MORE THAN YOU PROBABLY WANT TO KNOW

For the first time in months, I have missed my self-imposed Wednesday deadline. I admit to being slightly discombobulated lately and it looks like it won't be going away very soon! 

Years ago we had the summer of chickenpox. My youngest daughter was exposed during the last few days of preschool. We began the summer with spots and calamine lotion and continued until it was time to go back to school. One by one, each of my five children started to itch. The oldest was eleven and the youngest was a baby. Each one waited out almost the full incubation period of twenty one days before they got it. That's how we made it last all summer. That was a summer I will never forget. I don't remember when I had chicken pox, but I know I was very young. 

In order to get shingles, a person must have had chicken pox at some time in their lives. The chicken pox vaccine will not completely eliminate the chance of shingles in the future, but the case will be much, much lighter.

 There is also a vaccine available for shingles and I think everyone should get it. I did, last summer. There are two doses and I got them both. Unfortunately, the virus is only 91% effective. This means that 9 % of us will win (or lose) the Shingles lottery. And yes, I am one of the (un)lucky ones.

I started to feel bad a few days before Christmas and thought I had pulled a muscle at my exercise class. It kept getting worse and soon my right side had a burning pain all the time, and intermittent stabbing with invisible shards of broken glass. I was waiting for the terrible rash I had heard about, but it didn't come.  When I was able to see the doctor I discovered that I had internal shingles (What?!?) and probably wouldn't even get a rash. No rash, but the internal variety might as well be called eternal, because it lasts longer. So far I have had 2 visits, several phone calls and taken 72 pills. I just got a refill for 6 a day for however many weeks or even months it takes to calm my nerve endings. Hopefully, this will help me to sleep. However, a side effect is brain fog. More than I usually have, so that should be interesting!

I just want to add that these poor little waifs are not my children, and the 7 on the calendar looks suspiciously like a 2. I created these images with AI. Obviously, I am still a beginner.

Another New Year...What Will It Bring?

I keep this card in a frame where I can see it everyday. It reminds me of all the things I want. Wishes and Magic and Dreams and Good Madness. Books and Kisses and Surprises!

This holiday season did not turn out the way I planned. I spent most of it being sick. Our family Christmases were after the main event so I had marked off that last week to finish shopping, and wrapping, and making everything Christmasy. I started to make several gifts this year, and they were all in the finishing stages too. And I felt so awful I didn't even care (not too much, anyway). So I would really like a do-over. I did get to see everyone. I was not contagious. And of course, one side of the family forgot to take pictures. I'm not sure why that happens, but we hardly ever get a group photo. Next time.

 

It is New Year's Eve now that I write this and I don't think I will be awake to see the new year arrive. I haven't written any resolutions or even chosen my word of the year yet. I often try to do a card reading on December 31st, but that will have to wait too. I am on the mend, so I will soon be feeling like myself again, but not yet. Hoping you are all celebrating and that 2026 will be the year we all all hoping for, filled with love, happiness, and good magic. Happiest of New Years to us all.

What Time Does the Clock Say?

I am not now, nor have I ever been a morning person. I've never really had a sleep schedule, except when I needed one. When my older children were teens, I didn't get up until they were done fighting over who got the bathroom. Every.schoolday.morning. We had two baths, but one had better lights for hair and makeup. After they were both beautiful, then I would get up with the younger ones. With five kids in ten years, there was never a dull morning. I enjoyed staying up late at night, when it was quiet. That's when I was at my most creative.

Spending nearly five years as a fraternity house mom didn't help my sleeping patterns. The House was pretty noisy til after 2am, and there were often fire alarms, police visits, general rowdiness, and cars slamming into our corner drive in the middle of the night. There were eight accidents while I lived there. It was a bad corner! Thanks to my now husband John for being my Prince Charming and rescuing me. (I really did enjoy my frat house adventures. Most of them.)

Just from my past history my brain doesn't want to go to sleep very early. I try to be in bed by midnight, but that doesn't always work.  Unfortunately, the earlier I retire, the longer it takes me to go to sleep. Tossing and turning. Wondering and worrying.  I love to stay up late at night, for a few reasons. I still like the quietness. Sometimes I watch tv, or read, or write, or sew. I drink herbal tea . And then I go right to sleep when I finally go to bed. However, I no longer have the stamina to follow that schedule more than a few nights in a row. When I stay up too late, I get cranky and need a nap. And not just a little nap. And if I don't take a nap, I want to sleep late on the mornings I don't have to go somewhere and be social. Then the only thing that makes me want to get up is the thought of coffee. I love coffee in the morning. I consider it essential. Curiously, I am mostly decaffeinated now, so that isn't my motivator.

This morning, after going to bed at 2:00, I accidently woke up at 6:00 and decided to be productive. I celebrated with freshly ground regular coffee in my french press. It was a gift from a friend, and I enjoy it when I am having an occasion.

          I always believe in occasions. 

 

 I have been on a diet or thinking about being on a diet for most of my life. Every day I start out making healthy food choices. But it usually doesn't last too long.

When I was very young, we moved next door to my nemesis family. They were all very tiny, delicate people, and constantly made me feel like a giant. In fact, my nickname became "Hippo". I'm not sure why, but that's what "BooBoo" called me. Now with a name like BooBoo, one wouldn't think he would have a lot to say about anyone, but he did. And I was crushed, from a very early age. By the time I was twelve, I had lost some of the baby fat, (with the help of my mother's diet pills!) and I went into the seventh grade without the ugly duckling image I had for so long. During my high school years and throughout my twenties and thirties I hardly ate. I was very careful. I seldom had dessert, and could make an Andes mint last a whole afternoon by taking teeny, tiny bites. I never felt thin, even though I must have been.

I went through all five pregnancies when doctors were advocating weight gains of less than twenty pounds. With one baby I only gained fourteen.

And then one day, I decided I'd suffered enough. I started eating dessert and never shared a mint again. And you can guess what happened.

I have been reading diet books forever. In fact, the first one I ever bought was called "How to Lose the Last 5 Pounds". I especially like to read diet books while I eat.

I've lost weight many times, but never as much as I wanted to lose. I was a regular at Weight Watchers for a while. More than once. I've tried the soup diet, the liquid protein diet, Jenny Craig, the protein shakes diet, the low carb and no carb, keto, south beach, egg and grapefruit, intermittent fasting, and more that I don't remember. I even buy Women's World magazines just to read the weekly diets. High protein, low carb seems to be the thing. I get lazy with anything I have to count, such as carbs, micros, macros, fats, and ounces of water.

I think I know what works for me, and I am trying to start it all again. If only I could follow the diet rules. I am sure there is some secret formula that I haven't learned. I'm reading a new book, and it stresses the right attitude. I think that may be where I'm a little low.

John has more willpower than most. I call him One Cookie John. He can actually eat one small cookie and be satisfied. Who does that?

He just informed me that he is on a diet. He will cut down, weigh himself a lot, and the pounds will fall off. Just like that. And I will probably eat the rest of the cookies by myself.