I was RAK'd!

I don't know that Philip thinks of it as a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) but it certainly was.  I took my Metho shot last night so I was sleeping in.  I won't lie.  I woke up feeling sad and overwhelmed (it happens!).  I was really swirling down and contemplating if staying in bed all day was a good idea.  Out of the blue, I got a call from Philip.  He wondered if he could come over (it's his Dad's weekend).  I suggested he bring breakfast.

I jumped out of bed and put clothes on.  I started watching a movie on Hallmark and waited.  My little ray of sunshine showed up with Einstein's and a Jamba Juice!!  He knows me so well. Sesame bagel sliced but no smear and not toasted and a bagel pretzel.  Jamba - small Razzmatazz without boosts.  We ate our breakfast together and caught up.

When he got here, I gave him a huge tight hug and thanked him for showing up at the very time I needed it most.  That simple surprise reach from him changed the course of my entire day!

I complain a lot about mothering a teen but sometimes, my teen shows his tender caring side and surprises me in a way I wouldn't even know how to ask for.  It is these moments that let me know I've raised an amazing kid and he is going to grow up to be an amazing adult.

I'll be glad when this Metho day is over.  It's been a rough one.

I made it!

I made it to my holiday vacation time!  Every year, I save as much vacation as I can to take at the end of the year.  Today was my last official work day of 2014.  I know I will need to do a few things while I am off but that will be on my schedule when I want too.

I've been very busy getting everything done for my celebrations.  I have my crafts done, shopping done, and the house is clean and decorated.  All gifts are wrapped, cards are sent, and lists are checked.  So now I get to sleep in, nap, watch holiday movies, bake cookies, and really enjoy what I like most about the holidays....spending time with the people I love (both far and near).  I might even find inspiration to blog more!

If I drank, I would crack open a bottle of wine or make a martini and really celebrate almost 2 weeks off work.  Feel free to have one for me.  I'll feel the glow all the way over here!

Book Club Ladies

I've been part of a book club for several years.  I've gone through my periods of time when I wasn't sure I wanted to continue.  But I do continue and I keep pushing to go to book club when I can, regardless if I've read the book or not.  I would say about 50% of the time, I didn't enjoy the book but it has pushed me out of my regular genre reading and I've read and loved books I would have never guessed.

Each year, at the end of the year, we take a group  photo.  We took one last week at our last book club of the year.  Many of the ladies are missing.  We have 21 people in our book club.  I thought I would share so you can peek at the lovely ladies I spend an evening with once a month.

Back - Teri, Shari, Rhonda, Tiffany, Stacy, Me, Marybeth
Front -  Laurie, Kim, Holly, Kathy, Allyson

Sometimes these ladies give me just the boost to keep smiling.  It really is a special group of ladies.

Crafting part 2

I finally did it.  I got Philip excited to work on Christmas crafts!  It helps that my kitchen table is covered with every dream of crafts you could image.  I have clay, rolling pins, glue guns, glitter, beads, etc, etc, etc.  We were both really excited about the polymer clay gingerbread boys Nola and I made.  Philip decided he wanted to make a "modern" one for his girlfriend.  Of course, it needs to be punky with piercings and such.  I convinced him part of the goal needs to be to keep it looking like a gingerbread boy.

Philip conditioning clay.

His gingerbread boy.  Complete with
piercings and punk bangs.



While Philip worked on his gingerbread boy, I worked on decorating the plain stocking we bought.  We got some really pretty metallic fringe.  I had the felt laser cut snowflakes already so I beaded them and put sequins on them and glued them on.  I embroidered her name on it.  I think it came out pretty cool.  It reminded me of making stockings when I was a little girl.  Ours were never this pretty but they were fun anyway.

 

After we finished those projects, I decided to continue on with my Dollar Store crafts.  I had a wreath left over from Nola's visit and I saw on TV to get some tinsel garland and glue it on so it is like a vintage kitschy wreath.  So for $2 total, this is what I ended up with.  I thought it was so cute, I went and got another wreath so I had 2.  I hung them on my patio doors leading to our deck.  I think they are cute.  Philip said it was over the top but I think kitschy isn't Philip's thing.

In process.  Super easy and super cheap.

I'm not sure if it is a good thing or not, but Baby has become super obsessed with crafting with us.  She MUST be in the group.  In my scrapbook room, I have a folded towel I put on my desk for her to sit on.  It took me a minute of her being obnoxious while doing crafts in the kitchen to realize she needed a "crafting mat" on the kitchen table.  I put it there and almost immediately, she sat on it and was content.  It is pretty cute.

Kitty Craft Master and Quality Control Supervisor. 
She thought the tinsel was a gift from god!

Much to my surprise, Philip wanted to go with me when I went back to the Dollar Store.  This is the kid that will practically go to school in underpants to avoid shopping.  He hates shopping.  So when he said he would go, that was a real treat to me.  He was in a great mood and really got into it.  We were fascinated with the hats.  He put one on and even let me take a photo!

One might say he looks very unhappy but the person that says that must not have a teen because this is the classic "teen look".  If you are happy, sad, excited, crying....this is it.  We were actually laughing hysterically.  To the point that people were looking.  Yes, he knew I was taking a photo.  He even was okay with me putting it on Instagram!

We  had great fun crafting and we were both really happy with the end results.  Now I suppose I should clean all the supplies off the table.

Rocky Raccoon

A few weeks ago, I heard something in the chimney.  It was clear it was some kind of critter.  I decided to get my yard stick and beat on the grates (the flue is shut).  I did it a few times and the fireplace went quiet.  Isn't that so cool I fixed it all by myself and for free?

Fast forward to yesterday.  I hear it again.  It is the sound of chewing and movement.  Little squeaks.  Again I beat the grates with my yardstick.  It got quiet but the sound did not stop for long.  So I googled what to do with a critter in the fireplace chimney.  Everything I read said I needed to call an exterminator that specializes in animal removal.  So I called one that trapped instead of poisoned the animal.  I got an appointment for this afternoon.

Last night I was sitting at the kitchen table doing crafts.  There are a few stray kitties that come around when they are hungry.  The cute shy grey one came so I put out some kibbles in the dish.  Not too long after, I looked over and this is what I saw.

This is not my photo but a great representative of what I saw.  Startled me!!

So this morning, I had a 5 hour conference call for work.  The exterminator came right after the call was done.  Since I've been crafting and working, the house is a mess and I was a mess.  Here is what exterminators usually look like and what I expected.

Here is what the guy looked like.  And he was single and really nice.

It wasn't Ben Affleck but he could have been a brother.

Here is what I looked like.

(this is not  me but pretty close to what I suspect I looked like to Ben's Brother)

What he probably thought my house looked like.

They say a good date will never come knocking on your door.  I don't know if this guy would have been a good date.  But I am pretty sure I didn't tempt him either.

The good news is Ben's brother, the exterminator, couldn't find the raccoon in the chimney or in the basement but he said there were fresh soot footprints on the roof and chimney stack so Rocky was in there.  He put screening across my chimney entrance.  No more critters will be getting in my fireplace.  He also checked all around the house and said he saw no place the critters could be getting in my attic which was a huge relief.  He also suggested I do NOT put food out for the cats outside.  He said cat and dog food are like special treats to raccoons, rats, and squirrels.

I'm glad it is taken care of.  And my meeting went well.  Thanks for asking.  Haha!

I'm not a pin cushion dang it!

How is your December going?  Doing any RAKs?  I've kept up so far and I keep seeing chances to do more.  So much fun.

I continue to work hard on my pre-Hopkins testing.  Today was my last pre-visit test.  I had the EMG today.  There is just no way to put it besides it really sucked.  Dr. D, my Neurologist did the test and she teaches EMG studies to students so she knows what she is doing.  We started with nerve tests where they put a shock think on your arm and legs and send a pulse though to see your reaction.  After that pleasant experience (sarcasm), we started with the needle electrodes.  We started on my legs.  Although I am not afraid of needles, they certainly aren't great.  For this test, she puts it in a specific muscle and you have to rest to try to get a silent reading.  If you can't get silent (totally relaxed), she will try another spot close by.  Once it is as quiet as she can find,  she then moves the needle around in a circle in your muscle while you keep "relaxing".  Then you flex that muscle so the chatter increases.  Then, she circles again while you are flexing.  After she finishes one muscle, she moves to another.  Depending what the muscles say will determine how many pricks you get.  Luckily my legs were coming back normal.  So we moved to the arms after 4 areas.

That is more tender for sure.  She did my upper and lower arms and right between my thumb and pointer (ouch!).  My triceps was acting abnormal so she decided to check my neck and spine.  It was abnormal too.  Doesn't make much sense because I'm on Methotrexate and the other muscles were normal.  She was real curious and is anxious to hear what the specialists have to say.

Doesn't look like a medieval torture device....does it.

She did warn me that Johns Hopkins will most likely want to repeat the test.  If it were her, she would do another muscle biopsy of my triceps.  She encouraged me to do that at Johns Hopkins if they wanted because it would give a more complete picture.

The great news is my insurance has agreed to pay for 1 consultation at Johns Hopkins but they will not pay for any procedures or the travel.  Hopefully I won't need any more.  But this disease is complicated  and it can be tricky to figure it out.  And figuring it out is exactly why I am investing in Johns Hopkins this next year.

So now I can put my health issues away for a few weeks and enjoy the holidays!  Are you getting ready?  There are only 11 days until Christmas!!!!!

December 1 - RAK

Happy December!!  I always try to look for opportunities to be kind but December, I focus on doing Random Acts of Kindness (RAK).  My friend Ann (from San Diego) shared a link to a site that sends a daily reminder with an idea for a Random Act of Kindness.  These don't need to cost a lot.  In fact, they can be free.  I am sharing with you guys to hopefully inspire you to do a little RAKing yourself.  Feel free to sign up for the reminder email as well.  It is fun and it will make your heart feel good.

The Advent Calendar - http://www.noomii.com/advent-calendar

December 1 suggestion - http://www.noomii.com/advent-calendar/2014/day-1

Have a great day!