Sunday, September 3, 2017

18 days and COUNTING

Other than the car falling apart slowly I think the rest is coming together quite nicely which scares the crap out of me.

So I'm thinking that something is going to go wrong.  I mean this is the military and there is Murphy's Law.

We booked the hotel in Hawaii.
We booked the plane tickets and upgraded out-of-pocket to first class....I mean why not?

We still need to book a rental car until our suv arrives.

The packing and moving crew arrives on the 21st and I'll be moving the unessential personnel to the hotel that day here on post.  Example: me, the cat and Eily.  This way we are out of the way and can go swimming with less stress.  Let Daddy handle the packers for a change.

I've taken a photo inventory of all of the items in the house to update what we had before.  But I'll take a few more photos again soon.

I've purchased a few Tuff Boxes for the more important odd sized items that we want to pack ourselves.

Fingers crossed all will go well.

Yes Bugsy is booked for the vet and the plane ride.  He is going with us to Hawai'i.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Counting Down to Graduation

Graduation is in just a few days.  There is just too many things that have to be done and not enough human adult force around the house to get them all done.

Before graduation is clearing.  This is stressful enough on my spouse with me adding in the reminders of, "hey remember that project you promised to help me finish before you MOM SHOWS UP?".  Well up that doesn't help one bit.

Plus add in one very active toddler.  Today this toddler, Eilonwy, wanted to learn to cook on the stovetop.  I caught my husband indulging her.  I said, "NO!".    I gave them both a fig newton calmed down her crying because I took her away from the frying pan.  I told him not until she is tall enough to reach the dials on the stove on her own without a chair.   Never leave the father alone with the child when it comes to cooking unless he knows what he is doing around a stove.  DH has told me he doesn't have common sense and this time he proved it.

I'm having some bad Fibromyalgia flare ups.  I'll fall asleep, while DH is home, for several hours while only hoping to take a 30 minute cat nap.  This doesn't ruin me for sleep at night as I'm still exhausted and need the sleep too.  I cannot fight the fatigue.  What is driving me nuts is that I'm loosing my precious computer time to continue the writing I had started earlier in the month.  I started a short novel.  It was going somewhere this time.  I plan on actually finishing one of my stories.

This week I accomplished cutting, and sewing the hem on a new pair of DH's dress blue pants.  They wouldn't have been ready in time for his graduation.  He forgot I knew how to sew.  I was aghast.  I've been sewing since I was 4 years old.  I made my first dress at age 8.  I know I told him that.  My mother was so proud of me.  I earned a badge in scouts for it too.

I finished the table I was making for outside for DH.  It was made using tanagram pieces.  Some of which had to be cut smaller.  All had to be glued in place.  Next step was using the spray exterior sealer so that it would be waterproof.  Good thing too.  We had a nasty rainstorm last night.  With the glass top that went over it last night none of the water that did get under the glass did any damage.

Yesterday DH and I worked on adding a piano hinge to the antique hope chest that I have.  It was my Grandmother's old hope chest that was created from the top half of an upright piano.  The last move did major damage to the lid.  I was able to straighten the hinges, glue the cracks, fix the deranged lock, and have DH help me add the strut support hinge.  Next  step is DH is going to build the tray with the legs so that the hope chest sits in the tray.  It will work as a proper coffee table.  It won't stop the movers from breaking it I'm sure.

Today I still have to dye my hair.  I'm waiting for DH to take our daughter Eilonwy with him to the hardware store.  Free time for mommy.

Friday, July 28, 2017

Life and Death

We lost a family member last week.

DH's family lost a family member.  His father died.  It was quite sudden.  DH had to fly home.  We waited for the Red Cross message to come in so that we could put in the paper work and book a flight home.  Okay so I booked the flight and his superiors did the paperwork for his release.  DH didn't have to do much but just pack up thankfully.

Due to storms his 7 hour flight took 22 hours to reach its destination.  That really was horrible.  His mother hired a car and driver to pick him up at the new location where the flight path went as the original one was no longer an option.

Three days later he was back home.

We celebrated my birthday this week.  My daughter designed my cake.  I might like chocolate but not as much as she does.  Thankfully DH stepped in and said we needed a white cake or else I'm sure she would have ordered a chocolate one too.

My daughter can now bake brownies from scratch.  We baked them from a recipe, a favorite of mine, the night DH had to fly out.  I handed her all the ingredients with the exception of the eggs.  She got the carton of eggs out of the fridge herself, cracked the two eggs, and put the egg carton back in the fridge.  She stirred the entire contents of the bowl and poured it into the greased pan.  All I had to do was set the oven and put the pan in to bake.  Not bad for a three year old.

I think most Americans baby their kids way too much and under estimate their abilities.  My daughter is a bit of a free spirit I guess and learns the same way.  She is smart I'll admit that but I'm sure if more parents paid as much attention to their children as I do to mine then they would have children just as bright.  Mind you...learning disabled is different and I'm not saying that more attention to your child would change that a bit.




Thursday, May 25, 2017

Coming Down on Orders

It is that time again.  We are going to be moving. 

I know it feels like we just moved last year.  Um, we did.  We DID!

DH is about to graduate near the top of his class.

We no longer have to worry about this job being Class VII ultra sneaky sensitive ninja secret either.

That is a big relief.

The cat is now on his 120 day in house quarantine.  He had his FAVN test and we are waiting on those results.  Rabies shot was given last week.

Now it is all paperwork and more paperwork, and pictures and paperwork.

We are off to Paradise.

Yes we are going to do a PCS to Hawaii.

Three years in the beautiful Sandwich Islands.

I'll have my own car.  E will be in pre school. 

I'll have a liver transplant hospital on the Island too if I need it.

Yay!

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Missing Days and now a Month

I've been a very bad blogger.  No I'm not going to shut down the blog.  I've just been very sick.

My liver of course is getting worse.  The itching is driving me nuts.  Itching is from the build up of bile salts.

Eily is growing like a weed.  She is already wearing 4 and 5 in clothing.  The rain coat I just bought her is a 5/6.  She won't even be 3 for a few more months.  How much taller is she going to get before she hits 3?

I'm so tired.  I fall asleep on the floor during play time with Eily.  Yes, even when she is bouncing on my back.  I'm just so exhausted that I don't even care that it hurts.  I just can't get up to push her off of me.

Exciting news is that we are getting ready for a move to Hawaii.  I can't wait for that.  There will be a good transplant hospital nearby.  But I still have to get even sicker before they can do the transplant.  This fatigue I feel is nothing.  I'm still only a MELD score of a 7 at 6 months ago.  I'll be getting a lab draw this coming week and my next Hep A shot by Friday.

Wish us luck.  I'll try to blog more often.  Just so tired.

Here is a picture of me with Eily.
I cut my hair really short so that I don't have to fight with the curly hair tangles.  Eily's hair is still long.

Now me with makeup where I try to hide the fatigue.
The lighting I used also helps make me look healthier too rather than the natural sun I was using in the first photo.  And I've lost almost 10 pounds from the first photo to this photo I took last week.  Took just 2 weeks to lose it and I didn't do anything differently in my food intake either.  Got to love being sick.

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Frittering Away the Days

Time is slipping away.  I have a normal routine and it drags me out.  I'm gaining weight.  I've now gained about 20 pounds in bloat.  The whole IBS vicious cycle with the water pill, potassium and IBS meds is wrecking me.  I'm not really sure what real energy is.  I thought I had a bit of it last week only to plunge back into the funk once again.  Maybe I used up all the energy I had to spare last week?

DH is doing quite well in school.  He is still in the running for honor graduate.  Geez that thunderstorm sounds like it is going to blow the roof off.  Sorry for that bit of interruption.  Brain see or hears something it processes and off it goes on yet another path.  So yes DH is doing well.  Today he called me from the school house to help him fill out his dream sheet.  The dream sheet is where military personnel write down their list of dream assignments.  It doesn't mean they'll get it, but it is a dream sheet.  We put Hawaii at the top of the sheet.  Who wouldn't want to go there for a few years?  They have a good liver transplant hospital there too.

E is doing well.  I can't believe that in just a few months she'll be 3 years old.  Where did my baby go?  By the time we move to the next duty station we'll be able to enroll her in preschool.  She continues to spout off large words and long sentences.  Her math skills are improving too.  She has good manners and is rarely a bad child at restaurants.  She isn't perfect.  She is stubborn, and wants to do things her way.  She still has her daddy wrapped around her little finger too.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Liver Biopsy Results

Steatohepatitis mild.  It has improved since the very first diagnosis of moderate I'm pleased to say.

However the labs showed that my MELD score has gone up and I'm now at a 7.

I did bleed out during the procedure which rarely happens.

Such is life.  It is a see saw.  I improved but I didn't.  I'm okay with that.  I'm not going to die today unless something really bad happens like I trip over a match and impale and/or cut a major organ or artery.  Likelihood of that is 0.4%.