The time, the time! I’m running out of time! Goodness, talk about the long haul; I thought I would miss Christmas altogether this year. That was one wicked cold, or flu or whatever it was, and I sincerely would not wish it on an enemy. At any rate, here I am finally beginning to feel better with only three days until Christmas.
I will have to hit the floor at a run today if there is any chance to get everything done that I need to. Today, I need to clean the house and perhaps do a load or two of laundry. Tomorrow, I will need to get the gifts wrapped, and that is no small job. On Monday (Christmas Eve) comes the tricky part; I have no idea what we are doing. We may be going to Don’s parents, in which case we will spend the night; or we may be staying home and going there on Christmas Day and if that is the case, we may or may not spend the night. It all depends on two things, one – how Don is feeling (whether or not he is coming down with the bug) and two – what he decides he would like to do.
And so, my friends, I have a busy and confusing couple of days ahead of me (much, I am sure, as you do) and since, though I am feeling better, I am still sort of fuzzy headed and I have a slight headache; I had best get to it before it gets to me.
There is always hope.
Betty
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Yucky Old Cold
It is, I believe, the height of stupidity to let something as common (no pun intended) as a cold ruin my favorite time of year. I have, of course been called worse things than stupid and in this instance I humbly consent wear the title because it is precisely what I am being. Albeit I cannot seem to help myself because everything that needs doing for the holidays remains undone.
As I type this post Brenda Lee is signing Rocking Around The Christmas Tree in a weird kind of quadraphonic, tin can voice that reverberates painfully against my poor, pressure stressed eardrums. I cannot stand it so I just turned off the music.
There is so much to do before Christmas! I need to bake the cookies, finish shopping, wrap the gifts, clean the house and make lasagna all before the magical day arrives; I’ll never get it all done unless I feel a little bit better. I will not stress about it though, the meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with all of those bits and pieces of the modern, commercial version of the day. Still, I do love the lights and music and it makes me just a little bit sad to have the enjoyment diminished by a yucky old cold.
I apologize if this all sounds rather fuzzy and stuffed up; personally I think I have done well in just making the attempt to post.
There is always hope.
Betty
As I type this post Brenda Lee is signing Rocking Around The Christmas Tree in a weird kind of quadraphonic, tin can voice that reverberates painfully against my poor, pressure stressed eardrums. I cannot stand it so I just turned off the music.
There is so much to do before Christmas! I need to bake the cookies, finish shopping, wrap the gifts, clean the house and make lasagna all before the magical day arrives; I’ll never get it all done unless I feel a little bit better. I will not stress about it though, the meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with all of those bits and pieces of the modern, commercial version of the day. Still, I do love the lights and music and it makes me just a little bit sad to have the enjoyment diminished by a yucky old cold.
I apologize if this all sounds rather fuzzy and stuffed up; personally I think I have done well in just making the attempt to post.
There is always hope.
Betty
Thursday, December 13, 2007
There Are Wifely Duties and Then There Is Cookie Dough
One of my “wifely” duties at this time of year is baking sugar cookies, they are Don’s hands down favorite cookie and as far as he is concerned, there is no point in taking the time and bother to bake anything else. Sugar cookies are time consuming and I am about as artistic as dust but that is not the reason I resisted (vigorously) giving in to making the dratted cookies for years. The sad truth of the matter is that I tried every recipe for sugar cookies I could lay my hands on and no matter what I did; I just could not roll the silly dough out. Inevitably it was too soft or too firm or too thin or any of a hundred things that cookie dough can be too much of, it was not a good exercise in confidence building. And there you have it, another of my dirty little secrets; put a rolling pin in my hand and the best you can expect is for me to begin pounding my head with it. Fortunately for Don I found a recipe for sugar cookies that I can manipulate into something that resembles a cookie, and they don’t taste bad either. If you are interested in the recipe go to http://www.kraftfoods.com/ and look for their 4 – in 1 Cookie Dough recipe.
I suppose that is one of the most wonderful things about life, here I am, soon to be 49 years old and I still have no idea what I do best. I have learned a few lessons on things I do not do well, like rolling dough, but I am still searching for that one thing that I do really well. How much fun is that? I cannot imagine having all the answers and no more mysteries to solve.
One thing that is no mystery to me is where and when I got this yucky cold I am suffering with. I had to get it on the plane coming back from Las Vegas last week. It hit me exactly seven days after we returned home. I will spare us all another tirade on germs, suffice it to say, my feelings have not changed on that score. And now, I think it is off to bed for me. I hope I have enough energy to bake the cookies tomorrow; I needed a three hour nap after mixing them.
There is always hope.
Betty
I suppose that is one of the most wonderful things about life, here I am, soon to be 49 years old and I still have no idea what I do best. I have learned a few lessons on things I do not do well, like rolling dough, but I am still searching for that one thing that I do really well. How much fun is that? I cannot imagine having all the answers and no more mysteries to solve.
One thing that is no mystery to me is where and when I got this yucky cold I am suffering with. I had to get it on the plane coming back from Las Vegas last week. It hit me exactly seven days after we returned home. I will spare us all another tirade on germs, suffice it to say, my feelings have not changed on that score. And now, I think it is off to bed for me. I hope I have enough energy to bake the cookies tomorrow; I needed a three hour nap after mixing them.
There is always hope.
Betty
Monday, December 10, 2007
No More Morose Neurontin
Morose; that would be the word I would use to describe the way I feel. And angry, as in it doesn’t take much these days to completely exasperate me. Should I go on and add in confused and frustrated and forgetful and determined to do something about it? Well, I am. Probably not (regrettably) until after the holidays and even then not without Don to help me; but I will do something about it. Namely, I am going to insist that my neurologist take me off of Neurontin and find something else to help with the migraines and trigeminal neuralgia.
Do you know the last time I was on Neurontin my neurologist sent me for counseling because I was depressed? At the time I suspected the Neurontin but there were other factors to consider as well; a history of depression, recently losing my job due to illness and a serious accident that left me with a broken shoulder among other things. All of those things were legitimate reasons to run not walk to a psychiatrist, and I did. But this time, this time I know darned well that all of these emotional problems (well, at least most of them) can be a direct cause of Neurontin. I just logged off http://www.rxlist.com/ where I researched that dread drug and confirmed my fears. Actually depression, though a certified side effect, as well as anger and countless other unpleasant things, has a fairly rare occurrence rate; or so they say. In my case, I am not depressed in a suicidal way but rather in a way that has more to do with perception. I may know I love Christmas but I am having a hard time feeling it. I am easily confused and forgetful and irritated with myself and everyone I come in contact with. I am not motivated to write or read or listen to music, I have no desire to do anything, that is the form my depression has taken.
One of the problems with Neurontin is that you cannot simply stop taking it. It has to be tapered down slowly and carefully to avoid dire complications. Don has got to go in with me when I see the neurologist next month and help me, should I falter, to convince the doctor to take me off of that terrible stuff. I want my happy, if sometimes lonely, life back. Life is for living and I refuse to sit back in a numb, lethargic haze and be a spectator!
I do hope to have something a little brighter to share with you next time. You know, winter is well and truly here in Ohio. We have had our first real snow, meaning it could or should have been shoveled (Don has a way of knowing just how long he can let it go before we are likely to get stuck in the drive). There has been sleet and cold wind, all the players are here and it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
There is always hope.
Betty
Do you know the last time I was on Neurontin my neurologist sent me for counseling because I was depressed? At the time I suspected the Neurontin but there were other factors to consider as well; a history of depression, recently losing my job due to illness and a serious accident that left me with a broken shoulder among other things. All of those things were legitimate reasons to run not walk to a psychiatrist, and I did. But this time, this time I know darned well that all of these emotional problems (well, at least most of them) can be a direct cause of Neurontin. I just logged off http://www.rxlist.com/ where I researched that dread drug and confirmed my fears. Actually depression, though a certified side effect, as well as anger and countless other unpleasant things, has a fairly rare occurrence rate; or so they say. In my case, I am not depressed in a suicidal way but rather in a way that has more to do with perception. I may know I love Christmas but I am having a hard time feeling it. I am easily confused and forgetful and irritated with myself and everyone I come in contact with. I am not motivated to write or read or listen to music, I have no desire to do anything, that is the form my depression has taken.
One of the problems with Neurontin is that you cannot simply stop taking it. It has to be tapered down slowly and carefully to avoid dire complications. Don has got to go in with me when I see the neurologist next month and help me, should I falter, to convince the doctor to take me off of that terrible stuff. I want my happy, if sometimes lonely, life back. Life is for living and I refuse to sit back in a numb, lethargic haze and be a spectator!
I do hope to have something a little brighter to share with you next time. You know, winter is well and truly here in Ohio. We have had our first real snow, meaning it could or should have been shoveled (Don has a way of knowing just how long he can let it go before we are likely to get stuck in the drive). There has been sleet and cold wind, all the players are here and it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
There is always hope.
Betty
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