Updates and Pollen

Well looks like we have hit a block in the road. Things have not been looking up lately this month. First of all, my husband's grandparents home burned down. When my husband was young, he lived there with his grandparents and two cousins. That was their household. While in their twenties, both cousins were gone. Ricky died while being in between his truck and trailer when another truck struck his and killed him. This happened before I met my husband. Theresa was diagnosed with cancer and only lived about two years after that. I was lucky to meet her before she passed. We miss her very much. Both of his grandparents are gone so if you think about it, he is the only person left from the entire household including the home. Can you imagine how that would feel? He has taken it well as with the rest of the family. However, I would be crying my eyes out if I was him. They are very strong people anyways. I am glad to have them as part of my family. My mother in law has always told me that I was like a daughter to her. She only had three boys after all.

My husband ended up with a staph infection in his nose of all places. Besides staph usually starts in the nose and then the sore pops up. He felt totally miserable with his entire face hurting. It was even difficult for him to eat since it caused pain in his teeth. He has since gotten over that. He had told me that the day after he gotten better, he ended up with what seems to be bronchitis again. We are still working on getting rid of that illness.

I have not felt very good myself. I usually do not have allergies, but this year was totally different. Even Devin is starting to feel bad. We have had sore throats with this as well. I still blame the pollen for most of our illness. They have said that pollen in our area could be the worst in ten years. I believe it too! I was washing off the porch one day a few weeks ago to get all of the pollen off. As it ran down the curve of the street, it would pile up turning the water yellow. As the water has dried up at the end where it puddles, mounds of pollen were left. It dried which would end up getting back into the air again. Cars are totally covered in pollen and washing them will not help. Just within 20 minutes after washing the truck, it was all over the back window again. I would have to say that it is a lot better after we had some rain to wash the worst away. After it rained, it is still high, but everything is not covered as bad. A pollen forecast will give you the heads up on allergies. Just click on your state and enter your zip code to get your pollen forecast. They also have a cities list, but you may not be able to find your city, so just enter your zip code and it will take you there. Right now we are averaging 11.5 on the scale. The highest number that they go to is 12 so go figure. I found this pollen car image to give you an idea of how bad it is. This was in Atlanta, GA, and it is that bad here as well. The image is from pomomusings.com.

We have also had problems with the truck. The battery is dead, and we will probably need a new alternator as well. It is a 2000 Blazer, but it is getting out of shape and fast. The passenger door is messed up and basically husband told me that it was about to come off. The 4-wheel drive never did work, so again it is messed up again. We almost have the thing payed off (still have about 7 payments), but husband is considering trading it if they will. The car company will only trade it in after you have payed so much on it. That means almost all of it. We have been with them for four years now so maybe they can help us out. It was an idea, but if we actually do it I do not know. It is almost paid off and I really do not want a car payment anymore. Maybe he will decide to fix it for now, but you never know. He may do it just to have a chance at something better, and that will not cost a fortune to keep fixed. I am ready for something else as well, but then again I would like to save that extra $250.00 every month.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Suave Professionals: Humectant Shampoo and Conditioner

I have really long hair, and I have always had a problem finding the perfect shampoo for my hair. I was a Wal-Mart a few days ago, and I noticed that Suave had a type of shampoo and conditioner that worked as well as Nexxus Therappe but for a lot less. You would normally pay about $20 for Nexxus, but with Suave, you can spend only about $3. That is right, you can save that much on your shampoo. Imagine what you can do with the extra money that you have saved. Suave Humectant which is from the professionals line is made with panthenol and keratin to leave your hair soft and manageable. Since I have to buy both shampoo and conditioner, I have to be careful on how much I do spend. I am one who does not tend to spend to much on something. I usually go the cheap way out if it is at all possible. That is very hard to do these days, and the prices of things just keep on going up. With Suave, you know that you will be paying the lowest price, and getting every cents worth. For pennies you can have beautiful hair without breaking the bank just to wash your hair. With the dry and stiff hair that I have, I was very pleased just after one use of Suave Humectant I knew that I would never try another brand. I absolutely fell in love with this shampoo. If you are looking for soft, moist, and healthy hair, please try Suave Humectant today. You can receive emails, coupons, offers, and tips from Suave when you register today! Drugstore.com has Suave Humectant as well. Wherever you shop make sure that you stop by the shampoo aisle and pick this up today. You will be glad that you did. I know that I sure am. Follow Suave at Facebook and on Twitter for their latest updates.

The Past Few Days

So what is going on today? The usual I guess. I am getting ready to start cleaning the house again. I should get it done in a few hours, and I am hoping that I do not wear myself out. I am not exactly in the best of shape anymore, so constantly working around the house just does me in. I am still trying to get rid of a few pounds since I came off of my Abilify. It was causing me to gain weight.. about 50 pounds in the last two years. Arthritis is no help either, and is triggered by my food allergies. I should watch those, but since they are not serious I tend to ignore them.

The boys are having their last day of school until April 5. They are getting two extra days off for the weekend for teacher business at school. They will enjoy that very much, and will want to play outside since it is getting warmer now. We will be in the 80's for the first time this year. The sun will be shinning and rain will not be found.

Devin really enjoys riding his bicycle that he got for Christmas. Eddie does not really like to ride it. He has taken up with Devin's Razor scooter instead. He has been on the bicycle, but did not go very far. Not sure if he likes it or not. We had went outside yesterday, but before I knew it they were back in the house. I think that they ended up getting to hot. Then again, they were tired from going to school that day.

We had taken the boys to Chuck E Cheese's a few days ago. We had spent a good 40 bucks or so for pizza and enough tokens to get about 100 tickets for each of the kids. For 30 dollars you could get a pizza and 25 tokens. The tokens were in the price of the pizza, so the menu board made your mouth drop to the floor. How expensive this is, and we see people here all the time. Luckily we went on Monday after school about 3:30 and it was empty. Talk about beating the crowds. The boys had lots of fun so it was well worth the money we had spent. When we got home that afternoon, I had checked my email and noticed that there had been a house fire in Shannon. It happened to be my husbands grandparents house. It was totally destroyed.

Well, I guess that I will be going. Have things that I need to get done. Thanks for visiting today and I will see you all soon.

Searching Again For Birthparents

I finally ended up getting some stamps (for my birthday) from my aunt, and I am debating on if I should write to my next possible match in the search for my birth parents. I am really wanting to save the 10 dollars it takes to process the paperwork for the original birth certificate, or to get a letter back saying that I have the wrong names. Then again, some say that it is not a good idea to contact the "birth parents" directly. Everyone has their own opinion I guess. As of now, I am looking for Darlene K. (Bennett) Peters, and Douglas R. Whitehead. She is living in Rosenburg, Texas, and has two sisters. From what I have learned, Douglas passed away in 2003. Well, I guess that I will keep debating on what I will do. I may just go ahead and mail at least one letter just to see what does happen.

Spring 2010

Today is the first day of Spring, and also my Uncle Bobby's birthday. Happy birthday Uncle Bobby! Hope that you have a wonderful day today! You were the lucky one this year by having the frist day of Spring on your birthday. Sometimes it is on mine which is tomorrow. Being 30? Up the hill I make my way, with the little ones taging behind me. We have had a great spring break. We really did not do much except for watching t.v., playing games, riding bikes and scooters outside. Last weekend was not a very good one thought. We had rain and a few cloudy days which made the weather a little cool to be going out to play. If it is not warm, I really do not want to go outside. I really dislike the cold weather. Spring and Fall would be my favorite months since it is neither to cold or to hot to be outside. I have been really busy cleaning the house up, or at least trying. I may be able to finish it today. We are having monthly housekeeping inspections again in April, so I really have to be on the ball about keeping it cleaned. I have a lot of trouble getting the other family members to keep their things picked up as much as possible. I am trying to get the kids to realize that they need to keep their toys to a limit, but I am not having much luck. I am really going to have to enforce the need for them to start helping around the house; even if it is just their toys that happens to be all over the floor in every room. Well, I guess that I will be going so I can get things finished up here and start working on the house...again!!

St Patrick's Day & Update

Back again after a few months. We had changed internet companies so that we could get it a little cheaper. We are having spring break this week, and we are enjoying the rest. The weather had been rainy and too cool to be playing out much. The sun just has not been out much to really warm things up to where you can stand to even be outside. The last time that we were outside, Eddie had fell from the scooter and scraped his palm up pretty good so we went in that day and have not been out since. The rain started coming quite often, then it got quite cool. I have also been working on cleaning the house. Just for once I would like to see everything done all at once instead of one room at a time while the other rooms just get dirty again. Sometimes it feel like they can get dirty on their own... I guess that it can. It is very dusty in this house anyways. The heater does not help with that situation either. I wonder sometimes if it just makes it worse. Guess that it is like a furnace that blows heat out the bottom to warm the house. It is a very annoying heater, and I still have not met one person who actually likes it. It warms the living room up too much and the rest of the rooms are cool. Guess that it could suffocate you in same room as it is in. My back did finally get better after I had hurt it two months ago, and I am glad of that. I can acually move around again without hurting from it. Well I guess that I will be going. Just wanted to let everyone know that I am around...just busy!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2010

Back Injury

About three days ago, I guess I had moved off of the washer wrong and really messed up my back pretty good. I just have a tendancy to sit on it eventhough I probably should not. I am not ecactly sure what I had done to it, but it feels like my spine is being pushed together. Either that or I have bruised the bones. I have not went to the doctor yet, as I am waiting to see if it will heal on its own. Moving around is very difficult, but tolerated somewhat. I just feel like I have jammed the sinal column together. Laying down seems to ease the pain if I am perfectly still, but we all know that I just can not lay still until it does decide to get better. I am still willing to give it a few days before I just decide to break down and go to the doctor to make sure nothing is to wrong...like having a disc injury, pinched nerve or something. A chiropractor sounds good, but the pain in the spine is just too much to even consider that yet, besides I rather have my doctor look at it. Sure don't need it popped or messed with. Then to think that I would have to clean house today! I really hope that it does get better.

Thanks for reading on this 28th day of January 2010.

Only In America For A Laugh

For A Laugh

Only in America.....do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while the healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America....do people order double cheese, large fries, and a diet coke.

Only in America...do banks leave the vault doors open and then chain the pens to the counter.

Only in America...do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America...do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

Only in America...do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

EVER WONDER

Why the sun lightens our hair and darkens our skin?

Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline ' Psychic Wins Lottery'?

Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?

Why is lemonade made with artificial flavoring and dish washing liquid is made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called the rush hour?

Why isn't there a mouse- flavored cat food?

Why didn't Moses swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff!?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

I like this one!!! If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe why do they call the airport the terminal?


Thanks to Aunt Kat, Bob, and the original writer Tharpsbigandy!!

Thanks for reading on this 28th day of January 2010.

Swarovski Crystal Glass On Benz Cars

How would you like to have a new car for Valentine's Day? I saw this and had to share it with you. These two cars, the customized Mercedes-Benz SL600s and the Luxury Crystal Benz are studded with 300,000 Swarovski crystal glass. These cars were displayed at the pavilion of custom car accessory company Garson/D.A.D at Tokyo Auto Salon 2010 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on January 15, 2010. They are just absolutely beautiful. The LUXUO Luxury Blog has a few pictures of these wonderful cars. Wonder what one of these would cost... Probably not for sale though. Too bad for us!

If you are looking for some Swarovski crystal for yourself, then maybe you can find something here at Crystal Classics. You might be able to find a great Valentine's Day gift here that uses Swarovski crystals.

Thanks for reading on this 26th day of January 2010.

Air Purifiers For Your Home And Car

In the near future, my family and I want to buy an air purifier for our home. We live in a very dusty place, and it is so bad that we can not breathe anymore. Dust will pile up everywhere within a matter of a few days. Since I enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart, I found just what I was looking for. This Ionic Pro combo air purifier plus bonus car air purifier will be our best solution. The price is reasonable as well, just $98.66 online. Then, I can have one for my car as well that will plug into a cigarette lighter. I plan to buy two..one for each end of the house, and hopefully it will help us all out. If you are having problems with dust and dirt in your home, then I recommend trying this product out. It has been rated 4 out of 5 from other shoppers at Wal-Mart, you can read the Ionic Pro reviews as well before you decide if this product is right for you.

Thanks for reading on this 25th day of January 2010

Clock Widgets

Hello everyone! I was looking around for some widgets for my blog, and I thought that it would be great to have a nice clock to put on my blog. I did find one website that had some that I enjoyed. These clock widgets are very nice and I am sure that you can find one that you will like as well. They seem to be a little girlish, but I think that the guys can find one that will meet their needs. I had picked this Roses & Carnations Clock out for my friend Rose at Obstacles And Glories. It fits her perfect. For the guys, I think that you would like the Steamed Punk Clock. There are a few pages to choose from, and I hope that you will enjoy using them. If you need a clock widget for you blog, then maybe you could take a look at these and I hope that you will find something that you like. All you have to do is copy the HTML code and add it to your blog or website. Enjoy!!

Thanks for reading on this 23rd day of January 2010.

***I have noticed that this website is having problems or is no longer there. Sorry for the delay or deletion of this web page.

Zicam: FDA Advises You To Discontinue Use

I had received an email from my aunt that was claiming that Zicam can cause olfactory damage. In the email a women named Mary shared her story about using Zicam and was experiencing problems with the product. Here is her story:

I want my friends and loved ones to know what has happened to me in hopes that it will never happen to you or anybody you care about. About 10 days ago, I felt a cold coming on; so before I went to bed I used Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel. It's supposed to help you "get over your cold faster." Immediately after I sprayed it into each nostril I felt the most horrific burning sensation imaginable. It literally felt like I had sprayed pepper spray directly into my brain.. It burned all the way to the top of my skull. My nasal passages swelled, my eyes watered - the burning lasted all night long into the next day..

After about a day, I realized I couldn't taste anything and I thought, "Wow - I must really have a bad cold." Then I noticed that I couldn't smell coffee brewing, couldn't smell my perfume when I put it on, couldn't smell the popcorn I burned, couldn't smell my favorite candle. I panicked and starting smelling everything that I could find that had really strong odors - ammonia, finger nail polish remover, bleach, etc. I couldn't smell ANYTHING! I started tasting everything that had really strong tastes such as HOT salsa, raw red onions, Doritos, coffee. I couldn't taste ANYTHING!

I told my mother about this and she said, "Oh, I've heard Zicam can affect your Olfactory nerve." I went online, typed in "Zicam side effects" and bam - up popped all sorts of web sites with people reporting the same thing I experienced. It seems that this past June, Zicam pulled the swabs for adults and children off the shelf but not the nasal gel.

I went to my ENT and he said the Zicam had basically "FRIED" my Olfactory nerve and the results are most likely permanent. He put me on a strong dose of a steroid called Prednisone in hopes of recovering ANY bit of the nerve damage but he told me to "take this and pray." He said he had read about the side effects of Zicam and couldn't believe it is still on the shelf. It isn't FDA approved. I am taking the Prednisone and praying but nothing is happening. I LITERALLY CANNOT SMELL OR TASTE ANYTHING! I can tell if foods are hot or cold, I can tell the consistency and I can faintly detect if it is salty but that is it.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pass this on to everyone you care about. I don't want this to happen to ANYONE else!!!!!!!!!! And if you have Zicam in your medicine cabinet--THROW IT AWAY!



In the email a link was provided from the FDA advising users not to use Zicam.
Three forms of Zicam are being questioned, and they are as follows:

Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel
Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs
Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size (a discontinued product)

Up to 130 people have reported a loss of smell due to the products, and so many have not reported the side effect. If you are experiencing side effects from Zicam, you can report them to MedWatch Online Reporting Form 3500.

Please report this to anyone you know who uses Zicam.

Thanks for reading on this 22nd day of January 2010.