Family & Friends a part of the Healing Process for The Mind, The Body & The Spirit

I was getting a little depressed Wednesday having the plans I made on the days I felt good being usurped again by my illness. Although I couldn't get around, in between my feeble mindedness I had some brain storms about future goals with my lupus website and potential social networking consulting. Yesterday morning I felt even worse because the antibiotics had caused me to get "yeasty" inside and out. Luckily I realized I had a back stock of Diflucan pills and Nystatin for my mouth sores. I got teary when I looked at the time which was around 11am. I had lost track of the time since waking up at 6 in the morning going in and out of my "spells" while trying to will myself to get up and complete a list of tasks stuck in my mind. Finally, my son gave me a pep talk to get me to just give in and try to relax. I received a call from my new neighbor. She was taking special orders from all her girls for a weekend meal to feed us through the forecasted snow storm. After 2 bowls of Mrs. Wanda's stew and cornbread, last night I finally fell asleep -- sound. I am feeling a bit better this morning.

I just wanted to share my week and express how family and friends can be powerful agents for healing. Sometimes more powerful than any medication. There was no antidepressant or anti-anxiety pill I could pop to immediately break a manic cycle of thoughts that often are apart of our disease. Lupus and fibromyalgia survivors often fight tension, mood swings, anxiety and depression as a part of drug side effects as well as the disease process. With just a few objective words my son made me to realize my tasks could wait and the world wouldn't come to an end. After easing my worrisome thoughts with words, a gentle touch of his hand in mine helped ease the tension caused by my "spells". ( Read Neuropsychiatric manifestations under Signs And Symptoms)

My neighbor's thoughtfulness and generosity went beyond just calling to see how I was feeling. Realizing I was without transportation she wanted to make sure I was well stocked before the storm. Understanding my current disabilities she prepared a nutritious 1-pot meal that would be easy to reheat and easy to serve and eat with a bowl and spoon. My son became apart of the healing process for The Mind, while my neighbor for The Body. Their sincere acts of love certainly were healing to The Spirit. My point is the people around can be instrumental to improving the quality of our life despite having a incurable chronic illness. Our family and friends are an important part of Healing The Disease through healing The Body, The Mind, & The Spirit!

My Christmas: Eat, Drink, Sleep & Be Merry

The best way to define the Christmas experience with my family is a time line of eating, drinking, and being merry. Sunday, December 21, Pop arrives at my house with a silver flask of Conquito just for me. He also brought some of thick slices of ham he baked himself ...with Dijon mustard. Monday, December 22, after shopping, Pop's insist I experience Sonic's Hazelnut Iced Coffee to go with our sandwiches. Tuesday, December 23, We make the two hour trip to my aunts. As soon as I arrive, I'm offered homemade egg nog which I put on hold to eat a light dinner first... green beans, macaroni and cheese and ham! Then she begins to reveal the contents of all the pretty Christmas tins decorating the counter and bar: *exquisite elegant dark chocolate covered Bourbon Balls she made herself *gold foiled wrapped Ferrero Rocher hazelnut candies *milk chocolate and white chocolate covered pretzels *sugar cookies Especially nice for me were all the treats reminiscent of my childhood: *pink, yellow, white and chocolate brown coconut hand-dipped Bon Bons *assorted old fashioned hard candies *peppermints *the classic assortment of nuts: pecans,walnuts,chestnuts, n!$$@ toes *oranges and apples While everyone else was out shopping til late, my aunt and I got comfortable in our PJs, enjoyed watching movie and talking while sipping her special recipe of tea flavored with orange cinniman, ginger and other spices with a touch dark Bacardi rum. I indulged in one Bourbon Ball before bed. Wednesday, December 24, Christmas Eve Morning, my aunt prepared the family for the day with Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Toast and her homemade Strawberry Butter. I never had anything like it. My cousin brought Bailey's Carmel to top off our coffee. This led to the first of my much needed deep naps. When I awoke everyone was out on errands, so I passed the time on the internet, sampling the Christmas treats and staying warm with more spiced tea After everyone came home for the night we ordered Pepperoni Pizzas, my health conscious cousin made a great salad with a variety of greens, sprinkled with almonds, mango flavored pineapple chips, and French dressing...washed down with a glass of White Zinfandel supplied by Pops. The children were allowed to open one gift apiece at midnight. We played a couple of rounds of their new games then hit the sack. Thursday, December 25, Christmas Day! Of course the children were knocking on doors getting everyone up Christmas morning. After the final exchanging of gifts, my Aunt prepared a grand Christmas brunch with Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Ham, Country Fried Potatoes, Fruit, and French Toast topped with Strawberries and Whipped Cream! The sheer number of calories ingested at once put me in a catatonic state. I fell asleep in the big chair while the kids tested out the Wii. I awoke from the nap induced by Christmas breakfast to the aroma of Christmas dinner. My cousin prepared the most tender juicy turkey I'd ever had. I believe the secret was a beer marinade. Of course this was accompanied by traditional cornbread dressing and giblet gravy and the marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole...and a glazed ham! There was lime gelatin salad...but I don't do green stuff. The highlight of my holiday feasting is my step dad's Hot Water Cornbread served with his turnips and greens. Recipes inherited from his mother. I like to wait by him at the stove to take mine straight out the popping hot grease of the skillet to my plate. This year I decided to be adventurous and try...'chitlins'. I put about a tablespoon on the corner of my plate with a whole lot of Louisiana hot sauce. I managed to chew and swallow the first bite but decided that the peculiar aftertaste that developed once the heat left was just not something I desired. I went back for more Hot Water Cornbread to sop up the pot liquor from the greens, then I found myself running out greens and turnips to go with the Hot Water Cornbread, so I'd get a little more of them. It was a never ending cycle into gluttony. I vaguely remember washing down the last plate with a glass of Beringers. I never made it to desert. No problem, my Aunt packed generous portions of Coconut Cake, Caramel Raisin Spice Cake, Butterscotch Cream Pie and Ambrosia to indulge once we got back home. Friday, December 26, In the morning before packing for trip home, we experienced a encore of Christmas Brunch. After another nap we headed down the interstate home. Suddenly, we're detouring down the highway and pulling up to a mom and pop store. My step dad wants us to try some of the Pork Pulled Meat Barbecue he was telling us about....and the Potato Salad! So that's my family's holiday story...eat, drink, sleep, eat some more and be merry!

New Improved Toilet Seat

Pops finished installing this cushioned toilet seat that replaced the old hard wooden one. With no room for chair, also provides a soft comfortable place to sit instead of standing in front of the bathroom mirror to groom at the vanity after my shower. Its the little everyday comforts that really improve the quality of our lives.

Will I get to work from home!

Desperate for money, I surf an applied for jobs online all November. I was discouraged by the lack of any immediate feedback from any of the home-based or virtual jobs. I get daily junk jobs or sales rep from Career Builder. Other than 3 quarters of education, I don't have any experiance in my new path toward Web Development career. Today, Good News in my inbox.

Congratulations!

The LiveOps Community Sourcing Team has reviewed your work history, skill set, and quiz results and determined that your business is well qualified to certify to provide services to LiveOps for Outbound calls.

i did their online test in nov, got positive answer for this outsourcing co. its work as independent contractor, totally paperless online system....sort of a state of the art version of what i did for carl, and plan to do w my home based business. the link gives a good presentation. i already have a jack for dedicated phone line. i think my IBM T40 will pass. oh yea heres a blog @ working for liveops http://icanworkfromhometo.blogspot.com/2007/10/liveops-taking-calls-for-informercials.html