I feel it, Oh God do I...

Packing a house in 5 days, transferring all accounts, filling out lease agreements, transferring schools, running and paying for deposits etc, then getting a letter from the bank that your previous "temporary credit" will be withdrawn until they receive further information that you had cancelled your credit card machine account because they are saying they didn't receive your phone calls, emails or letter and apparently they have more rights to your money than you do, so now I need to go close my account so they can't take any more money out.......all while hacking, feeling like I'm going to throw up all day, physically exhausted, headache, sore throat, sinus and ear pressure and I think I just broke a fever because I am in a full sweat and clammy after taking 4 Advil...................I feel like Shit.........the end.

Landlord on his way......

 Jay called the landlord Thursday night after we decided the only way to get Stevi better is to remove her from this environment as soon as possible.  Everything we've been told is to get her out right away.  It's hard when we both work and have been working overtime as much as possible because of all this expensive turmoil.  The landlord lives in California and is coming today.  Thankfully.  We had every intention of giving him the proper 30 day notice but in light of all that has happened over the last 6-7 weeks, and talking to her now 4 different Doctors, the one conclusion they have come up with until her biopsy, is that she needs to be in a safe non-toxic environment.  Jay and I are still sick, chesty, with coughs, mainly at night and as soon as I walk into our home, my eyes, nose start running, the coughing begins.   Thankfully with all the medication Stevi is on, her symptoms are less frequent, she was missed 54 classes in the last 6 weeks due to medical reasons and couldn't cheer the last 2 games and has missed practice this week.  Wednesday night I was up with her until 1:30 because she couldn't breathe and her chest was tight and throat swollen and her tongue felt big and fuzzy.  I know that not all people are susceptible to serious issues with a slight amount of mold, but some are.  The fact that the old carpeting is still in the house and now I have found new mold spore growing in areas that are near moisture just reiterates that when the spore was introduced into the air and the series of events with illness, it is airborne.  We need to move.  Thankfully, as soon as Jay spoke to our landlord and he was made aware that he may have a mold problem, he is jumping into to action....I felt and expressed that the carpeting was so soaked and being so old that it should be replaced....it wasn't.  Could that be harboring mold as well?  Very possibly.  We do not want to cause any problems for him as he really has been a great landlord.  Jay really likes him and that was part of our tough decision, but our families health is first and foremost.  The new place we found isn't ready but when we told him we may need to move into my Mom's just to get away from this environment he said he would have it ready for us by Wednesday.  Is it an emergency to move?  I don't know...I feel it's essential that  we do.   Stevi goes in for her biopsies on April 9th, and the new school quarter starts March 26th....That really is a week and 4 days away.  With all the research I've done, and I woke up with hives this morning on my ankles... weird, and Jay and I are now coughing up jellyfish again, seems to be more on the weekends when we are home, I think it's time.  We have been here 2 years and had planned on not moving again until Stevi graduated.  As you know, the school out here has been less than impressive and we were really thinking of moving this summer to start her in a better, less populated area.  Reno High has a lot of generational support, even the Alumni still donate money and volunteer at the school and everyone I've talked to, their kids love going there.  God works in mysterious ways and sometimes it takes a minute to figure out what to do especially when all Hell is breaking loose from 10 different directions.  The new house is primarily laminate and tile flooring....knowing how much bacteria and God only knows what else old carpeting can be collecting, that brings me a sigh of relief.  This has all happened so fast, but sometimes you need to just jump into action and fight it head on....step by step...........Today when our landlord comes out he will be hopefully be  testing the area and see how high the percentage in the air is....All I know, is I want Stevi to become normal again, being an athlete that can't even exercise very well and an honor student who has missed so much school, she is doing homework non-stop just to get caught up and never missed school before............We  just want life to get back to normal, move forward.........anyone have any boxes?

She's not the Fucking Snitch Bitch that turned you in.... I am...

 When a mother steps in, now kids seem to think they are fighting their kids battles.  No just being a mother.   When a mother monitors her daughters Facebook, she's not being nosy, just being a mother.  When a mother goes to another child's house to get closure on a situation, it's not to make things worse, it's being a mother.  When a mother sees her child in pain, and tries to make the pain go away, again, just being a mother.  When a mother stays up all night and goes back and forth from the bedroom to check if her baby, whether a newborn or 15 is still breathing, just being a mother.  When a mother puts her foot down and tries to end the bullying, it's not to make things worse, it's to put an end to the harassment, because I'm just being a mother.  When I am begged to stay out of it and I just can't stand to sit idly and watch her pain any more, it's because I'm just a mother.  When a mother looks for a new home even though she hates moving to make life easier for her child, it's just because she is a mother.  And when a mother finds out how to finally fight fair... she becomes a Mother Fucker.


So to all of you kids who have a right to an education, therefore you are passed from school to school because of those rights regardless of your behavior, know that someday you will finally meet your match.  And for those of you that have tangled with this Mother Fucker, know that I am not your friend, nor am I scared of you or your mouths, for she is not the "Fucking Snitch Bitch" that turned you in, it was just a mother, who is behaving as a mother should.  After all, my child also has the right to an education and your behavior is hindering that by making her life miserable so just know, that I am watching, no matter how small, if you don't stop, your life will become miserable as well...and while we are on that subject, you can thank me for turning in your stupid little Facebook slams regarding my daughter,because it stopped her Daddy from going to your house at 11:00 last night and handling it his way.....which would have been quite ugly all the way around, because he is less scared of you or the consequences defending his daughters honor would bring.  So good luck out there you little heathens , I know who you are, and I am watching you, and I personally do not care what you think, say or feel about me.....You mean nothing to me.

Eat an Elephant one bite at a time....

Insightful week.  When our washer flooded our house during Football Playoffs, and a wall had to be removed in the rental we have been living in because of Black Mold spore, it never occurred to me that that may have been what started the ball rolling with all of the allergy, hives and respiratory problems Stevi has been having.  Or the fact that around a week or two after that I started getting really congested and ended up with Laryngitis and have had a ridiculous cough and trouble breathing.... it seems to be worse at night and in the morning... when we are  at home.  Jay has been really sick , chesty and coughing as well just to name a few.  I was told by a good friend in property management who has knowledge of these removal techniques and knows the laws that our landlord didn't follow proper protocol at all. And although we had to dry the carpet , sub flooring and wall out with the 5 industrial fans going for 2 weeks straight, it probably just pushed all the spore into the air because it was never sealed off.  Then I vacuumed the carpet over and over, that was never replaced even though it was so soaked through that the crawl space under the house was flooded.  Stevi's blood work did test positive for mold, now not only do we need to check the house for airborne particles, which is very expensive, to at least rule that out, Jay and I need to be tested as well and we need to move.  I put a link up at the top.  That was only one of many I found.  Apparently mold poisoning and removal is just as serious if not more that Asbestos removal and our house was Bandaged back together by 3 unlicensed Hispanic men who could only come on the the weekend because it was a side job, because our landlord wouldn't hire the licensed contractor we provided because he was too expensive by slapping down linoleum in the front area where part of the flood was and replacing the piece of wall that was torn out, very shabbily I may add as well.  Thousands of dollars later in medical bills for Stevi, the expense of moving and Jay and I working our asses off, sick to pay for everything and if this is the culprit which makes total sense, it  could have all been prevented had it been handled properly.  God works in mysterious ways.  We are getting our ducks in a row, one step at a time so we know how and where to start fighting for our health, safety and the expenses this may have caused us.  In light of Stevi's issues in this area as well, environmentally it is not safe for her, and maybe not for us.  We are looking to move, we found a house that would be perfect in the Reno High School area, if that house is meant to be, it is meant to be.  In the mean time, thankfully, we have kept the wall in plastic that was removed, and the carpet and all the sub flooring is still in this house.  I have some phone calls to make, we will get it tested to rule it out or in and do what we need to from there.  I put my blog out into the universe and it's amazing how God works.  If the mold is the culprit, I will tell you the story of how this conversation came about and may have saved our health.  In the mean time.....as Jay always says..."You know how you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time..."  So we are...

Speechless......

 It has finally happened, I'm speechless. Literally.  Trying to balance the weight of the world and the blessing of being packed full with clients this last two weeks at work, trying to get everyone to play nice and make the world a better place and the worries of a family that has suddenly lost their husband and father.  I am now officially sick.  I have been fighting it on and off for awhile and the last 3 nights I medicated myself with NyQuil because my throat has hurt so much and I've been so stuffy.


Stevi has been dealing with a lot of issues with her body and stress as well so her immunities are down and yesterday she asked if she could stay home because her throat was so sore.  I tried to call her in and I'm not sure what they heard on the school answering machine because it came out in segments and sounded like a seal being beaten to death with a club and someone had a mute button to turn it on and off at random just for fun!


Luckily today I am home today so I can rest a bit, the only thing going on today is Stevi's guitar lesson with a new guy, Jeff Montgomery at Bizarre Guitar. It's her first lesson in around 3 years, her electric guitar is too small since it was a junior size and her "Hannah Montana" guitar grandma gave her , well she informed me she is just too old for that.  I wanted to bring it to grandmas for the kids to play with, but I really don't know if it is considered a toy or not?  Stevi has taken care of it, maybe we can put it at Grandmas house on a shelf so the kids can ask to play it is what I'm thinking.  We are saving it for Willow and Sage, but with my sister owning a daycare, not sure if that is a good idea to have it there, although I know my sister is the organizer they write about in books, I'm sure it will be fine.


Thinking about moving, one nice thing about living in a rental is you can do that, although, we all hate having to move again.  This move may be for the best.  For a multitude of reasons, it has not been a great year for us in this area.  You can't run from life, but when it starts to get the better of you, change is good.  We have talked about it and feel that the Old Southwest Reno area, zoned for Reno High School where Stevi has a lot of great friends from athletics live and are zoned for.  I haven't been really impressed with Spanish Springs HS, I have met some amazing people and students, don't get me wrong, but there have been a lot more negatives than positives and I feel that over population may be a big part of it.  A few of my friends have even pulled their kids out to home school or transferred or put their kids on variances for the same reasons.  I want school to be part of a growing and learning experience for my daughter, not a stressful nightmare.  So I am leaving the decision up to her, she needs to think if what she is going through  can be overcome or if it's time to start a new chapter in our lives.  I have looked and as far as rentals go, we can get a lot more house for what we are paying for this one........time will tell, it's not an emergency but a thought.  We will decide as a family.  There are mean people everywhere, but as I spoke to a few of Stevi's friends , it has happened to them as well and it can make life miserable.  Hard to explain because there has been so much going on, but it is excessive out here.  And we moved her to be in a "better" area after researching all the schools........Speechless.........

Handing over the reigns......

I did it today......I passed the baton to Jay.  Whew, that is hard.  I am such a control freak, so used to doing it myself and not asking for help unless it is absolutely necessary.  He now has Fridays off so he can get stuff done while I am at work and for some reason I have always been scared to ask him for help.  There used to be a time when asking him and getting him to agree was such an effort I just quit asking him to help me anymore.  He sees me, through me, how tired and defeated I am and he is helping as much as possible.  One thing I have always handled is the scheduling, finances, phone calls, calendar.  You will only get help if you ask for it.  One thing I have learned is it usually needs to be asked for, I can't expect it to just happen.  When it does........I'm so happy I can't stand it.  So today he is handling all of Stevi's needs...rides, questions, plans... which as you know if you have a teenager can change instantaneously.  Another thing he handled today was going to the Union Hall and fighting it out with Human Resources about the fact that the insurance won't cover Stevi going to the Pediatric Gastroenologist (sp?) because the preferred provider list has a few to choose from.  None are Pediatric and the other specialists won't touch her because she is only 15...It's detrimental to her health and my General Practitioner filed a formal complaint with the Insurance Commissioner yesterday about it because she can only see this particular GI doctor, who actually takes our insurance.  They can't seem to locate him on the provider list so they are denying it.  My doctor spent an hour and 20 minute on the phone fighting with the insurance company.  He is livid, I am scared.  When serious enough, Celiacs Disease can lead to Crones Disease and eventually after they have removed enough of your intestines, you end up with a Colostomy Bag or possibly death.  Jay spent a couple hours and we are still...excuse me, Jay is waiting for a call back from the Union advocate.  They are trying to make concessions because we have had her covered for the last 15 years and we have no other options at this point.  I want to ask him so many questions but he said this morning..."Don't stress, I've got this..."  So I am trying......

Back in the Saddle.......

The clouds are starting to clear...
 

This week was exhausting but it was such a great week.  It was a roller coaster of emotion and at one point I said to my friend Sherry.."Bring it on, what's next!?"  Her response was..."Quit asking for it..."  She is so right.  Ever since my Dad died in 2006, with the economy tanking, it has been one thing after another.  I generally have a positive outlook and try to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I must admit, when I broke my ankle 9 weeks ago, I felt defeat.  My exercise program was the glue to keeping me whole and feeling sane.  I felt great and was looking great.  Then I hit the wall.  With Jay out of town, Stevi being sick a lot, business down, the broken ankle, the house flooding, my Mom's dog dying, the IRS chasing me, getting food poisoning, losing our house, my Harley and closing the salon I worked so hard to build, I sometimes wanted to crawl into a hole in the fetal position and just go to sleep.  Not being able to sleep is a big issue especially emotionally and physically.  It begins to take its toll on anyone.

Since Jay is now home, he got laid off and starts a job in Incline Village on Monday working 4-10's which will be awesome, and Stevi just finished cheer season, we will be able to have family dinners again.  Also, with Jay home, I won't have to do all the running around and with a possible diagnosis for Stevi's constant illness, we now are forced to change the household to a Wheat free, Gluten free zone to make it easy for her.  I just finished Cross Fit this morning and it was an amazing workout that felt so good I could of cried!  I didn't crave the usual daily naughty coffee, but instead stopped at the Jus Bar and got an Age Reversal juice with spinach and chugged that down feeling even better. There are a lot of Sun ray's coming through the clouds, we got the flooring replaced this morning and after 5 weeks, I may be able to actually do our laundry at home.  Stevi will have more free time and wants to start going to Cross Fit with me and probably start dance again as well as Volleyball and practice her singing.  I now need to look forward to what life has to give instead of looking back to what life has taken.  We are all struggling to survive.  I now  realize that I had lost my ability to see all the good in the world and I chose to start living happy and stress free.  My neck is back in place, weekly visits to the Chiropractor have helped me with that, I have eliminated my freebies, given the kids money towards their wedding at the end of June, gotten through cheer seasons hectic schedule with Jay living out of town , I am able to hike again, run a little and exercise.   Now we will be eating healthy and my body can already feel the difference.  So I chose to dismount my horse I've been riding to the pity party and start this rodeo all over again, after all, it's not my first.

Happy 25th Birthday to my Lillybug!

Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.......................

My beautiful Lillybug

 Christmas Eve, 2002 I was at work when I got a frantic call from my 16 year old son Jayson....He was so upset and inconsolable I couldn't understand him for a minute.  After he calmed down, he was able to tell me about the girl he had been talking to on MySpace all night, and that she had just gotten kicked out of her house and she didn't know where she was going to sleep.  After calming him down, he told me the story of a young sweet girl who was sleeping from friend to friend because her mother had kicked her out and brought her to a half way house to live.  She of course at 15 did not want to be put into the system.  That day, God blessed me in many ways.  One way was that my client at that precise moment was a Social Worker who worked with the Children's Cabinet here in Reno.  We put Jayson on speaker phone and then we 3 way called the phone number that Lilly was waiting at.  She had no where to go, her father had gone off with a girlfriend to Malta and her Mother had given up.  I called my husband Jay and he said..."Do what you need to do to help her..."  I then called her Mother who couldn't talk long because she was late for a lunch appointment but promptly gave me her fax number and I sent her forms to notarize to sign over all parental rights to me and Jay.  When I asked her what she needed to know about us, her response was ..."I'm sure you're a nice person, I'm late, fax me the paperwork."  Jayson went to Christine's office to get the paperwork and bring it to my job and Jay's job for us to sign and within a matter of 4 hours we had full guardianship.  Now to get her here.  Because of Christmas, we couldn't get her until the 26th so my family postponed Christmas at our house and Jay spent 2 days tearing apart my office while my Mom and I went to Rick's furniture Warehouse to buy her a bed,  bedding and essentials.  (When she arrived she had a backpack and a Viola) Jay painted her room, we bought a phone to plug into the teen line we had for Jayson and stocked the kids bathroom with girl stuff that we thought she would need.  Dec. 26th came and Jay went to pick her up at the airport while my family and I were hitting the after Christmas sales to get her enough presents under the tree to feel like part of the family.  I just wanted her to know that she had a home no matter what.  Poor girl, can you imagine a shaved bald Harley construction guy with a leather vest picking you up to go to your new home?  I had only spoken to her the one time and Jayson had handled most of it.  But when I heard that girls voice on the other end, scared and defeated, I knew she needed us.  It was and exhausting 48 hours and she took a few days to adapt.  After all, Jayson literally found her on MySpace.  She lived with us through the rest of her high school years and never gave us any problems, she was a typical teen that had been thrown away from a Mother and Father that were selfish.  Her mother said to me at one time "I'm sure you want money for this, but I'm done raising children, it's my turn now."  I was dumbfounded.  The first time I saw Lilly, I fell in love with her and my family opened their arms to her, my children accepted her as one of us immediately and she squeezed in like she always needed to be with us.  Today she is 25 years old and is blessing us with our 2nd Grandchild Stella in March.  Stevi and I will be taking a road trip to Tacoma to see her and meet Stella and hopefully Ry her hubby.  I love her and miss her everyday now that she is grown up and starting a family of her own.  She hasn't spoken to her biological mother in over a year and as much as that probably hurts her, she knows she has a mother out there that will love her forever unconditionally.  I love you my Lillybug, Happy Birthday.......

An amazing gift to us...

What did I get for X-Mas 2002? A 15 year old daughter...

Tuesday in the toilet.......

DO NOT EAT THERE!!

This will be short and sweet, as you know, last night we ate a burger at Joe's Diner.  Stevi ate more than me, I was grossed out after 2 bites.......not only was it gross and tasted like the whole plate had been deep fried all at once in the same vat of old grease, Red flag should have been that the only other people in there maybe had 6 teeth, all together.

Stevi started getting sick last night, I knew she was sick when she asked if she could sleep in bed with me, she hasn't done that since she was a little girl.  She was up all night back and forth to the bathroom.  I had to be to work at 6:30 this morning so I was up at 4:30.  I wasn't feeling well, but I wasn't feeling that bad.  I went to work and after my first color it hit me.  I let Stevi stay home today because she was pretty sick, I ended up canceling my afternoon , thank God it is a slow week, and I'm off tomorrow so I came home and crawled back into bed with Stevi......I am still not done.......but I can tell you, when you are dealing with other issues......(aka I need to use a TUCK ;-) right now)  back and forth to the bathroom.......DOESN'T FIT INTO MY SCHEDULE!!!

Or you'll end up in bed and in the bathroom like us......

My life in a fish bowl...

Red

I live in a fishbowl....don't we all?  With today's technology...FB, texting, smart  phones.  We live in a now world.  People post on FB what they had for breakfast, where they are...that their dog just barked at them.  Jay says I share way too much....My life is an open book.

Just Me...

It's not always pretty, or perfect, or happy or sad.  I laugh, I cry, I get down and then I snap out of it.  Usually the glass is half full, sometime I realize that I think it's half empty with a hole in it.

Asshole

Dumb

I write because I am living in this world just like you are.  Some of us are struggling a lot more than others.  Some of us, their glasses are filling up, some have spilled over.  I just write so the people that choose to read me, feel that they are not alone in this world.  We are all going through tough times.  Some of us chose to smile and keep going forward.  Some of us have stopped to take a nap and others have chosen to throw in the towel one way or another , or unfortunately completely.

Dumb and Dumber

Murphy's tree house

In my actual fish tank at home I have a new fish because he was the bully on his old block.  His name was Mick for a minute I call him Red.  He is hiding in the same spot everyday.  I have a bully in my tank who has let him know who the Alpha fish is.  He is a Cyclid also known as Asshole.  My two big koi which I can't remember their names are now referred to as Dumb and Dumber, they have hearts of gold and try to protect Red from Asshole but in the mean time, the calico has hit the heater so hard while swimming, he knocked himself out.  He really did, he fell to the bottom then floated to the top...I was flabbergasted!  I thought he went Kamikaze on me and died trying to protect Red.  But Dumber snapped out of it as he floated to the top of the tank and then floated around like Dora in finding Nemo for awhile.

Then there is  our Placostimous Murphy, I can't get a picture of him he's hiding in the tree trunk and  only comes out at night in the dark.  He is shy and a loaner, minds his own business and as you can see, from the tank, he isn't exactly doing his job.  I think he has thrown in the towel and become reclusive.  I had to recently re-arrange my whole tank because of Red and Asshole.  They say if you have a dominant fish in a tank to change it around because  they get confused and have to reclaim their territory all over again so they all start on the same page.  Right now I think we are all on the same page.  Sink or swim.
I used to be Asshole as a kid, I had a LOT of anger issues.  Now I am more like Dumb and Dumber just getting through life day by day, sometimes hitting the glass because I am swimming to fast, sometimes going along full speed ahead and knocking myself out.  Some days I feel like Red and I just want to be left alone and I have had days like Murphy where I want to lock myself away from the world so no one can see me and pretend I'm not there.

Every day I'm a different fish in my fish bowl, I just chose to let you watch through the glass, sometimes my tank is dirty, sometimes it's clean, but the fact that you are reading this gives me hope that maybe, just maybe I am making a difference.  Making someone feel, whether it is a smile, a laugh, tears, fear or joy.  I choose to share because my life is an open book.  I have nothing to hide and it's not always going to be sunshine , and a clean tank.  I just want you to know you're not alone.  Today I chose to be more like Dumb and go through today , getting stuff done in frantic confusion........Which fish are you?

Sunday Bloody Sunday

 Feeding my Starbuck's jones since it's out of my budget with my apparent gambling problem, I was on Facebook bantering back and forth during football when I decided to get up in my fluffy warm socks to go to the bathroom.  As I stepped into the hall way I felt water soak up into my socks and it was a lot of water, not just a little bit.  I said "Oh my God Jay, pause the game! I'm serious we have a problem here."  It wasn't just a little problem, it was our house flooding.

 We are in a rental and it came with a lovely eclectic mismatched Washer and Dryer set, I'm guessing around 25-30 years old.  When we moved in after losing our house and selling my beautiful side by side huge front loader set, I was happy to have one at all so I didn't have to spend my days at the laundry mat.  As long as they work (barely) I can't complain, I have clean clothes and beggars can't be choosers.

 Apparently the hose decided to give the washer an eviction notice during the 2, yes 2 rinse cycles.  No we did not hear it.  I only had socks on and with my healing broken ankle I couldn't exactly leap over it, besides, it was coming from under the washer, creeping down the hall and into Stevi's bedroom and towards the kitchen.  Jay sold his shop vac when we moved so he just had a little one that did nothing.  On over to Aaron's house next door he went, he had a heavier duty one from Home Depot.  Jay started working on it furiously and I posted on Facebook that I had to go because my house was flooding.

 I missed the first phone call.  Then Stevi said "Mom! Wayne is calling you!"  I have known Wayne since I was 14 years old and we have always been great friends.  Actually, he is more like a best friend.  We have lived parallel lives and can talk about things and understand each other as no one else can.  So I said "Answer it!!!"

 Wayne also is a contractor and owns Millennium Home Maintenance and happened to just log onto FB when all Hell was breaking loose at the Lynch house.  He was on it.  I contacted the landlord and even during Football playoffs, he and a team of workers where at my house within 20-30 minutes with professional equipment.  They were here and on and off the phone with our landlord for around 3-4 hours all men, during football playoffs.  Impressive.  All I had to do was take pictures to document.

 Jay, Wayne and Scott and some cute kid with holes in his pants worked and dealt with it while I started getting my migraine from stress.  They crawled under our house, found more water and had some magic tool that detected water in the drywalls.  As Jay and Wayne talked and discussed options I decided for once to hand over the reigns to the guys and let them deal with it.

 The landlord thank God is an awesome guy and now we are just waiting to see how bad it is.  This is just a rental for us, but this is his home that he owns.  We did the best we could as quickly as possible and hopefully saved a lot of damage, but now there is the issue of possible mold.  Wayne, bless his heart is someone I know we can trust completely so rather than make me take time off work with Jay out of town, all the guys exchanged numbers and I gave Wayne the code to our lock box because he said he will come out anytime they need to be here and stay in the house while they work.  

 Our landlord will be coming in from out of town on Thursday, thankfully I have that day off to asses the damages and decide what needs to be done.  With a daughter with asthma, that is an issue for us...mold.... and I am so glad it was NOT our washer we brought in, or it would be our responsibility.  We have renters insurance but fortunately nothing of our personal items were damaged.  


Our house now smells like a swamp, is cold because we have 5 fans going at all times, our cat is freaked out and it sounds like an airport.  We normally have our TV volume at 14-20, now 48-52 is somewhat audible.  My headache won't go away, I think I have become a bit noise sensitive not to mention a bit stressed out and had an awesome breakdown when I finally got into bed that night.  It's been a rough time and I think that a person can only take so much before they lose it.  I lost it, oh I lost it big time.  Crying so hard I sounded like I was laughing hysterically.  Weird how they almost sound the same.  I scared my daughter, myself and my husband because I am usually the glue.  I just keep on trucking.  All I can say is if it weren't for Wayne and his crew taking over it would have been much worse and I do know this will all be handled correctly but enough is enough.  To top it off, I woke up Monday morning after about and hour and 1/2 of sleep, was limping on my stiff ,still healing broken ankle and caught the callous of my right foot (which is quite impressive after 5 weeks of relying on it when I had the boot on) on the kick plate between the rug and linoleum to my bathroom and tore it off into a huge hole.  Bleeding everywhere.  2 hour delay for my daughter, who couldn't hear me because of the fans.  It took me almost 40 minutes to get it to quit bleeding enough to put a ton of tissue on it and crawl into my bedroom to find a sock and use it as a tourniquet,  I hobble to the kitchen where I keep the first aid kit and it is out of bandages, glue, nu skin and gauze.....REALLY I now have 35 minutes to get my act together and get to work. So paper towels it is with surgical tape wrapped around my right foot and at this point I said 'Fuck It' to my ankle brace.  A Whores Bath (Wet Wipes and perfume), an Adam Lambert hairstyle and I'm out the door walking like a penguin by 8:45.  Got to work on time walking like a damn penguin or Charlie Chaplin all day and survived a 12 hour day before I hit SavMart to pick up my prescription, which I have been out of for 3 days and some surgical supplies.  Only when I got home and unwrapped it.  It looked like a Black hole....not good and hurts worse than my ankle that I stood and walked on all day.  Looks like a call to Dr. Peters will be first thing this morning since it's 2 am now, and the pills he gave me to help with my insomnia....apparently don't really work.  In the meantime, my bra was killing me near my armpit so I reached in and pulled the under wire that was poking my armpit all day out....There is another article of clothing of mine in the garbage, this week alone 2 pairs of socks , 2 pairs of underwear, 2 shirts and a pair of pants and a hat.  Not only am I a hot mess, apparently my wardrobe is falling apart.

BUT on a great note!!! I won all 3 bets, started my day with my free Starbucks from Kristen McCassie and she owes me one more because we bet double or nothing.  I have a coffee date with my friend Lee on Thursday and I got no-showed by a lady who does it so often I have her pre-pay and if she doesn't show up I still get to cash her check if she no-call no-shows me,  so my son stopped by to say 'Hi' because he was taking his Grandma to lunch and bought me lunch as well.  All in all a great day...AND I have guys running in and out of my house all day, so it may stink, and be noisy, but it is getting handled.  Thanks guys for jumping to our rescue.......PS if you every need a licensed contractor who can handle it all.....Call Wayne Geisinger at 775-686-0947.  He's fair and will drop everything to make sure it gets done the right way and efficiently.  We Love you Wayne, you are a life saver.  Thank You.

Danger in the Bathroom!

Dyna, my guardian and bodyguard, nurse etc.

 Every morning Dyna and I have our bonding moment when I get up.  I always go straight to the bathroom to do my business and if the Metamucil from the night before has done it's job, we bond long enough for me to check my messages, my e-mails and FB.  Living in this family we have discovered that buying room sprays for the bathroom are not only expensive but un-effective, so we do it old school.  A good old box of matches.

Who knew I was facing danger and had to jump into action like Wonder Woman!  I struck the match.......the end that was on fire flew off..........landed on my fluffy bathroom throw rug.

Thankfully my pants were up and I was "fresh" before I had to stomp it out in the bathroom!  Dyna was quite impressed.  Who needs coffee when you make up like that!?

Room Spray

And THAT'S how I roll.....

Date Day!

I have grown to love my Saturdays, they are busy and have turned into our family days to be productive or just have fun.  Sundays have become Jammie days....ahh, we don't leave the house unless we absolutely have to.

Representing Cougar Colors for the game

 Today we went and watched the game at Reed, our biggest rivals and Jay's alma mater.  Stevi was very proud to see the championship AAA baseball banner hanging in the gym and the biggest trophy in the case that had her Daddy's name on it.  She showed it off to a couple of friends and told them.."Remember when I told you my dad was a stud baseball player?!  Look! His name is on the trophy....the Cubs were looking at him!"

Stunting at Reed

 That made Jay feel happy, he has had his days of glory, it's now Stevi's turn to shine.  We ran across the street, well actually walked, slowly, and got her and Alyssa a Port-of-Subs to share then let for our date to go enjoy our Sushi gift card we got from Jayson and Guoda for Christmas, then go see the movie 'Contraband' (wait till it comes out on video).

SSHS Banner at Reed

1984-85 AAA Baseball Champions for Reed 

Before we went to Sushi we stopped at Sheel's and I bought myself a lace up ankle brace.  Easy to get on, not so easy to get off.  And a bit uncomfortable without a sock, but I was wearing my Ugg's today so I couldn't wear any socks.  And by the way, going up and down high school bleachers is MUCH more difficult than it looks!  I looked like a two year old maneuvering stairs
for the first time.

Bought my lace up brace today... better support, not used to it yet.
Then we went to Sushi Pier 2....You know that guy that walks into a room and you instantly don't like him?  He is obnoxious , over-bearing and rude?  He was there.  We walked in and it was packed.  The waiting room was standing room only and as we walked in we walked up to the Please Be Seated Sign and noticed the look on a couple of young girls so I asked them if they had put their name in yet because I didn't want to step in front of them.  They told me no and said they had been standing there for awhile and didn't know where the hostess was.  So Jay and I stood somewhat behind them to form some sort of line.  Then "The Guy" came in....you know the type...he's always the 'funniest' guy in the room, the LOUDEST laugher, NEVER would he think of holding a door for anyone (I thought he was by himself until his family opened the door a second later and arrived timidly behind him), he also knows everything about everything and is THE MOST important person in the room, I know this because he worked the whole room the hour we were there.
The Hostess showed up and he basically stepped right in front of them to put his name on the list first, even though it was obvious to just about everyone in the room that she was just now taking names. Everyone was just staring at him with a look of disbelief on their face and the hostess started taking names as people went up to her in order of appearance.  When it was my turn I told the Hostess that the first man was the last to appear and I felt it was extremely rude that he did that and she should put those other people ahead of him and Jay and I would just sit  at the Saki bar if we could order food there because we were on our way to see a movie.  After a few smiles at me and the waitress said Thank You and I will make sure they are seated first, the two young (18-20 yrs) girls said "Thank you so much! I didn't know what to say!"  I said, "It's OK Honey, it's the Mom in me."  She put her arm around me and said "You can be my Mom any day!  That was so nice what  you just did."  So Jay and I sat up at the Saki bar and were waiting a few minutes patiently when the bartender came over to take our order and get our menu's, (BTW..Honey Jack and Sprite!  Delish!)  As he was taking our order....the most important man in the room walked up to the bar and slammed his hand down to get the bartenders attention and said " I NEED SAKI!"  The bartender looked all of 21 and said he was sorry, we said "Go ahead and handle him, we are in no hurry".  As the bartender walked towards the most important man in the room, the idiot, I mean, very important man bows to him because he said he always bows to Japs to be polite and proceeded to tell the bartender that the deeper the bow the more respect and went on to explain that that is very important that he know that.  It is a sign of respect. (Apparently holding the door for your family when it's windy and snowing isn't, silly me.)  The bartender was such a cute kid and just smiled as he listened and got his Saki, then he proceeded to tell the bartender loudly enough so everyone in the room could hear how stupid it was that we got to sit at the bar and eat but he and his family couldn't, it wasn't like he was going to do shots of Jack Daniels with his children, (they looked around 5 and 7 years old.) Luckily the family was seated behind us so we got to listen to him degrade and belittle his family throughout dinner all the while the mother was telling the children not to make him mad every time he got up to leave the table which was a lot, I'm assuming the Saki had a lot to do with that.   After dinner as Jay was finishing his beer I went to the restroom and the VIP got up and followed me. I was in there for quite awhile because I needed to redo my ankle wrap because my foot was starting to swell.  I came out of the bathroom and almost bumped into him, he mumbled something to me that was hard to understand so rather than engage in any sort of conversation I went around him and as I was walking away he said...
Ohhh, Don't go away mad!"  I just turned and looked to see if he was talking to me... yes, of course he was. So I went back to sit with Jay and said.."That was weird, that asshole just said something to me, I don't really know what he said but it was weird, let's go."  So we put the tip down and I got up to put my jacket on and he stopped Jay and I as we were walking out and started to tell me how cute I was and he wouldn't have been hitting on me if he had known I was married.  I hadn't realized we had actually had a moment near the bathrooms.  Then Sweet Bubba came out and with my best smile I said "That's ok sweetie, even if I were single you would never have a chance."  Jay just looked at him and he looked like he had a cold glass of water thrown in his face.  Like a little kid he pouted and said..."That was mean......I'm married anyways and stomped off to go back and sit with his 'Happy Family' .  My sister and many of my friends have seen me in action before, but Jay never really has, so as we walked out the door he was looking at me with a weird smile on his face and I just said......." and THAT is how I roll......"

It's Good News!

It's good news, no great!  I went to see Dr. Peters yesterday and although I am not completely healed, I am healed enough to take my boot off and wear a fabric ankle brace for support.  Dr. Peters told me I can for the next two weeks start walking around the block on an even surface only to get some movement and circulation out of my leg.  The majority of the pain I was experiencing was healing with circulatory and nerves doing their jobs.   Yesterday I was on it for about 3 hours and I have to admit I was in pain last night but I am sure that will get better every day.  As of now I don't need Physical Therapy because I am an exercise fanatic, I will get this done myself.  So starting February first I am able to start my training again with running (weather permitting, on an even surface) and Crossfit, as a beginner.  Starting over will suck but I know I need to listen to my body and get back on track.  I lost a fluctuating 8-12 lbs, which judging by my body was a majority of muscle so I need to get that back.


Yesterday I only took my vicodin when I got home around 7 because I was in pain, and I realized through all this that this kind of pain is not something you suffer through.  So I think that is pretty good, except as a newby to all this pill popping I can tell you, don't take two Vicodin then celebrate with a glass of wine.  I thought I felt OK but luckily I woke myself up this morning because my first client is at 8 and I set two alarms to wake up, one for 8 and one for 8:30....

Also, I went to work and did Jay and Stevi's hair, and although I was starting to be in pain, I was trying not to take anything for it at all, I was focusing on the pain and was texturizing Stevi's hair, she moves around a lot examining my work as I am doing it, she didn't move and I think I was anticipating her moving or just not focused and I took a little too much out of the left side.  Devastating for a 15 year old girl, she was crying, then of course I felt horrible and we got into a fight, but we are OK.  I explained to her that I am human and even the best hairdressers in the world make mistakes.  I felt horrible, I know how important her hair is to her because it is so fine it shows every thing, we blended it pretty good, but what she doesn't realize is that  as a professional and as a mother, even though I was ready to shave my head at the moment to prove to her that hair does grow, my heart was broken and I was so upset about it, probably more so than her.  Her hair is now a beautiful baby doll blond but a little more rockerish of a hair cut, which I think is adorable, same length just more layers, especially by the ear on the left side, at least I didn't take her ear off because I was using my 7" Detailing Shears.  What I learned from that is, if I'm in pain, take a pill, don't wait till later then have to take two.  They are here to help me, not hinder me.

I need a bumper to bumper warranty.....(TMI Blog)

UH OH... Time to go!

OK, I need a bumper to bumper warranty.  I am broken from head to toe as you all know.  First of all, I have never really had to take any prescription pain medication for more than a day or two, and although I should have remembered this because Jay has had four knee surgeries and when my Dad was dying of cancer, he was on some pretty good pain medication as well.

I forgot about the fact that it constipates you.  Yup no poo poo for you, long time. I went to Renown, and an orthopedic surgeon within two days of each other and also went to the pharmacy and not one person mentioned that I may need a little extra fiber.

10 days.......yes 10.  Then I went into labor.  I now know how Elvis died on the toilet.  I almost had to call 911. 45 minutes later I gave birth to a rabid badger that was fighting and clawing for it's life.  I almost died, shit you not (no pun intended ;-).

Now I have to have Metamucil or Activia every day because I am scared to death of going into labor again.  

Next issue.  I pretty much over-dosed on Acetaminophen as you may know from reading my previous blog "You're Fired."  So besides the vomiting, I ended up with diarrhea for the last two weeks, "Dr. Peters" said it's most likely my body trying to rid itself of those toxins.  So my question to you is, what do I do?  I get constipated then go into labor, after I lose my plug it's like a fire hose full blast for oh at least 20 minutes or so, this really sucks for a multitasker such as myself.  Do I still need the fiber intake or not?  I definitely don't need a stool softener.  I also am not sure if I may just have some kind of flu, I am currently drinking Gatorade because I am aware of how dehydrated I am.  My Dr. made me give him a urine sample and it is brown because my liver is working so hard.....(TMI, I know but this is MY blog and you chose to read it despite the content warning!)

My Tebow, before and after...the  "event"

Oh God!.......

Oh and did I mention, I think I may have strep throat or I got a pill stuck sideways on both sides of my throat because despite the Vicodin, Prescription Ibuprofen Cloreseptic and Ceprecol, I can't yawn or even swallow water let alone a pill.  I had to smash them up and put them in water to get them down today because I had to be to work at 6 am.  I think it's time to trade myself in for a new model.......

Bitter Sweet with a Cavity?

Jeez, let the body get cold. Today, my landlord came in to get a key and to tell me how sorry he was that I was closing the doors. Then about an hour later, two young girls came in to look at the space........while I was working on two clients, packing boxes and shutting my salon down, then started asking me questions about how much he charged me for my space lease, and other money questions..............REALLY!!!! Lucky I had my hands in color or they may have been around her pretty little neck! Call the owner, why in the hell would you think that was appropriate? On either end. I understand he needs to rent the space but it is mine until February 2nd. You would think he would let me close my doors with a little dignity........F%^#&