Happy Fall!

Ah, Fall.  I remember it very well.  I grew up in a small community on Lake Michigan called St. Joseph.  I honestly loved every season on Lake Michigan, but my very favorite was rustic Fall, with its billowing trees of yellow-orange leaves, the air tinged with smoke from burning piles of leaves on fall lawns and going on hay rides (even though I broke my glasses at one when I was a teenager) at Love Creek, which was a charming park of walking trails for as long as the eye could see.  Oh, how I miss those days of Fall of my youth.  Arizona is a charming state with its majestic mountains, but Fall just doesn't get here like it did in Michigan.

Sorry I haven't been blogging too much.  I actually haven't been on the computer too much.  Just haven't been in the mood.  I've been pulling out old books in the ole' Kindle and reading to my heart's content.  When I have been on the computer, it is just to check my e-mail or to look at the online bariatric support group.  I joined one awhile ago after going through my period of "bariatric blues."  Ever since the surgery, I just haven't been interested in food.  Nothing tastes good, nothing even sounds good.  I have so many rules, it's not funny.  I'm supposed to eat this, I can't eat that, do this, do that.... on and on.  I'm supposed to eat so much protein, it comes out the top of my head!!  Figuratively, of course....anyway, I don't want to even think about it.  So I read instead!

My mom, in front of Lake Michigan, in the fall

   My mom loved to read.  In fact, I am reading some of her favorite books.  She loved Janet Evanovich and the adventures of "Stephanie Plum."  I used to balk at that and didn't read them when she wanted me to.  Now, I'm embarrassed to say that her books are dynomite!!  I've loved every one and am looking forward to her latest, number 18, that is coming out in October.  What a great fall read!!  How I wish Mom were here so I could discuss with her some of the funniest escapades that Miss Plum would engage on....

The beginning of Old Towne St. Joseph
I hope you all have a great Fall season.
May all your leaves turn a beautiful rustic shade of red, orange, brown and gold.  Enjoy every leaf...especially for those in areas where Fall is not greatly known...like Southern AZ!!!!

God Bless,

Thanx, Gina, for my new fall siggy!!  :)

                        

Accident Update

Howdy, friends & family!
Yep, I'm still alive and kicking...well, maybe not kicking yet.  My whole right side is one solid black and blue mark and I've got a knot on my chest wall that hurts if I even LOOK at it.  I just can't believe all this has happened.  We saved so hard and long for that car, our baby, and now in just a moment it is totaled to smithereens.   I'm glad to be alive, of course, and I think God everyday for watching over me.  But I'm still quite depressed over the whole deal.  I still haven't heard from the claim adjuster about the car yet, but hopefully they will call soon and we can get a rental car soon to tie us over for a little bit until our next car.

My husband is still in the hospital, but his lungs are improving.  Unfortunately, they found a lump in his groin, so he will have to have an ultrasound of the area.  Hopefully it is nothing.  We need some good news for a change!!!  So please help me pray for him.  He was in the hospital LAST year in July, too!!  July is turning into to a sucky month!!!

We had a doozy of a storm last night, so my father-in-law will have the internet connection off until they return from their trip in four days.  So don't worry if you don't hear from me.  As soon as it's back on, I'll keep you informed of our happenings.

Hope you all have a great day!!!!
God bless you all~~

PS.....I've got almost the whole Janet Evanovich collection in HARDCOVER (I'm missing the sixteenth book) in which I wish to sell as I got them all on my Kindle.  They are in excellent condition.  I've even got the brand new one, "Smoking Seventeen."  Buy one or buy them all!  I'm reasonable...name a price and they are yours.  A price ABOVE $5.00, though, please.  You can write in the comments that you are interested and I'll get back to you.

"Stylish Blogger Award"

Howdy, fine friends!

I awoke to a very sweet treat in my blog comments from my last post, "Wordless Wednesday."  Actually, more than one treats - I had 5 comments, which I never get that many comments, so that means people are "opening" up more and sharing more, which is GREAT!  Most of the comments said that my picture was so cute with the two cats in the "kitty condo."  Thank you for complimenting my "boys."  Unfortunately, Tora, the kitty on the top of the condo is no longer with us.  He died last September when his heart threw a clot into his hind quarters and he was paralyzed.  The vet said his heart was very weak and he was going to die soon.  We chose to euthanize him, the more humane way to leave this Earth than to suffer any longer than he had to.  He will be forever missed!! He was a very sweet kitty.  We love you, Tora!

The other kitty, the one inside the condo is Jack.  He is still with us.  Oh, boy, is he!  He is very high maintenance.  He requires ALL of your attention.  But he, too, is very sweet and loving.  You can read more about Jack on my "Schranz Ranch" page.

I HAVE BEEN AWARDED THE "STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD!!!"  Thank you so much, Shawn Becker, for awarding this to me!  It's an honor to receive it.  I work so very hard on my blog that it is almost like a full-time job.  I love to blog and I hope it shows!!  Below is the precious award and I also will put it on my right side bar, too.  That way it will show always and not be buried by new posts.  Click on it and it will take you to Shawn Becker's AWESOME blog.  Be sure to visit her and see the Thanksgiving theme she has going on her blog.  It is terrific!! Here is my award:

Isn't it cool?  Here are the rules for accepting the award:

 1. Thank and link back to the blog of the author that gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward and give this award to 15 blogs that you have newly discovered.

4. Notify the blog owners that you have chosen and let them know about the award.

Okay, here we go.  I already did the first one. Now on to the second rule.....share 7 things about myself:

1. I LOVE stuffed animals of any shape, size or form.  I've got two gigantic teddy bears that I love to cuddle, especially if I feel down or depressed.  They help to cheer me up!  I call them my "cheerleaders."

2. This one I'm sure everyone already knows.  I absolutely LOVE cats.  Especially Jack.  He is so cuddly and knows just the right moment to come and "snuggle" with me.  He's nosey, curious and loves boxes and anything he can get into.  I wouldn't have him any other way!

3. My all time favorite food is lasagna.  Of course!  I can't have pasta anymore (or in very limited portions) because of my diet.  It turns into sugar and isn't good for my diabetes.  So I'll give my serving to Garfield!!  LOL........

4. I LOVE to read Janet Evanovich books.  I just finished "Wicked Appetite"  and that was sooo good I couldn't put the book down for very long!!  I read on her website that it will be a series.  I also love her "Stephanie Plum" novels, too.  

5. I absolutely ADORE blogging and making blog friends.  I can spend hours of reading other people's blogs and getting very involved in their lives.  It gets my mind off of what's to come with the bariatric surgery and how my doctor STILL hasn't done her part and given us the letters of medical clearance for surgery and monitoring of my weight and diet.  I also need referrals to the psychologist and pulmonologist. 

6.  I LOVE music of all kinds....but NOT rap or hard rock.  I love Christian music and singers like Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Mark Schultz, Mark Harris and many more.  I love the '80's genre, too.  That was when music was REALLY at its best.  With all this rap and crap, you just can't understand what they are talking about.  And all the little dance moves they do - looks ridiculous in my humble opinion.  If you are a rapper, sorry.  That's how I feel.  You can always go and make your own blog and sing its praises! (no pun intended!)  :0)

7.  I LOVE spending quality time with my family.  Life is so very short that you never know how long you will have someone around.  Sounds morbid, I know.  But what this means is to love what you've got and cherish those around you.  I do this as much as possible.  When my mom died, that taught me BIG time to support my friends and family whenever I can.  They all deserve it!!

I will be doing rule numbers 3 & 4 a little each day or so.  I will post who I've chosen in a future post.  I hope that is OK, but I don't want to feel rushed or anything about this.  This is an honorable award and I want to give it to the BEST blogs. 

Ok, that will be it for today!  My poor feet are swelling up and my hubby and I need to do some grocery shopping.  Oh, sounds like a blast, doesn't it?  We will go to Walmart and I will ride the motorized scooter they have out for those who need it.  I have my walker, but I can no longer walk very far because the pinching pain is so severe in my legs and rear end that it takes my breath away.  I hope that in a year or two I can look back at these posts and see how far I've come.  That will be so much fun!!

God bless you all!!

Until next post,

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!!  Thank you so much to those of you in uniform (and to the retired veterans that WERE in uniform) that fight for us to remain free.  Pictured here from top to bottom are: my grandpa, Victor P. Churchill, who served in the U.S. Army in WWII.  My father, Robert A. Karchunas, who served in the U.S. Army in the 1960's, stateside.  And my father-in-law, Frank J. Schranz, SR. who served in the U.S. Army, Korean War, stateside.

 

Whew!

Howdy, friends!

That about sums it up about my day.  My husband got paid and we did our usual thing like we do every month.....buy all our pharmaceuticals, cat food (Jack would be ONE unhappy kitty if we skipped that part of the routine!), electrodes for my TENS machine, we washed the car, got cash from the bank, went to Checker for an air filter for our "baby", and stopped at the grocery store.  We JUST got back home and are exhausted.  My feet are sooooooo big I can hardly bend them.  I cannot WAIT for my weight loss surgery.  It's detrimental to my health. I can barely move around WITH my walker.  I can't bend down.....there's just so many things I can't do now, but I can do when I lose weight.

My husband and I are going to a support group on November 17th as part of my weight loss program.  It sounds really good-it talks about holiday eating and how NOT to blow it over the holidays!  What is the norm?  Gain 5 pounds over the holiday season?  I know they did a study about that, but because of my fibro "fog" that's another thing that got lost in the fog!  Anyway, at my initial assessment they said it would be beneficial to attend the support group even before I've had the surgery.  That way I can ask questions about what to expect.  Maybe take away some of the "fear" component of going under the knife!!
I really am scared (and excited about the outcome) about what's coming up.  I hope everything goes OK.

Well, I gotta eat supper and then put my poor, blown up feet high up on my elevator pillow edge and attempt to read my Janet Evanovich book.  I've got her brand new one out, "Wicked Appetite."  I just finished her other new Stephanie Plum book, "Sizzling Sixteen."  If you like reading funny mysteries, she is your author!!  I just love her to death.  I should have listened to my mom long ago and given her a chance!  Oh, well, I'm reading her now and have her whole Stephanie Plum series.  If you want to check her out, she has a cool website at www.evanovich.com.  I should get commission, don't ya think? LOL!

Hope everyone has a great evening (or morning, wherever you are) and I hope I made it easier for my foreign visitors by adding a website translator at the top of my blog.  I was reading my blog stats and I have a lot of foreign visitors, so I thought I'd be nice and add that.  :0)

TO DAD AND GINA:  I hope you two are having the time of your lives. You both deserve it. Post more pictures, please.  And for all my faithful followers, Gina is a new blogger and you can find her by clicking HERE.  I'm sure she would love the company and some new followers.  She's a really great gal whom I'm growing to be quite fond of.  So Dad, don't mess it up!  LOL (just kidding)!  I love ya both!!

God bless you all!
Until next post,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Can ya believe that another month has come and gone?  I can't!  Pretty soon we'll be sitting around the table for Thanksgiving and around the tree for Christmas!!  Where does the time go?

Anyway, this is going to be a real short post as I spent all day working on the brand new page, "What IS Fibromyalgia."  I hope you like it.  I tried to make it as complete as possible, but if I left something crucial out, please let me know.  My eyes are at the bleary stage now!!

And this is for Rochelle, who wrote me and said she had never heard of Janet Evanovich.  She is the BEST fiction, mystery writer I have ever seen. Her books are such a scream!  You can visit her website at:
www.evanovich.com.  Try some her books at your local library and see if you like them.  I just absolutely think she is the best!!!

I'll end this post with a cute picture of Jack.  He was "helping" me write the new page:

 He just has to be a part of everything, doesn't he?

Have a great day!
Until next post,

Hope On Hold

Howdy, everyone!

Well, I'm doing better than my last post.  I am so sorry  about that post, I must have seemed like a wild woman or something!  My thoughts were all scattered all over the place and I just felt out of control of EVERYTHING.  I just couldn't believe what had happened...and just like when I went to the neurosurgeon all excited because he said he could "fix me" and then he rejected me and called me a "poor surgical risk" until I lose weight.  I learned one very big lesson through all of this.....DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP UNTIL IT'S WRITTEN IN STONE!!  And that's what I plan to do.

Over the past few days, I've been researching bariatric clinics and that one surgeon my insurance referred me to....that was NOT part of the seminar I went to last month.  I should have put two and two together and questioned if I was at the right seminar.  Oh, well.  Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20.  Anyway, what I found out about the surgeon my insurance will cover is that he is very popular with his patients.  He had something like 28 reviews by past and current patients and not a negative word about him anywhere.  He comes highly recommended by his patients.  And he works out of Banner Gateway hospital instead of that one in Scottsdale where I went to.  I truly believe that I was shunted to the wrong surgeon by that seminar.  Because they called me bright and early the following morning to set up an appointment.  I had even asked her if my insurance covered their program and she lied and said "yes."  Then, I wasted two weeks of my time waiting for the disastrous appointment to find out they DON'T take my insurance!

Well, I can't go back in time and fix things. Don't ya wish you could?  Yesterday I called the bariatric clinic in Gilbert and unfortunately, I have to take ANOTHER seminar, but luckily this one is this coming Thursday. So I don't have to wait as long.  The surgeon I signed up for does the "Realize" band, NOT the Lap-band.  They are similar products, just different names, from what I understand.  So I can see why I need to go to their seminar as I don't know too much about this "Realize" band.  Then after I go to the seminar, I can set up an appointment with the surgeon.  Hopefully that appointment will go a lot better!!  But I'm not going to get my hopes up yet, or expect anything until AFTER the fact.  It just hurts too much when things don't go your way and you were sooooo excited about it, like I was about the Lap-band.  I have learned, unfortunately, the hard way about hoping too much.

I am in such flare-up.  My right hip hurts so bad every time I put weight on it.  I can't remember injuring it in any way.  I think it's because the muscles in my back and legs are so tight because of the fibro.  I'm on two muscle relaxers that work pretty well....when I'm laying down and using my wedge pillow, I am out like a light within minutes.  I've been trying to finish my Janet Evanovich book for a week now, and can't because I keep falling asleep!!  And it's an excellent book.  If you like mysteries and funny characters, you will LOVE Janet Evanovich.  Her books are just a scream with all the hilarious plots and characters.  Her main character, Stephanie Plum, is a bounty hunter that isn't every good and her side-kick, Lula, was a former 'ho on the streets.  These two gals get themselves into trouble each and every time.  Once you read one of her books, you are hooked!!  Here is the title of the book I'm reading now.  You can buy it right from my favorite store, Amazon!  (Yes, I'm part of their affiliate program and for everyone that goes to Amazon through one of MY  links, I get paid!)

Alrighty, enough said on that.  My hubby is doing fantastic! He is back to his "usual" self. I almost was going to say normal, but WHO really is normal? LOL...  He started the Gleevec again last week and is on the full strength dosage now, like what he took before his surgery.  Hopefully he won't get that awful leg pain back again as a side-effect from the Gleevec.  But if he does, then his pain management doctor is only a phone call away.  He still is on the Duragesic patch and that seems to be keeping the pain at bay really well.

His appetite is great, no more nausea or vomiting, and no more diarrhea.  I think we have weathered the storm.  Whew, what a summer we all had!!  I'm soooo glad it's finally over with.  Now if only our weather would reflect fall and get out of the triple digits!!  I hear by next week, though, we'll be in the 90's.  Wooo-hooo!!  Major cool wave, huh?  LOL!!!!

I hope you all are doing happy and well.  God bless you all!
Until next post,
Missy