Mashup of Life if You Will

Here are a bunch of pictures I have taken from my phone that I feel are worthy to share with whoever reads this.  Some are belated....some are taken to as recently as today. The pictures? Priceless

 King Dublin---sometimes I swear this cat is possessed.  You know those movies where a person turns around and the little child or animal is just sitting there staring at the person without having made a sound to get into the room? Sometimes, Dublin does this to me.  And by sometimes, I mean it happens moer then I like to admit.

 Beautiful birthday cake done by Maryellen that was waiting for me my first official day back.  The top part was chocolate and the bottom was funfetti.  NUMNUMS

 It was a work of art that was difficult to actually eat.

Flowers from my Valentines also known as my parents.  They are absolutely stunning and I didn't even realize I had them at first.  Just goes to show you how clueless I can be sometimes.

 Even though this picture is sideways, there is still a funny story behind this little gem.  Note Dublin sitting on the seat of the stationary bike. Yesterday I rode that bike for twenty minutes during which Dublin stared at me with the most intense curiosity I have ever witnessed.  He would come close to the bike, try to climb up it and even chased my shoelace around.  Today before blood work I saw Dublin sitting on the bike, waiting to start his exercise routine.

There you have it folks, pictures from my cell phone that have a good story from my life. And even though they are doing awful, I'm off to give my full attention to the Huskies, hoping they will turn this game around soon.  And for those who do read this, and may want to comment, I have allowed option to happen.  I don't know why it was not letting my friends share their mind, but now it will.

Sometimes Real Life is Just too Much

Sometimes, life brings you little treasures.  This particular morning was I got one of these little gems.

A customer was buying iron supplements and we got to talk about how expensive it was.  Because unfortunately things that are good for you cost an arm and a leg.  Anyway, she said, "Never grow old and try not to become anemic."

I chuckled to myself saying "Sadly, I already am."

She looked a bit surprised, then asked if I was taking anything to supplement my iron defeciency.  I had to inform her that no I had not been taking anything due to medications I was on but that hopefully soon this will all get sorted out.

Mind you this exchange occurred the first thing this morning.  The lady was very pleasant and I could not believe that once again I was able to connect with an elderly customer about all my health issues.  Only me.

P.S. I am officially that person. An adult maybe? But I had to get a pill organizer today for all my medicine.  24 years old and I have a pill organizer. Ohhhh thank you life treasures. :)

Here Comes the Sun Do-do-do-dooo

 There is something I have been wanting to do for the past few years now and when I made the decision to actually do it, it all came down to the remembrance of my Papa.  What you shennigans do I want to partake in may you be asking? Simple answer is get a tattoo.  Another question you may be asking is how does that tie into my Papa and this very pier?  Well that's a simple little story that I really don't share with many but I have decided to share tonight.


My Papa was a very strong man who I watched become very sick and inevitably pass away.  He loved fishing in particular this spot and when he passed away the family decided we would have a little memorial service for him in the very spot that he spent most of his time just relaxing and fishing.  My Papa was a pretty bad ass dude, and he really loved spending that time by the beach.  Now, when we did this little memorial, their were tons of little fishies that were swimming by which to me was a sign from my Papa telling us he was okay even after all the pain he endured at the end.  Fishes would not be a good tattoo for me; I don't find them that cute.  Luckily at the same time the school of fish went by, a butterfly flew by us.  Butterflies aren't weird for spring/summer time.  One that comes half way down a pier with water on both sides? I have never seen it before in my life.


This particular moment is not when I had the epiphany of getting the tattoo.  But it's the one moment I turn back to when I describe why I'm getting a butterfly tattoo.

Butterflies have become a very important part of my life, whenever I see them, I say hi to my Papa.  Sometimes they come really close and become really still.  That's when I really know when it's him.  When there are two, I know Grandma is saying hello too.  Some may think I am absolutely bonkers, and I just may be but butterflies have become a huge symbol of love for me.  While some people may just wave it off when I tell them I want a tattoo of a butterfly, I know that my reasoning is bigger then just cause they are pretty.

This above picture is from my cell phone's camera.  I can't remember if this is the particular picture that my dad sent me because he knows how much butterflies mean to my mother and I or if I took it one day last summer when I was out front.  But it's an actual cell phone picture.  This is the particular picture I plan on showing the people when I go for my tattoo.  Only difference is I plan on making it blue, for the ocean which always reminds me of my Nana.  Nice right?

Well, I had been planning on getting this tattoo forever, and wanted to accomplish this bucket list item with my best friend when I went up to Boston to visit her.  Since work makes things near difficult, I decided I would go with Meggie and we even got them priced.  Sad part is I am huge chicken and refused to make an appointment for myself.  Shannon was going to make the appointment for me, I had made plans to get the tattoo for either my birthday or the beginning of March.  But then the whole blood clot thing happened, and I was put on blood thinners.  Which put a huge hamper in my plans.  I can't get the tattoo until I am healthy in regards to my blood clots.  But it will happen.  I guess with all this time I can now make final arrangements on where this thing is going because I have been toying around with that as well.

Butterflies are one of my favorite things.  Not for the conventional reasons, but one that has been very dear to my heart, and a story that I have not really told many people.  Of course now it's on this blog for whoever wants to know a little more about me to read about.  I'm starting to open up about other things I've decided and not just my health issues because those get depressing.  And while this may be a little sad, it's a good story, one that honestly brings me true joy whenever I see a butterfly.

Special Memories with Nana

Today Dad and I brought Nana to her doctor's appointment.  I was under the assumption that Nana was getting a follow up for her back because she pulled her back a week and a half ago.  By this point in time in my life, I should realize that I should never make assumptions because normally they are wrong.

Nana was going to get her blood taken to determine her INR level.  To all the ordinary people, INR is a string of letters that mean nothing to them.  I was one of those people almost two months ago.  But now I have something in common with Nana because I worry about my INR results every week.  INR is the level of your blood when you are on blood thinners.  Nana goes to a doctor to get her blood drawn from her finger, and gets the results instantly.  I believe we have the same goal number, only problem is Nana's number is higher while mine has been lower then what the doctor's goal. 

I was amazed by how fast Nana's appointment went, but when I found out she was doing the same thing I have been for the past two months it made sense to me.  I never in my life thought I would be able to bond over INR levels with my Nana and understand what she means when she is talking about the different blood thinning medicine she has.  I understand that we are using them for two different things but it's not something a granddaughter would imagine discussing with her grandmother.  Nana has always been the grandmother I have bonded over my love for the beach and swimming and salads and countless other things with but now we can add INR levels as well.

Now I'm off to dreamland, which I have been wanting to crawl into bed for the past forty minutes but have been too lazy for the process of getting ready.  Sweet dreams everyone.

Working a five hour night shift sucks big time.  I don't get a half which means if I want dinner then it's very much rushed.  Last time I did a five hour it went by fast but it still stresses me out that I really don't have a proper dinner. BOOOO.

Also, I'm getting sick also known as the dreaded cold that comes for me every winter.  I thought this particular one I would be exempt but that is simply not my luck.  When I informed Tommy, he said I should be brought out in the back like a horse because I can not catch a break.  My face was priceless, Tenzin must have thought I was nuts when she saw it but I could not be appalled and find humor in that all at the same time.

Off to get ready for a wonderful five hour shift which is much much better then being confined to a bed.

All I want is one certain thing to eat, and it's the last thing I can eat.  Or the one thing my parents do not believe I should have.  Namely my father.

I have always been the weird creature to crave salads.  Ask Shannon.  After a few drinks at night, when we would go to the diner or on the way home, I would announce that I could not wait to have a salad.  Crazy I know but that is my number one love.  And now it can make my stomach hurt which means we have to proceed with caution, basically meaning that I should not have a lot of it.

Which means at this particular time, I am extremely upset that I am unsatisfied with my early dinner.

I have noticed that my stomach is a little better but there are some flair ups.  I don't know if it's due to nervousness when the boss is in or if it's just nervousness about the whole thing in general but overall I have noticed that I don't have so many stomach pains throughout the day. Yayyyy for that!

Tomorrow I plan on starting to work out, even if that means simple crunches when I wake up.  I also have decided I want to make sure I'm not eating all crap food which means that I can not slip back into the small bag of chips a day habit that I had fallen into before the holidays.

Can't believe that all of my posts seem to be about food.  I'm addicted and it's not necessarily a good addiction.  Let me blame it this time on the medicine.

Tonight is a night to watch sappy love stories.  Why I torture myself by doing this is beyond me but I think I'm a hopeless romantic and wish that a movie like story is in my future.

Chicken or the Egg

Thursday's doctor appointment was more of a check in, without much new information given to us.  This particular appointment was for my insides and once again he spoke at an elevated language but having my parents there this time made me more comfortable. He explained to me about what the steroids should be doing and how he does not want me on them for that long.   If necessary he will increase the dosage, but when I am starting to get off the medicine, I need to gradually ween myself off of it.  I find this to be interesting but so far, so good with the insides.  It still gives me trouble, but it's not as frequent which leads me to believe that the medicine is actually working.

The other stomach medicine I may be increasing after the steroids, especially because it has taken away the pain in my stomach. 

This is my second post with a very cliche title as the topic but today I use it because my dad asked this of the doctor after one of the statements he said about my blood clot and my insides.  He said that the inside part could be genetic (gross) but at the same time there may be a connection for the blood clot and the problems with my stomach.  Only problem is they are unable to test what caused the blood clot because I can not be on my blood thinners to have a conclusive result.  The doctor said however that there is a possiblity the clot was formed because of my stomach issues which led to my father saying it's a chicken and a egg situation, which problem was done first.

Thursday night I made the decision to try to not care what people think of me when they see me go to the restroom multiple times when I am out.  I concern myself with what others think of me sometimes, and while I think most people do this, I have become even more self conscious since this whole problem began.  There have been several times that I have had to go to a bathroom many different times and have concerned myself with what people who don't know what's going on must think.  Being skinny and constantly getting up, I start to worry that people may believe I have a eating disorder.  But on Thursday I come to the realization that I can not worry about this at all.  My weight loss may be from eating because I have been having such issues with my insides, but I think there is also a loss because of the muscle mass I may have lost from laying in bed without any activity for a month.  I have embraced who I am now, that this is the size I may have to be for a while which is fine with me as long as I get some new pants.  And while the steroids make me want to eat ALL THE TIME, I plan on starting to eat healthier so I don't just gain weight on crap food.  And I'm starting to go on the bike so I can start to tone my legs once again.

But that starts on Monday because I have already eaten way too much crap this weekend and am craving some more at the current moment.  If this is what pregnant women deal with all the time, I do not know how a person can go through nine months of this.

Now off to spend quality family time with the parentals watching the NBA All Star activities.  And hoping that John Wall does not win this skills challenge.