Weekend Throwback- In Honor of Fall

We made it there and back in one piece! Baby Bear did phenomenal. Not one single complaint the whole way there or back. She is such a trooper! Okay, on the way back, when an hour or more was tacked on to our trip due to a stupid bridge that was under construction and someone pressing the "choose different route" button on the GPS, she did mention something about her legs hurting in the last 20-30 minutes of the ride home. I was going a little crazy by then too! She is a good traveler and I would have NEVER said that if you would have asked me that a couple years ago.

We really enjoyed ourselves and had a nice Thanksgiving with The Mister's Dad. We had zero cell service and it was actually kind of nice! I know, I know, not for you guys that were trying to get a hold of me and make sure we made it in one piece BUT nice for us!

We really took it easy the entire time we were there. We visited, walked around, and really just enjoyed the scenery. It was BEAUTIFUL. You do not really see fall colors here in Texas. The fall colors were in full bloom all over the mountains. I saw the most beautiful deep reds, sunny yellows, bronzes, oranges, and browns I have ever seen. I wish I would have actually taken pictures of it, but I was in such awe on the drive back home I just gazed out the window the entire time without a second thought.

We had a fire every single day, which was very nice for how cold it was, and of course, we roasted marshmallows. I LOVE roasted marshmallows!

I'm a kanga! I have a roo in my pouch!

Baby bear made some new friends. One was a Great Pyrenees and the other a  shihtzu/bichon mix. They had the BEST time with each other and she loved those guys dearly. So much that The Mister has FINALLY caved and said we can get a puppy!! We cannot wait. She really wants one for Christmas, but  we will wait until after, when the shelters are inundated with unwanted Christmas pups, because rescuing is where my heart is.

My munchkin also earned herself a few more nicknames from her Grandpa like tater tot, pooter, and soap opera. She is usually a shy one, but as soon as we arrived she immediately made herself at home and latched on to The Mister's Dad. She really had a lot of fun with him. Every night she crawled up in the recliner and played with him and the pup. He even let her drive his truck at the lake. She had a lot of fun and made some good memories.

She kept asking if we could go to the "hoods" because she wanted to see a bear. So we took her for a walk through the woods. Silly girl!

We all ventured out for breakfast one morning. This cafe and most storefronts did not accept credit or debit cards and dealt in cash only. But this little cafe had the best ham I have ever tasted. Miss thang was being a little miss sassypants while we were there.

While she was napping one afternoon The Mister and I ventured in to town and this grocery store was the only big thing there.We walked around and ended up next door buying a small Christmas tree for the farmhouse.

It was also nice to know that my insurance company was in town, ya know, just in case we drove off a cliff, or landed ourselves in a ditch.

I'm just being silly, and these are silly tourist pictures I took.

The last day or so there, we had a little incident. Okay, not WE, it was GRANDPA! Every night I had hot water to shower, and so did Little Bear. Come morning time, the water heater was no longer lit. It was a running joke that I was running in there and blowing it out every night. Anyways Grandpa was fixing it, and by fixing it he wanted to get all the soot out of it. So he loaded up the shop vac, turned it on for a good 5 minutes. Baby Bear and his wife were in the other room. Baby bear walked up to his wife and asked "why is all that black smoke in there" That wasn't smoke. It was soot being thrown all over the house! I think we'll be buying filters for a shop vac for Christmas! The puppy was no longer white and grey. The pup was grey and black. Grandpa's teeth were black, his hair no longer silver, and his face and skin were covered in black patches. This soot covered everything in site. It was hilarious! I helped wipe down all surfaces, the furniture, walls, etc. What a mess! It was in my nostrils, on my face, and all over my hands and clothes. The same on Baby bear too. I asked her if she had been exploring in a cave.

We were sad to go, and plan on going back next year. Getting back into this groove thing called work has been even harder, but we're getting it done. Here we are at another month end end and we are crazy busy!

Weekend Throwback

We all have things we buy over, and over, and OVER again. Sometimes because it makes us feel good, or because the product is just that good, or even just because. Maybe it is because it reminds you of your youth, or just plain old good memories. I thought I would share with you, some of MY favorite things.

First up is Clinique's moisturizer. I love this stuff and drastically see improvements on my skin regularly just by using this stuff! It is truly amazing and leaves my skin looking young and radiant. Definitely worth every penny!

My Ninja, sweet Ninja, oh how I love thee! I use it for everything! Really, I am a mom on the go. I work full time, go to school full time, and always a full time parent with tight schedulesand routines to maintain. So any short cuts without skimping on quality is it in my book because really, who has time to shred chicken? This took 5 seconds with just the bullet. I could not even tell you the last time I chopped vegetables. Salsa or pico? No problem! definitely the BEST $ ever spent. I have the prep master which I use for chopping veggies and  meats and the Ninja Kitchen System 1100 and would not trade these things for the world!

5 seconds in the Ninja!



Bath and Body Works Super Smoothing Face Scrub. I use this stuff a couple times a week and it is the perfect scrub for this face! It works great on my super sesnsitive skin, and leaves my face looking fresh and new.

Gud- from Burt's Bees- Floral Cherrynova. Again, I have super sensitive skin and many, many other body washes I have tried have left my skin feeling used and abused. This one is natural, leaves my skin with just the right amount of moisture, no itchiness, and NO dry skin, oh, and it smells so good!

Meyers, I am in love with all their cleaning products, and I hit the jackpot yesterday at HEB because they had my babies on clearance! This stuff is all natural, so it is safe for my mini me and her new bff Petey. She gets to help me, and I get my peace of mind. This stuff smells wonderful too! I just bought some of the Geranium scented glass cleaner and I'm in love!

Nivea chapstick, I am never without it nowadays and I have Mr A to thank for that! I have one that stays in my car through the winter, on my desk at work, desk at home, and countless tubes in my purse. Every wedding I have ever been in, I have ended up being sick for! This was no different for my cousin Tricia's wedding. I literally downed my codeine cough syrup right before I walked down the aisle so I wouldn't be coughing through her ceremony! My lips were also a hot mess from being so sick, and Mr A went out and bought this chapstick for me, my savior! I am a Momma that shares everything with my little one, but this stuff, if she does not return it, will cause a stir in our household. Ha!

Mint M&M's. I'm usually not one for mint and chocolate, but I absolutely love these! I look forward to every Christmas when these babies roll around.

Bath and Body Works foam hand soaps. I stock up on these on the regular.  I refuse to pay full price for these babies. I buy them from the outlet when they are 75% off.

My Calphalon pots and pans. Absolutely love these! These are the best things I have ever bought. Cooks evenly and such an easy clean up! Also the BEST customer service EVER, and they really stick to their 10 year warranties. If anything goes wrong, they send you a brand new pot or pan!

The Target Home (RE) fuzzy blankets. I have 3. I absolutely LOVE these. They are so soft and comfy! I am sure this collection will continue to grow as well.

Pottery Barn Kids. I cannot stress it enough. Their stuff is some of the best quality and I am a girl that prefers quality over quantity, especially for my mini me. I bought her big girl bed from here because I wanted something that was going to be beautiful, and something that would last until she was out of the house (hence, me buying the queen) I am in love! The Madeline canopy bed did not disappoint! Her table and chairs are from there, as well as her dollhouse, comforter and sheets, and many halloween costumes. Love, love love this place!

IKEA, because for myself, it suits me just fine! Love the Hemnes collection. I prefer to look up what I want online, and go directly to the floor shelves so I am in and out in under 5 minutes. I've been through the showrooms dozens of times, and now, I just like to run in and out. Makes life so much easier!

Coca Cola. Enough said. For anyone that knows me, you all know this is about all I drink. I always have one, and I prefer fountain drinks over canned or bottled. Don't worry, this will be changing soon and it will be strictly water. For now, I will enjoy the Coke!

Can we talk about my addiction to Scentsy? Because I cannot get enough of the stuff. I absolutely love my representative and have an entire tub dedicated just for Scentsy. This girl, as I have mentioned previously puts 110% into everyone she comes into contact with. She remembers and knows her clients, their tastes, and always has the most excellent recommendations for their individual style and scent tastes. I honestly cannot wait to start working on mine and Mr A's bedroom because I want new warmers! If you have not checked it out, you MUST! I may even have some to share with you, just let me know if you are interested.

My stapler. Seriously, this stapler is no joke. It is mandatory for any and every job I have ever had. It is light, fast, and takes 0 effort. Everyone that has ever used it from my desk has fallen in love and been wowed by it. Move over Swingline, PaperPro is the way to go.

Now, let's talk pens. I cannot stand fine point pens because they just don't do it for me. I prefer medium point. Now, this Uni ball impact 207 is my absolute favorite pen ever. My "accounting" color is green, so i have these in just about every color! I absolutely love the way these write and handle.

Stain remover I cannot live without. I honestly used to only use the Dreft stain remover, but it started to become way too hard to find. I now use the Tide Stain release tablets (the white- for sensitive skin) and I use the regular spray, and liquid booster. This stuff literally works freakin miracles. Miracles with very little work on my part, which makes it even better! The regular strength spray and liquid doesn't irritate my skin either! I no longer have to run to multiple places just to find a stain remover that is reliable and works!

Giovanni makeup/ facial cleansing wipes. I love these as a go to for a quick and easy makeup remover and quick cleansing for the days I am left exhausted.

Of course I can't forget my Goody hairclips that keep my hair up and back. If you haven't noticed, this girl has her some hair!

On that note, I also love my flat iron, I depend on this item so much. I have curly frizzy, like woah hair. This Paul Mitchell flat iron is a big MUST. I love it more than the CHI.

My Elie Tahari flats. I honestly love these babies. Sooo comfortable, and worth every stinkin penny!

What are some of your favorite things?

Weekend Throwbacks

I have decided to bring back some older posts from my old, shut down, blog. These will be the substance of my weekend posts for a little bit. I know some of my new followers have been a little lost with my medical updates. So I am bringing this one back for them.




Scleritis is the inflammation of the sclera (white part of the eye) that can often times cause debilitating pain, light sensitivity, black outs from the intensity of the pain, sleepless nights, anxiety, vision loss (temporary and permanent). Everything you will read on scleritis will tell you that is always linked to an underlying cause. This is not the case. While there are underlying things that cause the scleritis, what they fail to tell you is that it isn't always pinpointed. Did you know that there is a very high percentage of people who never have an underlying cause diagnosed or found? The percentage of people with scleritis, who do have an underlying cause diagnosed is actually a lower percentage than those who never find the reason or cause. This is the glory of autoimmune diseases.

 Attractive, isn't it?

The pain is something that I can not describe. I will admit that it has been so bad at times I have contemplated shooting my eye out just to make it stop. The anxiety comes from knowing it is going to happen again, you just don't ever know when. The last flare up I had was so intense I actually blacked out.

My first flare up was in September of 2008. I remember it clear as day. We had just had a HUGE hurricane come in. The pain from that was the most excruciating thing I had ever felt in my life. I saw a specialist, and I was given antibiotics and sent on my way. The antibiotics helped with the swelling, but definitely NOT the pain. I remember the days, weeks, and months of pain I was in because it went by undiagnosed. The pain did eventually go away....months later.

These episodes started back again in February of 2012 and have been nonstop ever since. The prednisone dosages kept getting bigger and bigger; and I kept getting bigger and bigger. I could not for the life of me figure out why I could not lose weight and why I kept putting it on no matter what I did. A year plus on a prednisone roller coaster will certainly do it to you! I honestly had no idea how bad prednisone really is for you. I ditched my opthamologist that initially helped point me in the right direction because I just felt like a number with them, and they wanted me to only use who they told me to, and the fact that it went undiagnosed for so long. I sought out an amazing specialist who specializes in auto immune related illnesses, especially with scleritis, and she has honestly been the best thing that ever happened to me. Unfortunately, she resides in VA. Fortunately for me, she is in Texas 2 weeks out of the month!

When my eye isn't flared up, I am still having other inflammation issues. There are nights I have woken up feeling like someone has given me an indian sunburn all over my entire body. As my little rockstar and Alicia Keys like to sing "this girl is on fire" There are other times I feel as if every joint in my body is on fire, (I take a lot of cold showers and hot baths) and then there are times I feel as though I have been hit by a truck and every ounce of me hurts like I have the flu. Sometimes, on a good day, I feel like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz, or everything will all just go numb and tingle. Last night, just from cooking, my hands and wrists started to swell and contort in ways I have never seen. I felt like my wrist was about to break. I am literally in pain 24/7 throughout my entire body, and I guess when that isn't enough, it manifests through my eyes. Your eyes are a window and are signs when things go awry within your body.

We do everything in our power to not let this hold us back. We attend birthday parties, teacher conferences, girls nights, weddings, concerts, taking our child swimming and to the park, among everything else she wants to do. So if I don't seem like myself, this is why. It isn't you, I'm not mad, and no, there is nothing you have done (unless of course, you are the one that has expressed shear joy in mine and my daughter's recent autoimmune illnesses. And in that case, there is a special place for people like you).
There are just those days that it really has just  taken everything in me to actually get up, go, and attend these events. The fact of the matter is; everything is getting worse, not better. I am very grateful that Mr A and I have arranged our schedules in a way that he can pick up our little one from school and do some of the more strenuous activities with her like take her swimming, or to the park, and preparing dinner before I get home from work. Have those of you with little girls ever think there would be a day that you physically could not fix their hair? It happens in this house, and we just do the best we can.

I am still on prednisone and my current dose has NOT been containing it this time. I have been on indomethacin, mobic (meloxicam), plaquenil, flexeril, and none of it has helped the inflammation subside within my body. My sed rates and c reactive proteins are still off the charts, but nothing has been pinpointed or diagnosed as of yet. I have never had prednisone not work, either. We are now talking about a long term treatment plan. (Did I mention I LOVE my specialist?) I hate prednisone, and I hate what it does to me. I usually feel like I am in a bad recurring episode of the Twilight Zone that is never ending, or on one of the worst trips of my life. I feel completely cracked out, can't focus, and in a complete daze. I can't taste anything either. Chocolate tastes like ass! On what planet does chocolate taste like ass?!  Everything is completely out of whack, not to mention my poor stomach from all the drugs listed above. There isn't much I can actually eat these days that doesn't make me sick.

I also feel like one of these most days when on prednisone!

 While there is no "cure" there are things besides prednisone that can be taken. This is where the double edged sword comes into play, for me. My body is wrecked anyways  add prednisone on top of it, then you have these meds/ other treatment options that also put me at risk. They will suppress my immune system and put me more at risk for things like tuberculosis and lymphoma. They give me the inability to be vaccinated, and these treatments open myself up to be more susceptible to illnesses. My body is fighting itself and this is how they know how to curb it at this point in time in medicine. It is a treatment, not a cure. I have been tired, and I have been desperate at times, but never desperate enough to put my health or life at risk. This is why I have researched the hell out of all my medical options (doctors and specialists included) and we (Mr A and I) have decided that Humira is going to be the treatment option that we explore at this time. I love the way Mr A said "death is a side effect of life" when going through the decision making. It really kind of put some things into perspective for me. Those that know me, know that I don't take these things lightly. We have looked into Cellcept, Methotrexate, and Rituxan as well, and Humira appears to be the better option. I will be closely screened and monitored on a regular basis with this drug. I have my appointment with my rheumatologist in a couple weeks, and I have to admit I am kind of excited and scared at the same time. It is definitely a lot of process of elimination and I still feel like one big science experiment, but this is my life and my reality.