Some happiness and cuteness needed!!

My son is still going through treatments and we still don't have a diagnosis.  I have barely been able to knit.  My house has been sad, sad, sad... so we decided we needed some cheer.  I share with you.... Zoey!!!










Hope you enjoyed her as much as we are enjoying her!!

My Hero, my son

As some of you may know, my son has been going through some physical issues with his legs.  The Doctors still are not sure what is wrong - he now has three Neurologists keeping tabs on him.  We are hoping it's this conduction block neuropathy which is what they are leaning towards and have been treating him with IVIG infusions.  We are on the second round of it now.  He gets them every four weeks for three days.  We won't know until January if they are helping but he says he feels stronger and hasn't fallen down since the first round last month so that is a great thing!  Yesterday he had his six hour infusion and then had FOUR MRI's done - closed mri tube for two hours!!!  He amazes me...no way could I do that - he is so brave....  Luckily he is not missing school work this week - Sandy devastated our area and schools have been closed all week.  We were fortunate - no power for 44 hours and finally got tv, internet and phone service back on yesterday.  A lot of people in towns nearby still have no power...  really makes you appreciate things...  we had to push back his IVIG infusions because they didn't have power either... crazy... but we're somewhat back to normal now... anyway, just thought I'd throw a post out since I haven't posted all month.  I still can only knit a few rows at a time but the Dr just upped one of my meds so hopefully that will help my hands and I'll be able to get back to knitting!!  Happy November!

Absence Update

I haven't been able to post in a while... my son has been having some health issues that require a lot of attention.  We are hoping to get the bottom of it soon.  I have still been having a lot of pain in my hands/fingers and haven't really been able to knit.  So, my existence has been overwhelming and I haven't had time for many things... so, not much of an update - more of a "this is why I haven't been posting" post.

Long time no post update...

So, I am out of Physical Therapy and joined Planet Fitness.  I went for the second time today.  I'm supposed to get into a three day a week schedule so my plan is for Mondays and Wednesdays after work and a weekend day.  I'm thinking that if I go right after school before going home I'll stick with it.  Once I'm home, I don't want to move!

I have started taking Savella and I think it's working - it has been okay on my stomach so that is good!  I'm still having problems with my hands though but I'm beginning to wonder if that is more of the Osteoarthritis rather than the Fibromyalgia...  I still can't knit more than a couple of rows and typing is even stressful on them...  very frustrating to say the least!

I bought a medical ID bracelet but what I really liked about the place I got it from is that they have an online database.  So, the front of my bracelet has my name, allergic to gluten, Raynaud's Disease and Fibromyalgia.  On the back, they have the 1-800 number and the website with my pin number where I logged in all my meds, my husband's cell phone number, my parent's number and my Doctor as well as all my allergies.  If you are interested in the site, it's https://www.myihr.com.  They have different styles but I bought the "standard" stainless steel style.  Here is a pic of it:




So, that is my update for now... hopefully I'll have some knitting to share again at some point!

FO Friday!!!!

I finally finished my scarf for the next round of craft shows!  It's the usual cast on a lot of stitches and knit it garter.  I double stranded it with a plain blue cotton from Plymouth and a jazzy multi color Plymouth novelty yarn.  Here it is... taa daa:




That's my quicky post for today, for more Fo's, visit Tami and Happy Friday!!!

Finally back and WIPW!

My first post in a very long time - Yay - I've finally been able to knit a little bit and had to share.  So much has been going on... so you know I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis.  I've been in a lot of pain and haven't been able to do many things.  The Doctors aren't sure how else to help me so we thought maybe it's time for some meds... Well, I tried to take Cymbalta and had HORRIBLE side effects from it.  It was awful!  Needless to say, I am now a bit gun shy of meds so I am currently in Physical Therapy and doing well with it - graduated from water to land - awesome!!! It also seems like I'm feeling better with it being warmer out too so that has been a good thing.  I don't fully understand this whole Fibro thing and can't seem to get a handle on it - some days I'm fine and other days I can't move.  Lately I have been having more of the feeling fine days so, I've been trying to knit at least one row each Tuesday night with my group and here is my progress:






It's another scarf of course, but my hands can't take using tiny needles yet so I thought another length wise scarf would be a good start.  Usually I whip these up in a few hours but this is taking weeks/months since I can only do a bit at a time...  typing is still hard too - my hands are cramping a bit now.


So, I did want to share some pics of my animals at camp so I'm going to do that - we have 5 goats, 2 sheep, an alpaca, a pig, a bunny and an alligator.  Here they are:





Yes, my goat has a beard and the piggy's name is Mrs. Kravitz!!  Quite funny!


Next, we had a visit from some Turkey Vultures - here they are - very exciting (and ugly, sorry...)





Now for some pretty pics of our cute butterflies and absolutely adorable baby chicks that just hatched on Monday and Tuesday:







And to end it all, since today is MY BIRTHDAY - WOO HOO- I'd like to share a pretty rainbow that was on my floor.





For more WIP's please visit Tami over at her blog and have a Happy Wednesday - may my birthday bring you all a great day of happiness and health!!!

Squee Sunday

I have two things to Squee about today!  The big one is.... I got a NEW CAR!!!!  I got a Ford Edge Limited and LOVE it!!  We gave Matt my Mountaineer, and let me say, he is one happy boy!!  No more running home so he can take my car to work, no more being stuck in the house cause he's on a date!  Woo Hoo!  Freedom is good!!  So, here is my pretty new car - I've never had a white car so I thought it was about time I did.





Here is the inside - it has the smart key entry so it's a push button start - how cool is that?!




Also, it has the My Ford Touch system - you can see I was playing with the screen - lots of fingerprints to wipe off, lol!!!  Sorry about that!






My final Squee is that we got a valance for our bedroom window.  My friend Mary made it for us out of the bed skirt that came with our comforter and sheet set.  You can't see the pattern, unfortunately because of the bad lighting but it's just a fine pinstripe...





She does have her own company - here is the name, in case you are local and interested.
Mary Cardinale Windows & Interiors, LLC

For more Squees, hop on over to Calophi's site - she got a great stash at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

WIP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! My wip is far from progressing due to my arthritis and fibro issues, but I did knit two rows tonight!!! Tada!!! Here it is:

 I know it's not much, but it's more knitting than I've done in the last month to six weeks so I am excited!!  I also am excited about my non-knitting wip, which is my new Ipad (happy anniversary and happy birthday!)!  I'm still getting used to it , but did take this pic with it and started my post with it - until I realized that Tami's WIP logo is on my laptop and had to transfer to posting from the laptop...  still excited about it though so who cares, right?!  I just need to download the images to the Ipad now!  Woo Hoo... I'll figure that out somehow! Lol!!  So, for more WIP's, head over to Tami's site and enjoy your Wednesday!!

Inspiration 3KCBWDAY3 and WIPW

I want to thank a few people who have inspired me throughout my knitting time, especially lately since I've been having health issues and haven't been able to knit in quite a while.  So, to Mary (my partner on this blog and business partner in knitting) I thank you for your support!  To Trudy, your friendship and support has gotten me through tough times more than you realize - words cannot express my appreciation.  Jen aka Calophi, you have been an inspiration- your energy and positive outlook have kept me going on those Tuesday nights when I just want to lay down and sleep - thank you for your friendship!!!

For those of you who missed my Squee Sunday post, I wanted to recap and say that Jarett's Bar Mitzvah was amazing!!  Here we are all decked out:


 
He did an awesome job and I am so proud of him!  That being said, I am still figuring out my own health issues with adding osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia to my already diagnosed celiac and raynaud's.  I had to stop the meds for a bit but am restarting them and hopefully will have success.  I was trying to crochet a shawl, but am finding that crochet hurts my hands and wrists a thousand times more than knitting so I may have to face the fact that I will no longer be able to crochet unless it's a small border or something.  Here was the shawl I had started:





  

I had to frog it and am making it into a scarf instead.  I was only able to cast on and do part of a row and then had to stop but at least I got some knitting in.  I don't know how long it will take me to get it done so it may be a wip for a few weeks depending on my hands....  here is what I have though:




 

 It's my usual cast on around 200 sts and knit in garter with fancy yarn that does all the work.  So that is my update from here, along with not liking blogger's new format as it has taken me twice as long to post this since everything looks so different!!!  For more WIP's visit Tami !

3KCBWDAY2 - Photography

Today's post is all about photography.  Well, let's just say I am photo-graphically challenged... I think that would be the politically correct term, lol!  Anyway, I thought I would just choose a few of my favorite pics to show that actually came out somewhat decent.  So, here we go:


This one is from a craft show we did - not too bad...

This is one that I can't take credit for since my son took it of me wearing one of my infamous quick stash buster scarves, but I like the way it came out.


 





  This one is kinda cool too...

 


This one has nothing to do with knitting but I thought it was just too cute not to share!




So, there you go! Enjoy more of Day 2's blog week from the other participants!!

Color!!! 3KCBWDAY1

Color is the theme for today!  What better way to tell you about the colors I love than to show you - a sneak peak at one of my stash cabinets:


 

As you can see, I tend to lean towards pinks/purples/blue.  I do also love greens and browns but something with those blue/pink and purples just calls to me.... you can see the color theme reflected in this scarf:







So that is my color pallet share for today.  Looking forward to hearing yours!

Squee Sunday post # 5 of 2012

It's been a long time since I posted.  I have a few things to squee about though.  I've finally gotten a diagnosis and am on new meds,  You already know I have Celiac and Raynaud's but have been in a lot of pain to the point where I haven't been able to knit or crochet in over a month.  After a lot of blood work and Dr visits, I am officially diagnosed with Osteoarthritis and Fibromyalgia.  I feel very fortunate that my tests for Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogrens and Thyroid all came back negative.  Although I have a difficult road ahead, it could be much more difficult and I am thankful that what I do have can be managed over time and won't be life threatening down the road.  I'm still coming to terms with all of it - I feel like I've just gotten a handle on how to manage the Raynaud's and being gluten free - but I have such an amazing support in my husband and parents and they have been key in getting me through all of this.  I am thankful for the three of them and can't express how grateful I am to have them in my life.  That being said, I am hoping that the new medication works and I don't have to go on any more meds.  This one is called Mobic and I take it once a day.  It has a good reputation so I am hopeful.  I am also still on prescription Vitamin D for the next eight weeks and then will try to go to over the counter supplements.  So, that is my health update...

My huge squee is that we had Jarett's Bar Mitzvah last weekend!!!  It was amazing!!!  I am so proud of him- he did an amazing job!  His read a Torah portion, a Haftorah portion and made a speech as well.  I have pictures from the rehearsal of it taken the day before since you can't take pictures on the Sabbath.  We had a huge party that evening that was a Doctor Who theme.  My dad helped me with the center pieces and they came out amazing!  We also bought a life size Tardis cut out that was used as a sign in board for all of our guests to leave Jarett messages.  We had an awesome time and although I paid for it physically the next few days, it was well worth it!!  My friend Jen  took some pictures for me with our camera so even though I don't have the professional ones back yet, I can share quite a few with you.  Thanks Jen for taking them - we really appreciate it!!!  So, without further ado, here are the Bar Mitzvah pics!!

                                         The Bar Mitzvah Boy (or should I say Man)!

                               Bryan and the boys - what a proud moment!!

         Jarett gave a beautiful speech and even brought tears to many an eye during the service!

Jarett dressed as The Doctor in front of his cut out Tardis which later became a sign in board.

Us lighting his first candle.

My parents lighting a candle - don't we look spiffy?!

The Hora always ends with the chair lift!!!

Bryan and me dancing, but I wanted to you to see how gorgeous the back of my dress was, hence the sideways hairdo!!!

        Mother and son dance and you can sort of see the centerpieces in the background.

                      Jarett and me all dressed up!

We had t-shirts made up to give out.  My parents and the four of us posed for you!

Here is what the back looks like!  You'll "get it" if you are a  Whovian....

So, there you are.  My Squee Sunday post finally!  Hopefully I'll get back to knitting and have more to share again... in the meantime, visit Calophi and bug her to get back to blogging too!!!!