Thursday, July 29, 2010

From the Land Where the Free Sweet Tea Flows...

Hey Y'all!!!

Just in case you missed it... today was free tea day at McAlister's Deli. I stopped by there this afternoon to pick up my free treat along with a sandwhich for supper. Which, was probably their plan all along!!! :)

Pitty Pat and I had a very busy morning. Paddington had his 1 year checkup at the vet this morning. I was very nervous, but Pitty Pat passed with flying colors. He is healthy from snout to tail! My vet recommended cutting back on his food a bit (whoops!) and adding a teaspoon of plain yogurt to his food twice a day. They say that yogurt helps the immune system and fights off all kinds of bad stuff later on. So. Guess what Pitty Pat is getting on his food starting tomorrow?? He received all of his shots today and was finally old enough to get a 3 year rabies shot. Pitty Pat was a champ and didn't bite any one once! He is zonked out on the bed right now recovering from our day out.

Tomorrow I check in with the ENT to see what or if anything the MRI showed that I had done last week. I am expecting nothing out of the ordinary. I did have a dizzy day yesterday and the medicine, even after adjusting it, is still making me very tired. So, I hope he at least has an idea of where to go from here. My appointment isn't until tomorrow afternoon, so I will post after that.

I am really looking forward to this weekend! My best friend Marie and her husband Johnny are coming to the beach for a few days. I can't wait to see them! It is hard to believe that this summer is almost over!

Alrighty, I am one tired chica. I am going to climb in the bed with Pitty Pat and get ready to watch Royal Pains.
Tootles!
:) JKP

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head....

Hey Y'all....

Well, all of this heat has brought something else with it... afternoon thunderstorms! Today we had one hit about 2:30 or so, and Paddington and I hunkered down in our napping positions. Ahhhh. I am going to miss these afternoon naps when school starts!

I have been feeling really like myself over the past few days and I have had a few adventures! Yesterday, I got out of the house and went and looked at living room furniture. Not that I can afford any. But, I did want to get out and take a peek. My current living room is made up of a ten (!) year old couch, a hand me down chair with a slip cover with an ottoman that Pitty Pat ate the slip cover off of last summer. Also, I have a recliner that I bought about 5 years ago when I bought this house. My coffee table is a $40 find at a re-sell store and my end tables were my mom's when I was a baby. Yup. I found some things that I liked, but in no way have the budget for. That's the bad thing about furniture shopping, when you come home your furniture looks really shabby! :)

Today I headed up to North Myrtle Beach to hit the Evil Empire to stock up on school supplies for my classroom. Believe it or not, the Evil Empire down here in Myrtle gets picked over very quickly and if you wait too long, you find nothing. So today, I finished up my back to school shopping. I even found some cool stuff at the Dollar Tree. While I was up on the north end, I stopped in at Knitting Up a Storm and found some fabulous patterns. When I have been there before, the customer service was not great. But today I had a wonderful experience! I haven't tried knitting yet, I am kind of scared to. I am doing so well not having the vertigo, I am kind of scared to look down or up for too long of a time. So hopefully soon I will be back to doing what I love!

Over the past weekend I had a girls night with dinner and a movie. We went to see Salt. Y'all, it was good! If I was Brad Pitt, I would never pick a fight with Angelina. No way. So if you are looking for a way to stay out of the heat, catch Salt. It's good entertainment.

Well, I am going to sign off and turn in for the night. I have to start training for early bed times. Work will be here before I know it!
Tootles!
:) JKP

Friday, July 23, 2010

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, My Bonnie Lies Over the Sea

Hey Y'all,

Well. Is is hot where y'all are? It is terrible here. Not to mention the humidity stays at about 100 percent in Myrtle Beach at all times! We have been under a "heat advisory" for the past few days, so that means that Pitty Pat and I have been hanging out inside. The heat makes things really worse for me, so I try to stay of of it during the day, and then do any errands I have in the evenings when it is cooler. I have adjusted the way I am taking one of my medicines and that is helping with how I feel while I am on it. This medicine makes you REALLY tired, so I am taking a light dose during the day and a heavy dose at night. I had my MRI yesterday and y'all that was not fun. I do not like enclosed spaces AND then they put this cage thing over your head. That was not cool. I basically just closed my eyes the whole time. It took about an hour and a half. My ENT ordered an extra test-a vein study to see how my veins worked in my brain with a contrast. It was crazy. I was so happy to get home yesterday! I figure everything is fine, they would have called me if it wasn't and I go back to see the ENT next Friday to see what our next step is.

I am sure y'all have heard about "Bonnie" the tropical storm that is currently tormenting Florida and then the Gulf. I think this year's storm pattern has been set.. it looks like the Gulf is the target... just like 2005! I have been watching The Weather Channel this morning and they are broadcasting from Key West, Florida, one of my favorite places on earth. It looks like they are just going to get a lot of rain.

Alrighty, I am off to actually shower and get dressed. When I have to go back to work, I am going to miss the lazy mornings! So is Pitty Pat!
:) JKP

Sunday, July 18, 2010

When Life Hands You Lemons......

Hey Y'all!

Well, I am working hard on trying to feel like my old self again. Since one of the medicines I am on makes things that are carbonated taste wonky.. I have had to change a lot of what I drink. Water gets boring after a while, and let's face it, so does tea. Since it is summertime.. I thought that homemade lemonade would hit the spot! I thought I would share with y'all my recipe!! This is adapted from an old Martha Stewart recipe.

You will need:
Lemons (DUH) at least 5, as many as 10 if you like your lemonade tart. See recipe for details.
An eclectic juicer if you have one, it just makes life easier
Water
2 and1/2 cups of sugar (I am sure you could substitute Splenda here. I can't have Splenda, but I am sure that it would work just fine.)

First, bring 2 and 1/2 cups of water and 2 and 1/2 cups of sugar to a boil on the stove. I watch over mine carefully and stir it a few times.

When it has boiled, it will look a little like a syrup. Take it off of the burner and let it cool. While your mixture is cooling, go ahead and juice your lemons. I do not like tart lemonade, so I use about 1 to 2 cups of lemon juice, which turns out to be about 6 lemons. If you LIKE tart lemonade then I would use about 3 cups of lemon juice... which would probably be a whole bag.


Then take your lemon juice, combine it with your sugar/water syrup you made in step one.
Then add 4 to 6 cups of COLD water. I say 4 to 6 because it is personal taste. Personally I like my lemonade to not be overwhelmingly lemon, so I add 6 cups of water. Start with 4 and then keep adding. :)
Now add some ice, and ENJOY!!!!!!!!
Pitty Pat is not impressed. He thinks I interrupted his summer nap.

Tootles!
:) JKP

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Life on a Tilt-A-Whirl... Ain't it Fun?

HOWDY!

Well, I hope from my title y'all can understand where I have been. I am still on the wrong side of dizzy, but I am improving a little bit each day. This past Monday I checked in with my regular doc.. who was a wee bit concerned and thought that it might be a great idea if I checked in with an ENT. Well. Long story short, he thinks it is a good idea if I get an MRI so we can see what is happening in my head. Whatever it is, no one thinks this is sinus related. So all of this time, for MONTHS I keep thinking I have a sinus infection due to head pressure and dizziness and, nope that's not what is causing this. So we shall see. The ENT has a theory, but I don't want to share it on the blog just yet. I have family members who read this, and I don't want to freak people out if I don't have to. So we shall see!

During all of this vertigo craziness, roommate Kate moved out, so Pitty Pat and I are back to just the two of us. However, I do have company coming to visit for the next few weeks so that will be fun. I just hope I can be vertical for most of it! Also, one of my best childhood friends is moving into my neighborhood this weekend and I am so excited about that! So lots of fun stuff going on, I just need for my head to get with the program!

Due to the vertigo, I have been unable to read or knit. Trust me, sitting here and typing this is a big accomplishment! However, I do have big knitting plans for when I am well!! I've had to put off opening my etsy store, due to the not knitting and then driving is a day to day thing. Today I was able to drive, but who knows about tomorrow. I have to go back to work on August 10th, so I really need to be back to 100 percent by then!

Alrighty, I am off to channel surf. If there was a PHD program in channel surfing, I would have obtained one this summer!
:) JKP

Friday, July 2, 2010

V-E-R-T-I-G-O

Hey Y'all,

Sorry to disappear, but I have literally been horizontal for the past 4 days! Before that, I had LOTS of company, so I haven't had any quality time to spend at my computer!

As you may have seen on my Twitter feed, I have really been "under" the weather since Monday night. I suffer occasionally from REALLY HORRIBLE vertigo and I had a nasty sinus infection that really sent me for a loop. I was so sick and so dizzy that I could not even stand up and walk. It was bad folks. A few of you may remember about 3 or 4 summers ago where I suffered from severe vertigo during the entire summer. This little episode scared me, because I thought that was where I was heading! My eyes could not focus and even when I was laying down, I felt like I was on a raft out at sea. Thank goodness my roommate was able to take care of Pitty Pat, I really don't know what I would have done. Although, Pitty Pat realized I was sick, and he would not leave my side. Luckily, I am much better today after taking Diamox (a diuretic) that helps with the dizziness. Although, I am really MAD that I had to miss a really fun girl's night out and the midnight premiere of Eclipse. I still haven't made it to the theatre to see it yet. Here's hoping tomorrow I can go back to driving so I won't be the only female in America that hasn't seen this movie! Keep those fingers crossed that my vertigo stays in check!

The week before all of this vertigo hit, I had a great visit with one of my friends Toni. Toni is one of my good friends from Lexington. She was in town because Ron Clark was here in Myrtle Beach to speak to a convention of school administrators and teachers. Toni had some free tickets, so I tagged along. I really enjoyed hearing Ron Clark speak about his teaching experiences and his academy in Atlanta. He is so funny and SO southern! His books are great too. If you ever have an opportunity to hear him in person, go. You won't be sorry! We ended Toni's visit with some shopping and taking it easy.

On the knitting front I have some precious things to show y'all for my Etsy shop. It was my intention to get the shop open this week, but with me being horizontal and all, it didn't work out. Hopefully next week we will be up and running.

Alrighty, since I have my land legs back, Pitty Pat is demanding walks on the hour to make up for all of his missed ones.
Tootles!
:) JKP