had produce stands along the road, and the produce looked great! So fresh. We'd be driving down the highway, and we'd come up to a school, and there would be speed bumps in the road on either side of it. It was kind of strange, but very smart!
But what happened next was a real shock. The paved road ended, and the gravel road began, but this was no ordinary gravel road. It was all rocks! I think the smallest ones were the size of my fist. There were rocks the size of bowling balls, and everything was a mess. I don't mean there was a dirt road, and every now and then you'd see a big rock. That is what the road consisted of. Rocks, and little boulders. Sara's poor car sits pretty low to the ground and I just started praying right away. We could not believe that her car didn't break down. You should have heard those rocks hitting the bottom of her car. She went as slow as she could, but the ground underneath was pretty soft, and we were going uphill, and there were pretty big dips in the road, so she couldn't go too slow. At one point the dip was so deep, so long, and it was so full of big rocks, that we almost got stuck. I don't know how long that road was, but it felt like many miles. It was really scary. But, we took another turn, the road continued like that for maybe 2 or 3 blocks distance, and we were out of it and at the "hotel" on who's property the waterfall is.
This hotel consisted of a big, beautiful lodge, with a patio in which is the swimming pool, and a many layered deck that started at the open sided gazebo. There were 5 or 6 bungalows, and horses as well. We had to go into the lodge to pay for the trip to the waterfall, and while that was all being taken care of, we found out that to get to the falls we had to get back on that road, and drive 2 miles to it. There was a way to hike from the lodge, but it was, at places, a pretty steep walk and there were several small children with, and of course, a pregnant lady. Our caravan consisted of 1 big pickup, 3 suv's, 1 mini van and Sara's car. Apparently the guy driving the mini van (which also sits low to the ground), got upset about driving some more on that road. He had had some trouble in the same spot we did. So, the plans were changed and we were hiking. Only, there's no way I could have done that. I have some health issues that made that impossible. So, I stayed behind. But I wasn't upset by that. I had some truly exquisite scenery to watch, and they had a small "library". I thought maybe I'd be able to find something in English.
Well, every book they had was in English. So, I sat by the pool, with my book, and my ginger ale, and frequently looked up because I couldn't keep my eyes off of that view. This is what I saw-on the far side was a mountain, all green and lush like the others, and in between was, well, I don't know what it's called. It was kind of like a valley, but not at all, if that makes any sense. There were huge forests, and multi-layered rocky areas, and a river that was deep, and long, and that snaked around. Only, you can't see the river, even from up that high, because both sides of the river are rock that go straight up. The manager told me that the river is so deep, and so wide, that big (we're talking ocean liners) travel up and down it and sometimes you can see the tops of the masts! I wished I could see it. This whole valley, ravine, whatever it is, is crescent shaped and surrounded 3 sides of the hotel. It was a great, relaxing day. I had really wanted to see the falls, but I don't feel like I was ripped off, because I had a great afternoon! And, it felt like it went very quickly.
Sara had left a sandwich for me, and some money so I could get a snack, or something cold to drink. I did get a coke later on, but the people running this place were so wonderful. They even invited me to have lunch with them. The manager speaks English very well, and his assistant is just learning it. None of the others could speak it at all, but I didn't feel at all unwelcome. The manager asked me if I speak Spanish and when I shook my head no, and said "no hable espaniole" every one laughed. Then he said "none? not at all" so I started listing off what I know:
Agua - water
Asta meniona - see you tomorrow, or later
Felice navidad - merry christmas
No hable espaniol - don't speak spanish
gracias - thanks
mucho gracias - thanks, a lot
de nada - you're welcome
mucho gusto - you're very welcome and several more that I'm just too tired to remember right now.
And, they all laughed at me some more, but it wasn't mean. We were just having a good time. Then I said "Wait! there's one more. Abuela (I doubt very much it's spelled this way) which means grandma. I said I was an Abuela. That my 2 grandsons call me Nana, or grandma Laurie and that they live in Escasu, and they said I wasn't old enough to have 2 grandsons. I wanted to kiss them all, but we didn't know each other very well, so I decided that might be a bad idea!
I cannot remember what lunch was called, but we ate out in the open air and it was so good. And they were so nice to invite me. I really never will forget the Tico's. They're wonderful, generous, kind people who love to laugh, and love. They're openly affectionate with each other and it was very nice to see.
The group came trudging back, and they all looked so tired. One man had been nice enough to put on a carrier, and take Simon, the baby. That was a huge help to Sara. He took him to the falls, and back. The last part of the hike is to come down a hill behind the bungalows, and it got pretty steep, so there were steps and a railing. I knew right away Sara was hurting because she was walking sideways down the steps, just one step at a time. Everyone was tired, and had gotten a lot of sun, and they all said the falls were beautiful. I asked Sara if she took pictures, fully prepared to kill her if she hadn't. But, she's safe. She took pics. She also said that it was a good thing I didn't go. Apparently, the walk back is almost all uphill, and at times it was really steep. I knew it had to be bad when I saw Malachi and told him I'd missed him and he mumbled something I couldn't understand as he walked by. He didn't even stop to visit with the horses.
The drive home, as always, went so much faster. Even the gravel road didn't seem as long, and the really bad spot was better going down. Sara put the car in 1st gear and had a much easier time going down. Her legs didn't get as tired, which was a good thing considering how much walking and climbing she'd just done. There was one spot where a big mound of soil had shown up and was covering more than half of the road.
It was a great day, and a great trip. I got a little sunburned, but not too bad. Sara got badly sunburned, especially on her shoulders, and we all slept pretty well that night. I think. Ok, so I slept really well that night. I don't know about the others, but it was a great day for all of us. We missed John, tho.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Costa Rica, cont.
Sara worked on Tuesday, so I had Simon to myself for several hours. Well, Patricia was there, but I pretty much had Simon the whole day and let her get on with her work. That child is a hand full! He is a 1 yr old with a mission, and he can't wait to do it. He loves to push buttons and play with anything electronic, which he really isn't allowed to do so he gets a little frustrated when you pull him away from the entertainment center, but otherwise is perfectly content to play with his toys. They have a cute toy that has a big magnet on the back, and several smaller pieces that go with it that also have magnets. They keep these on the fridge, so he has something to play with when you're in the kitchen. This would work great, and he does often play with it, but he really loves appliances. So, if you're going to open a hot oven, you have to be sure of where he is, and if you can get it open, take out the cookies, and close it before he gets there. He is the fastest crawler I have ever seen! You can always tell when someone starts the dishwasher, washer, or dryer because he makes a beeline to the kitchen or laundry room.
Over the next several days we spent a lot of time just hanging out, and I got to spend a lot of time with the boys. Malachi and I played castle, and "I'm invisible so you can't see me, but you think the castle must be haunted, cause I'm going to make a lot of noise.", board games, coloring, hide and seek, and watched a few movies together. I had a lot of fun and I miss him so much! But, Sara and I also went to the mall and Simon had his first haircut, and we went to the spa where a friend of hers works. Sara got a pedicure, and I got a facial. I've never had one before, I've got to say that my skin was great afterwords, but I'm not sure I'll ever do it again. It kind of hurt!
I got a tour of the embassy. Very nice!! Both Sara & John work there, and we timed it so that after the tour, John took us to lunch. We went to this little, tiny place across the street from the Embassy. I think there were about 7 tables, and the front of it was wide open. They make roasted chicken there, in this big brick walk in oven, and they use chopped up coffee trees to fuel it. It was the BEST chicken I've ever had. It was so tender, and it was so good.
Over the course of the week I learned that I had a lot of their life in Costa Rica wrong. Yes, they have a big house, and a housekeeper/nanny. They live in a gated community, with guards who patrol it after dark, and they have good jobs. But, except for the housekeeper, it's very expensive to live there. 1 lb of bacon costs $7.00. 1 lb of butter costs $8.00, and a tiny little container of real maple syrup costs $30.00. And that's at Costco!!! Patricia is the housekeeper, and Tico's are used to not making much money, but S & J decided to pay her more than the going rate. She has 2 children, and she does a great job taking care of the house and kids.The average income for a Tico is the equivalent of $5,000.00. I think life must be very hard for them.
John left for his trip to Equadore, and we had dinner at the house of some co-workers of Sara. They had a small dinner party and the food was great! And so was the company. It was a very pleasant evening. That was Friday night. Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market. The produce there is fantastic! It's so incredibly fresh. There were a lot of people there. I had told Sara that I wanted to go to a market where people sell their wares, but that's in downtown San Jose, and that's not the most pleasant place. The traffic is a nightmare, so Sara didn't want to go, and I don't blame her. We went thru it, briefly, on our way back from the waterfall, and it had teeny, tiny little streets, most of which were 1 way, and the streets were typically short. I could see it being very easy to get lost there.
I'll leave the waterfall for my next blog. It deserves it's own blog. And, so does the trip home. That was wild! You're going to love it!!
P. S. please pray for Malachi and S & J. Malachi has had a LOT of seizures since I left. He had them the whole time I was there, but they were never more than 3 in a day (If I'm remembering that correctly) and they were all small seizures. He had no grand mal seizures. But, he has had 8 small, and 2 large seizures, since I left. I think that's right. Sara? Am I remembering that correctly?
Over the next several days we spent a lot of time just hanging out, and I got to spend a lot of time with the boys. Malachi and I played castle, and "I'm invisible so you can't see me, but you think the castle must be haunted, cause I'm going to make a lot of noise.", board games, coloring, hide and seek, and watched a few movies together. I had a lot of fun and I miss him so much! But, Sara and I also went to the mall and Simon had his first haircut, and we went to the spa where a friend of hers works. Sara got a pedicure, and I got a facial. I've never had one before, I've got to say that my skin was great afterwords, but I'm not sure I'll ever do it again. It kind of hurt!
I got a tour of the embassy. Very nice!! Both Sara & John work there, and we timed it so that after the tour, John took us to lunch. We went to this little, tiny place across the street from the Embassy. I think there were about 7 tables, and the front of it was wide open. They make roasted chicken there, in this big brick walk in oven, and they use chopped up coffee trees to fuel it. It was the BEST chicken I've ever had. It was so tender, and it was so good.
Over the course of the week I learned that I had a lot of their life in Costa Rica wrong. Yes, they have a big house, and a housekeeper/nanny. They live in a gated community, with guards who patrol it after dark, and they have good jobs. But, except for the housekeeper, it's very expensive to live there. 1 lb of bacon costs $7.00. 1 lb of butter costs $8.00, and a tiny little container of real maple syrup costs $30.00. And that's at Costco!!! Patricia is the housekeeper, and Tico's are used to not making much money, but S & J decided to pay her more than the going rate. She has 2 children, and she does a great job taking care of the house and kids.The average income for a Tico is the equivalent of $5,000.00. I think life must be very hard for them.
John left for his trip to Equadore, and we had dinner at the house of some co-workers of Sara. They had a small dinner party and the food was great! And so was the company. It was a very pleasant evening. That was Friday night. Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market. The produce there is fantastic! It's so incredibly fresh. There were a lot of people there. I had told Sara that I wanted to go to a market where people sell their wares, but that's in downtown San Jose, and that's not the most pleasant place. The traffic is a nightmare, so Sara didn't want to go, and I don't blame her. We went thru it, briefly, on our way back from the waterfall, and it had teeny, tiny little streets, most of which were 1 way, and the streets were typically short. I could see it being very easy to get lost there.
I'll leave the waterfall for my next blog. It deserves it's own blog. And, so does the trip home. That was wild! You're going to love it!!
P. S. please pray for Malachi and S & J. Malachi has had a LOT of seizures since I left. He had them the whole time I was there, but they were never more than 3 in a day (If I'm remembering that correctly) and they were all small seizures. He had no grand mal seizures. But, he has had 8 small, and 2 large seizures, since I left. I think that's right. Sara? Am I remembering that correctly?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Costa Rica
Wow. There's just so much, I don't know where to begin. Ok, how about the beginning?
My entire life I have suffered with motion sickness. I get sick in the car, and everything bigger than that. In fact, the bigger the vehicle, the sicker I get. Needless to say, I hate to fly. Fortunately, I heard from a coworker, a few years ago, that ginger helps. I went straight to GNC and got a big bottle and it really does help. I usually still get sick when flying, but only during the descent.
I have never left the country before, except a short jaunt into Canada when I was 10. I had a 4 hr layover in Denver, followed by a 5 hr ride to San Jose. I never got sick. Not once. Not even a little bit. This made the whole trip start out so great. I was in a wonderful mood.
Sara was waiting at the airport for me, and I was so happy to see her. All the way to their house I kept saying "I'm not in the states anymore!" San Jose, and all of it's suburbs is in a big, roundish valley that is ringed with mountains. It was all freeway driving at first, and then little cities and villages. I have to say that C.R. has lush, beautiful green trees and grasses, of many kinds. There was a lot of traffic, and the people drive like they drive in Europe, from what I hear. And yet, the whole time I was there I saw no accidents.
It was just terrific to see Sara again. She and Simon had just been here a month before, but I can usually count on seeing them only once, or twice, a year, so this was a real treat. When we got to their house (beautiful!!) Malachi ran straight for me and I was thrilled to see him and John. Simon was still sleeping. We had a great breakfast of different pastries and lots of fresh fruit. (If you have plans to never go to C.R., or anywhere tropical, go for the produce. GREAT!!!!)
Simon got up and the 5 of us just hung out for a while, then Nana had to go take a nap. I went down on the red eye. We had a nice, relaxing day at their house and it was the best way to start my trip!
Monday Sara & I went to the grocery store. It was beautiful. So nice, and so clean. It was very much like Byerly's. It was odd to see that the store was very much Costa Rican. All of the employees were Tico's (C.R. are called Tico pronounced tee-koe), and it was Spanish all around us. Sara is very good at speaking C.R. Spanish. But, most of the products came from the states. John said we had to play a game that night. They had a new one they just love. Sara took me to an old monastery that's been converted to a restaurant. It was very, very nice and the food was great. We sat at a table that was up against the glass wall, and my fear of heights thing popped up. Sara & John are at 3300 ft on the mountain, and the monastery was another 2000 ft up. It was right on the edge and you could see the whole valley. I felt like I was being tipped towards the wall and was a little freaked out, but not for long. The view was spectacular, and the food was very good. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any pictures. It was too dark and even when Sara suppressed her flash, it still wasn't any good. I meant to go back up to take pics, but just forgot. (I'm very good at that!) We went back to their house and played Ticket To Ride, and I could have played all night. Very fun game!!
It was a great start to my trip. I'll post more later. Still recovering from the trip home, and need to take a nap. Sorry, don't mean to be cryptic, but you'll just have to read more later on.
My entire life I have suffered with motion sickness. I get sick in the car, and everything bigger than that. In fact, the bigger the vehicle, the sicker I get. Needless to say, I hate to fly. Fortunately, I heard from a coworker, a few years ago, that ginger helps. I went straight to GNC and got a big bottle and it really does help. I usually still get sick when flying, but only during the descent.
I have never left the country before, except a short jaunt into Canada when I was 10. I had a 4 hr layover in Denver, followed by a 5 hr ride to San Jose. I never got sick. Not once. Not even a little bit. This made the whole trip start out so great. I was in a wonderful mood.
Sara was waiting at the airport for me, and I was so happy to see her. All the way to their house I kept saying "I'm not in the states anymore!" San Jose, and all of it's suburbs is in a big, roundish valley that is ringed with mountains. It was all freeway driving at first, and then little cities and villages. I have to say that C.R. has lush, beautiful green trees and grasses, of many kinds. There was a lot of traffic, and the people drive like they drive in Europe, from what I hear. And yet, the whole time I was there I saw no accidents.
It was just terrific to see Sara again. She and Simon had just been here a month before, but I can usually count on seeing them only once, or twice, a year, so this was a real treat. When we got to their house (beautiful!!) Malachi ran straight for me and I was thrilled to see him and John. Simon was still sleeping. We had a great breakfast of different pastries and lots of fresh fruit. (If you have plans to never go to C.R., or anywhere tropical, go for the produce. GREAT!!!!)
Simon got up and the 5 of us just hung out for a while, then Nana had to go take a nap. I went down on the red eye. We had a nice, relaxing day at their house and it was the best way to start my trip!
Monday Sara & I went to the grocery store. It was beautiful. So nice, and so clean. It was very much like Byerly's. It was odd to see that the store was very much Costa Rican. All of the employees were Tico's (C.R. are called Tico pronounced tee-koe), and it was Spanish all around us. Sara is very good at speaking C.R. Spanish. But, most of the products came from the states. John said we had to play a game that night. They had a new one they just love. Sara took me to an old monastery that's been converted to a restaurant. It was very, very nice and the food was great. We sat at a table that was up against the glass wall, and my fear of heights thing popped up. Sara & John are at 3300 ft on the mountain, and the monastery was another 2000 ft up. It was right on the edge and you could see the whole valley. I felt like I was being tipped towards the wall and was a little freaked out, but not for long. The view was spectacular, and the food was very good. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any pictures. It was too dark and even when Sara suppressed her flash, it still wasn't any good. I meant to go back up to take pics, but just forgot. (I'm very good at that!) We went back to their house and played Ticket To Ride, and I could have played all night. Very fun game!!
It was a great start to my trip. I'll post more later. Still recovering from the trip home, and need to take a nap. Sorry, don't mean to be cryptic, but you'll just have to read more later on.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Retraction, and disclaimer
Just a little bit tonight. Have packing and such to do.
It was brought to my attention that according to Snopes, Youtube, and a couple of dictionaries, I have the origin of the F bomb wrong. Apparently the woman who wrote the biography of Henry VIII that I read last summer didn't double check with any of the sources which disagree. Thanks, Randy, for pointing that out to me. I appreciate it!!
I can't believe I had to write a retraction already! Going forward, if I send out incorrect info, and you know the real deal, please feel free to put it in a comment on my blog.I don't ever mind constructive criticism!
Ok, by the time you read this I will, most likely, be just a few short hours away from the beginning of my trip. Will write more, later, from Costa Rica!
It was brought to my attention that according to Snopes, Youtube, and a couple of dictionaries, I have the origin of the F bomb wrong. Apparently the woman who wrote the biography of Henry VIII that I read last summer didn't double check with any of the sources which disagree. Thanks, Randy, for pointing that out to me. I appreciate it!!
I can't believe I had to write a retraction already! Going forward, if I send out incorrect info, and you know the real deal, please feel free to put it in a comment on my blog.I don't ever mind constructive criticism!
Ok, by the time you read this I will, most likely, be just a few short hours away from the beginning of my trip. Will write more, later, from Costa Rica!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Getting ready
Ok, I most likely will not be putting a new post on this blog every day. In fact I'm certain of it. Although I frequently fantasize that I'm that interesting and important, the truth of the matter is that, I'm not. In fact, this blog may end up being kind of a drag, but then, if nothing in my real life proves interesting, I'll just make something up!
Today I ran errands and did a bunch of shopping to get ready for my trip to C.R. It's 8:30 pm and I just got out of the shower and need to do a mountain of laundry. Steph bought me a whole new wardrobe, and the clothes came yesterday, so I have to wash them and get the manufacturers starch out of them. Otherwise, I'll spend the majority of next week breaking out in hives, instead of climbing the volcano. I wouldn't enjoy that much.
I'm wearing the first sweat suit I've owned for many, many years and it is the softest thing I've ever had on my body. I don't ever want to take it off.
Took our taxes over to my brother's house today. He's such a good brother. Mark does our taxes every year, and it doesn't cost me $500.00 It's wonderful!! But, the best part, apart from visiting with Mark & Patty, was that I got to visit with their dog, Stella, and their cats Whiskers and Cocoa. I love pets! I wish I could have one here, but they aren't allowed.Well, that's not entirely true. Steph has a Beta, named Trevor. We're allowed to have fish and birds. We think he's dying, though. Of course, he's been dying for about 6 months, but whatever!
Today I ran errands and did a bunch of shopping to get ready for my trip to C.R. It's 8:30 pm and I just got out of the shower and need to do a mountain of laundry. Steph bought me a whole new wardrobe, and the clothes came yesterday, so I have to wash them and get the manufacturers starch out of them. Otherwise, I'll spend the majority of next week breaking out in hives, instead of climbing the volcano. I wouldn't enjoy that much.
I'm wearing the first sweat suit I've owned for many, many years and it is the softest thing I've ever had on my body. I don't ever want to take it off.
Took our taxes over to my brother's house today. He's such a good brother. Mark does our taxes every year, and it doesn't cost me $500.00 It's wonderful!! But, the best part, apart from visiting with Mark & Patty, was that I got to visit with their dog, Stella, and their cats Whiskers and Cocoa. I love pets! I wish I could have one here, but they aren't allowed.Well, that's not entirely true. Steph has a Beta, named Trevor. We're allowed to have fish and birds. We think he's dying, though. Of course, he's been dying for about 6 months, but whatever!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Ramblings
Tip of the day:
NEVER blow your nose when you're wearing your headphones. :)
Useless info in my head:
Did you know that the F bomb is an acronym? King Henry, the 7th I believe, gave royals and the aristocracy the right to have affairs with high born women when their wives "failed" to conceive. Apparently there was a shocking lack of heirs. They would be sent to a room and would hang a sign on the doorknob on the outside of the room. The sign read "Fornicating Under Consent Of The King" They hung the sign so that they would not be disturbed. Can't help wondering if that's where the "Do not disturb" signs in modern day hotels came from.
Turning 50
I turned 50 one month ago and frankly I don't understand why people get so upset by it. I looked forward to my birthday for months and when the day came I had a blast. My oldest daughter, Sara, was visiting from Costa Rica with my youngest grandson Simon. We had a great week while they were here.
The day before my birthday, there was a party at which a good time was had by all. I got flowers, a balloon and some gifts. We had great food, played games and had a lot of fun. The day of my birthday Sara took Stephanie (my youngest daughter) and I to a Spanish restaurant in Minneapolis for Tapas. The food was spectacular and we had a good time there as well.
Being 50 has not bothered me at all. In fact, I am going to take my first international trip in 3 days! I am going to Costa Rica to spend time with Sara, her husband John, their oldest son Malachi, and Simon. I'm very excited to see John and Malachi, since they were not here for the last trip.
Being 50 (and being a Nana) means to me that I have earned the right to wear ugly clothes, be selfish while driving, be forgetful and take naps. That does not mean that I think 50 is old. It simply means that I've hit a milestone and have earned the right for a little leeway. I do not feel any older or feeble in any way.
Now that I'm 50, I'm going to look forward to more fun in my life. As the kids were growing up I had all of the responsibility of every parent. My time wasn't own; the kids had to come first, which is the way it should be. Now my time is pretty much my own, and I have the freedom to indulge.
I've started this blog to chronicle my journey through the 50+ years. I hope to travel more after this years trip to CR, especially to spend more time with Sara and her family. Also, I've always dreamed of going to France. I would also love to learn how to play the violin. That goal is iffy, but I'm willing to give it a try! I also hope to loose weight and become healthier.
And this blog will follow all of my endeavors...
The day before my birthday, there was a party at which a good time was had by all. I got flowers, a balloon and some gifts. We had great food, played games and had a lot of fun. The day of my birthday Sara took Stephanie (my youngest daughter) and I to a Spanish restaurant in Minneapolis for Tapas. The food was spectacular and we had a good time there as well.
Being 50 has not bothered me at all. In fact, I am going to take my first international trip in 3 days! I am going to Costa Rica to spend time with Sara, her husband John, their oldest son Malachi, and Simon. I'm very excited to see John and Malachi, since they were not here for the last trip.
Being 50 (and being a Nana) means to me that I have earned the right to wear ugly clothes, be selfish while driving, be forgetful and take naps. That does not mean that I think 50 is old. It simply means that I've hit a milestone and have earned the right for a little leeway. I do not feel any older or feeble in any way.
Now that I'm 50, I'm going to look forward to more fun in my life. As the kids were growing up I had all of the responsibility of every parent. My time wasn't own; the kids had to come first, which is the way it should be. Now my time is pretty much my own, and I have the freedom to indulge.
I've started this blog to chronicle my journey through the 50+ years. I hope to travel more after this years trip to CR, especially to spend more time with Sara and her family. Also, I've always dreamed of going to France. I would also love to learn how to play the violin. That goal is iffy, but I'm willing to give it a try! I also hope to loose weight and become healthier.
And this blog will follow all of my endeavors...
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