Simple Pleasures

Well, I am pretty much done with baking. The cookies are in the freezer and will be making their way across the U.S. and England on Monday. Whew! I will be glad when they are out of sight. I have been trying so hard to be good by not eating any. They sure are tempting though.

This Monday whilst shopping I will be looking up gluten free baking products. This is the holidays for cripes sake. Could you imagine...... no more cookies, breads, scones, pies...etc?!!!!!!The one good thing about it is that I am losing weight from ditching the wheat products. I will not give up. I shall overcome.

Life has been quiet. My hubby still has his job at least until the new year. It is not very nice what is happening to everyone. I tell him I know it is tough but we must be very grateful that he has a job and we still have our home. I have been trying to limit his time watching the news. It is so very very negative and only fuels fear and worry. I have learned to use cookies as rewards. If you do not watch the gloom and doom, I will give you a few cookies and a cuddle.

The holidays are being kept very simple this year with my family. I find that to be quite enjoyable. Take all the materialism away from the holidays and perhaps we can begin to see the true beauty of giving. Not from the wallet but from the heart. There is nothing wrong with getting back to the basics of life.

Blessings and enchantments to all who have crossed this way. Cherish all the little blessings in your life today.

What's Up?

What a great feeling it is to be back on board. I have been keeping busy and staying out of trouble. Well, except for when I ate three Christmas cookies yesterday and my mouth protested with sores. Theory....... gluten allergy. Upcoming tests to confirm but I am pretty much dead on that my love for wheat is coming to an end. The cookies were good by the way. I have my orders in and this year I will be shipping a surprise care package to my godsons in England. Their mum and dad are going to love all those sweeties and three boys bouncing off the walls.

I am coming out of the blah phase of medication transitions. The blessing in disguise is that we may have discovered what was causing my memory loss... my old medication. God works in mysterious ways.

I have so many things to share and not sure where to start. I did have a very interesting experience on the drive into town today. We were taking movies back that we had rented and a very strong storm was blowing through. As we were driving merrily down the road a bolt of lightening strike on my side of the car into the ditch. I heard a loud crack, saw a blue light and a ball of fire. I did not know quite what to think. I do recall saying.... "holy shit, that was close! "
I felt very energized by the whole thing but my husband said he had to check his pants. I said I would like to see that again. I wonder if this is how Frankenstein felt on his birth day? On a serious note I can say I am glad my seizure medication is working. Lightening storms have set them off in the past. That was my excitement for the day. I will be going back into the kitchen to spend the rest of the evening making Amish sugar cookies. I made 6 dozen of oatmeal apple raisin last night and twice that in the sugar cookies tonight. Tomorrow will be spent icing and decorating. Each day will be invested in a different Christmas cookie. I just have to keep them from going into my mouth. Augh!!!!

Here is a recent pic of Vance my little man. I have to laugh because this is just too precious. I was not very fond of Santa either as a kid. His parents will have to keep this to embarrass him with his girlfriends in the future. I did it and so it goes with each generation.




This is me at around 3. I was just petrified and too shy so I commenced with eating my mittens rather then cry. I saved that for when I exited the store.


Wishing everyone the best and hoping that you all find your enchantments during these challenging times.

Blessings

Nothin But Cute

Hello all! I finally have some time to stop in for a peek to see how everyone is doing. Last time I think it was to speak about my health. I have added another specialist to my list of doctors. Currently there is a suspicion that I may have an auto-immune disorder. I am not even shocked anymore. It would explain all the strange illnesses in the past three years.. the onset of seizures, rashes, weakness etc. The two in question are Celiac disease and Lupus. I am taking it all in good stride. Right now the current issue is getting the lesions in my mouth under control. Those are definitely a sign my body is really pissed about something. I am getting relief and I could care less about the nasty vile medicine. I will have to stay away from cookies and all those nice things for the holidays until I find out the verdict. Anyhoo, enough about that. I wanted to share yet another video of pure cuteness. For every sad thing we should find an equal amount of happy things and here is mine! And blessings and hugs to all of you for your prayers, friendship and support during these challenging times.

Carry Onward With Some Enchantment

Well I am back feeling so much better and brighter then what I have been for the past few months. My health really took me for a rollercoaster ride. It is so good to be able to get off and be on steady ground. Today was my best day in a long time. I even went for a run this afternoon. Woo hoo! The air was brisk but I loved every second to just have the energy and freedom from pain. I am truly grateful for my recovery.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and continuing support. You all truly are angels in disguise. If I could, I would gather you all for a celebratory meal with hugs and laughter as the main course. Thank you again my dear friends.


I do have a little treat to share. Enchantments come in all sizes and the little girl in the following video can really rock! I love the group Kansas and this is one of my favorite songs. Even if you have never heard of the group Kansas you will enjoy this kid. She is truly talented. A one woman rock band. The audience must not have been rockers though. Shame on them as she deserves an encore!

Where Am I and What Day Is It?!

Well here I am once again. Doing as well as I can in my current situation. The last time I posted it was in regards to my allergic reaction to my ant-seizure medication. I am still tapering down and off while I am starting on the new one. No breakthrough seizures thank goodness for that. This week I will be taking the bad medicine every other day and by next week be totally off. I am hoping this will do the trick. If the lesions on my tongue do not go on their own I will have to visit an oral surgeon. I DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT! I've had enough. Never knew screaming in all caps could feel so good. And it doesn't hurt my mouth!

Last week I also went to my first neuropsychologist. Yes, there is such a thing. I never knew it until I needed one. I have been progressively losing my memory and other cognitive features that I have taken granted for over the years. I have real good days and real bad days. Today is a good "brain" day. I can put sentences together and remember to turn off the stove. My husband has noticed it for sometime and he is the one that suggested for me to get tested. I went in at 10:30 a.m. and came out at 2:30 p.m. That was a lot of testing. There were time I almost cried. I could not put a simple pattern together with different colored blocks. I also did horrid in math. I mean simple stuff. But at least it is a start and can get the help I need. I suspect that it is the bad anti-seizure med that I am currently weaning off of. I read from an online support group that some people have severe memory loss. One patient even said and I quote... "Lamictal. A wormhole to Alzheimer's." I even discussed with my neurologist about this and he dismissed it. Butthole. I suspect that he is one of those doctors with the God complex. He can do no wrong and the patient knows absolutely nothing and whatever goes wrong it is the patients fault.

It is one day at a time and I am doing the best. I am sleeping a lot and very dizzy. this most likely is due to the new medicine. I would rather have that then a deadly life threatening rash in my mouth and throat. Geesh!

Enough of my woes. I would love to end on an enchanting note. I found two great sites that are quite fun. One is a place to put together puzzles of many levels of difficulty and you choose the photo. Real fun if you have some time to waste. The other is to test your memory. Quit laughing.
I like to go at least once a day to get my brain cells activated. I can only recall up to four at a time. Pretty sad but I will keep at it.

Have fun.! Oooops. Here are the links!

Fun Puzzles

Short Term Memory Checker

Living In Limbo

In the past months I have learned the meaning of living in limbo. When one is ill it can be a stressful time while waiting for test results, sitting for hours in doctors office and feeling like crap. I have encountered a new problem. I have apparently developed a severe reaction to my seizure medication. I have very painful lesions on my tongue and sides of mouth. It is a living hell. Cannot eat too much and to talk is torture. I went to the regular doctor and they had put me on some sort of rinse which did not help. Today I called my dentist to see if they could resolve this issue. They looked and I gave them the whole nine yards of what has been happening. I noticed it a few weeks ago but thought I had bit my tongue or had a seizure in the night and this caused it. But.... it seems to have taken on a life of its own added to all the other issues. They came to the conclusion that it is an allergic reaction and since the only medicine I am taking is the seizure medication that will have to be removed first. This afternoon I went into my neurologist and he seemed miffed that his meds would cause a reaction. I am learning that some neurologist have big egos. He was not concerned and thought it was not the seizure medication. Well so what if I am in pain and this is one of the side effects you should at least me concerned and a bit more open-minded. Reluctantly he gave me some samples of a new anti-seizure medication to take while I wean off of the current one. It is quite a roller coaster that keeps going down. But this too shall pass. Where am I going? Oh yes the story about being in limbo.

While meditating in the evening and doing my damn best to get not notice the fire in my mouth I search for my true self, the eternal spirit within that remains bright, shining and painless. I accepted a long time ago that I am far from perfect. In these fragile bodies we all are very fragile. While we are here we cannot expect perfection but to continue on as the spirit is only leasing out this current body that is in an earthquake zone. I will be one step stronger for the experience.

And with this I leave you one of my favorite quotes.

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish
that He didn't trust me so much."
~ Mother Teresa

Little Comforts

I know I have not been posting regularly but I am still recovering . Meanwhile I have been finding comfort in the little things. Today I made gingerbread muffins with marshmallow icing. Yes, you read right..... gingerbread muffins with marshmallow icing. All I need know is a glass of apple cider. Yum.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Autumn was the time for grand apple festivals, bonfires and building mounds of leaves to dive into. The crunch and crackle of those brilliant colored leaves made it all the more fun. Who cared about what lived in those leaves. I don't know if kids do this anymore? Most likely they would find these things boring. The child in me still enjoys the little comforts. And the big kid too!

Though it is getting chilly here. I can still find a bit of warmth around mid-morning to go outside to meditate. Today a very large red-tailed hawk flew over my head. It made a few circles above. I guess gauging if I was friend or foe. From out of nowhere came this little bird. I have no idea what it was. Perhaps a sparrow but it took after that hawk with great vengeance. It was so funny to watch. That little bird really made a fuss. After a few minutes the skirmish ended and both went their separate ways. Now wouldn't it be nice if we could do the same? To leave our grievances behind and not keep going back to start more drama? We all have the inclination to stew over the little things so here is a thought. Why not stew or rather savor the comfortable things. Those things that bring us happiness. This is a great thing to learn to apply when you are not feeling 100%. In time I know I will be better and instead of wallowing in frustration and believe me there are times I want to, I will do my best to enjoy the life I have been given.

So what are your little comforts? Please share. I know by just writing them it makes one feel good inside.

Here are some more of my little comforts. Some are a little strange.

* Flannel pajamas and my big fuzzy slippers.

* Hot chocolate with marshmallows

* Watching over and over again "Last of the Summer Wine". The theme song and just everything about this Brit comedy makes me feel comfy cozy.

* Looking for messages in the clouds

* Turning off all lights and sit with just candles and a good book.

* Hearing my grandson giggle over the phone

* Smelling my husbands ears. Don't ask. I think it is a pheromone thing.

*Watching the snow fall on a quiet winter night.

Ok, it is your turn.