I had a great news day!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I cant tell you how much all of your thoughts and prayers have meant to me in the past couple of months! I have had a really hard time dealing with all of this health stuff-- Now the good news. God has seen fit to answer our prayers in a great way.
I went to my long awaited Rheumatologist appointment today... He took a very very detailed history and did a good physical exam of my hands, and skin. Just for the record I found him a pretty strange individual ---he had a disconcerting habit of rolling his eyes so only the white part showed and talking with his eyes closed---- little strange but anyway.... his initial impression is that I do not have scleroderma YEAH!!!!!!
he says that despite my positive SCL-70 and all he thinks it is a false positive!!!!! he says it doesn't happen too often so I am hopeful. He also said with my symptoms – if 'someone held a gun to my head and said 'you have to give me a diagnosis for Brenda right this second what is it?” I would say she has sjogren;s disease”. now like I explained to my brother Sjogren's is not the best thing to have but it is a heck of a bunch better than Scleroderma! Sorta like they are the same family but Sjogren's is Scleroderma's younger weaker baby brother. They are both auto immune problems-- but I am probably not going to die from Sjogren's.
Now he did say that I could have primary Sjogren's and secondary lupus or sclero starting up-- but at this moment in time he does not think I have sclero and defiantly don't have Rheumatoid Arthritis (my mom had this) So tomorrow I start a new drug tomorrow that is kinda bad for eyes but at least in the next couple of months I should start to feel better. Maybe back to my old self 9who remembers what that is???)
Anyway---for this moment in time-- I am going with the probability that I have Sjogren's and not scleroderma. PRAISE GOD-- and thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers!! It's a good day in my part of the world!!

http://www.sjogrens.org/

photo ornaments al la Carol Duvall

If you know anything about me, and even if you don't, you may know that I love anything to do with pictures , paper ,creativity and Christmas. I especially love making Christmas ornaments that include any or all of these elements. These ornaments I am finally ready to share with my friends are especially wonderful to me. I love family history, photos of family and looking back at the way we were. Gosh! Makes you wonder where Katie got the whole love of history thing LOL
Back in the day—when I was a SAHM—about 15-21 years ago I discovered 'The Home Show” and Carol Duvall. Now you may be fan of Carol , you may not like her or you may not have even heard of her at all. But I need to give credit where credit is due and she demonstrated these years and years ago. I have taken her idea and with a few changes these ornaments have really become part of our family decorations over the years.
When I first started making them was in the days before good photo adhesives and when scrapbooking-as-we-know-it-today was just a dream. When I first started making these Carol suggested constructing them using super glue (!). Now that there are wonderful adhesives out thee especially made for photo's I suggest the red line tape—AKA Terrifically Tacky Tape. I have had to remake several of ours because the super-glue didn't hold. Another reason I would suggest the Tacky Tape is because the fumes of the super glue can “fog' the photo. A lot of my ornaments have these but because there are no duplicates (and this was waaaay before digital copies) and I have no idea where the negatives are. Another change I have made is to strengthen the hollow dome a bit by adding a bit of acid free paper (really thin like tissue paper) to the center of the geodesic dome. It just seems to make it a little more sturdy with not much weight. The only other thing I have done differently is add some bead tape with a bit of glue on the places where the edges of the photos meet (because my edges don't always match) and one panel with the year that ornament represents.
With those editorial comments I am adding the link to Carol's directions because hers are much more concise than mine would be and then will add a few pictures of the ones I have made.

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_cds/episode/0,1806,HGTV_3822_13364,00.html



Let me know what you think-k??

beads, paper and organization

I have been a bit out of whack for a few days. Got a cold from all the sick people who I hang out with (namely my dear sweet hubby and my co-workers)- missed work today but I think I am doing better and will work tomorrow.
i have been beading for a few days. I have been making lanyard type/necklace thingies. I wear a badge to work every day. I have my main badge on a badge holder that has a clip on the back to attach it to the edge of your pants pocket, lapel etc. My problem is that most days I don't wear pants or jackets that have lapels. I am a skirt and/or dress type girl and never wear a jacket unless I am forced (because I am always HOT in our office). Anyway, I bought this little ribbon deal that hooks together and has a small charm on the end that you hang your badge on--5 bucks--. Well-- i bought the one so i could have a pattern. I have been making all kinds of them with different colored beads to match what i wear. Now, have a little wardrobe of them- - -actually I think I have made 6 so far. Anyway much easy to make--way cheaper than $5-- and cute.
i have not had time to play with my paper goodies much. I did get some paper containers that are 12 x 12 size and moved all of the paper to them. i have the solids all in rainbow order and then the prints sorted by something that makes sense to me..... I have flowers,plants and leaves as one section, geometries as another, textures as another, and vellum in another.... i have a few that are not too easy to classify. i don't really know what to do with the cartoony ones, the ones that have a slight pattern on it and other stuff like that.
The worst thing is that I found some mulberry paper i bought to make tear bears out of. Becky had given me a bunch of patterns and tips and ideas. She gave me a whole book of them. Now with all the cleaning and such I cant find them. i have the other stuff she gave me----but i can not find the book of patterns! wonder where in the world i put it????
Katie got a new (older) car on Friday. It is a green Toyota Corolla. 1999 I think she said.--I'm not very good with that sort of thing. She seems to like it well enough. She has already taken it to Memphis and back so I guess it runs OK. LOL She complains about spending so much on gas but then she is driving a lot too so that is no surprise. I don't know how many miles it is to Memphis from her place but it takes about 3 1/2 hrs. but with gas at $3 it adds up fast. i just cant get over that it has been almost a month since the wreck and that she is OK-- every time i look at the pictures----ewwww--- i cant believe it
well better hit the bed so i can go back to work tomorrow.

only a few more days...

until the beginning of a new year. i love the fresh crispness of a newly opened calendar-- the fresh clean pages just waiting for me to write some wonderful plans on them. ...and i love looking back at the old calendar and seeing what we did and when we were having a good time with ____ and where we were when we met____. And seeing what was going on in every month. i use my pocket calendar as a daily diary almost--- nearly every date has something written on it. so i can tell you just about any day what i was doing , who i was with, and were i was. most of the time the the days are fairly boring and the same but when i look and see something special it brings it all back to me - - - -what fun we had etc.

makes me wonder:

• what will the next year will bring?

• where we will be?

• what we will do?

• who we will spend time with?

• vacation--with who and where and when

• birthdays who will help us celebrate Katie's 22nd, Marks 53rd and my 49th??? Brad's 58th...Charlie's 78th???

• will all of our precious ones be with us when the next year starts?
  
  
• will we have new babies in our family in 2008?

• will we make it through a new year without a devastating event?

so much to anticipate and wonder about

Christmas Cards, cooking and ...everything

well--- OK ...so i have been known to ummmmmm... procrastinate? I just started making my Christmas cards. couldn't seem to come up with an idea i liked. I couldn't find a Christmas tree stamp like i wanted to go with the paper i got to print our letter on. So,I ended up cutting the tree's (three different shapes) out of sponge and there you go. now i am having stamping issues with the paint. Can't seem to get it exactly right and either get blobs or no cover at all. then ....I have to put the dang things together, write the letter, print the letter, address the envelopes and then stamp and mail them---wheeeew!- - - - -in the next few days. oh and stuff the cards with our family picture. I would post a pic but now my camera has decided it hates my computer and they wont work together.
I'm getting the dress put away... it sits here and looks at me and waits on me to work on it---so i am putting it out of our misery and putting it away.
Oh and not to EVEN mention that i haven't even started making goodies--cookies- candy- cake- planning at least two big meals--
.......and finish the bathroom painting and putting everything back together and maybe put up my new little tree in there but then again maybe not---Geesh just thinking of all the family that will be here next weekend (22nd)
I got the sweetest little gift from Karen on about.com. i am going to steal her idea and make a bunch of them----someday that is. i wish i could take credit for the idea....it is a post-it note holder. She has made several different kinds that i know of-- she has sent me two of them. Wish i could post some pictures of them
well, I guess this is not getting the cards made nor the post it note holders, not the scrapbook pages for a Christmas present- nor the cooking etc
I am searching every one's blog for ideas and found a bunch that i want to try- Thanks for the inspiration Ladies

working on painting and the civil war dress!

well- i finally got up last night and got a little busy. Did a couple things and straightened stuff up. I am trying to figure out how to post some pics of my work. guess i have to stop being a man (LOL) and go read the directions.
i didn't get to work on the cards last night but probably will tonight.. Mark is working with his dad on some wiring at one of the rental houses so i will be here alone (YEAH!!!) for a while. i am such a true loner--- need just some " no one else around time-- with no TV or talking"
just finished my yogurt for supper so i have to go get busy with the painting--- and the Christmas wrapping--- and the sewing---

begining to cope and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

thank you all for the encouragement you have each given me-- i cant tell you how much i appreciate knowing i have friends out there. I think i am beginning to cope with my diagnosis (probable i still say). I went to my PCP last week for blood work and he said he still didn't think i had scleroderma... i told him that at this point i had done some much research on it that i probably know more about it than he does. He doesn't think I have the "right" symptoms for it...I told him I was a classic case-- Renaud's in my hands, dry skin and mucus membranes, alopecia==yep I'm losing my hair too. Anyway he just sorta looked at me--so i got my labs and left. I guess that is what comes of knowing your personal Dr. so long, having worked for him and being familiar with each other.... he thinks i am a hypochondriac LOL

Anyway--- didn't mean to get off on that subject. We are trying to get Christmas-y around here. Mark did the outdoor decoration yesterday and it looks great. The inside is about done as it is going to get. He is still working on the bathroom (paint) and i am working on the "dress from ______ ' well you know where! LOL Well actually i am sitting here talking to you and watching Charlie Brown Christmas. Then in a little while i am going to take a bath and go to bed--- how is that for a scintillating night?

I worked a little on the Christmas cards last night-- still making them LOL then gotta get them addressed and mailed. I need to get busy instead of just sitting here.

I love you guys-- have a blessed evening. I am going to try to post some pics of my cards if i can figure it out.

Finally--a probable diagnosis for my health problems

finally!! a probable diagnosis for what ails me.. I don't want to complain so i try to keep my troubles to myself {despite what some people may think}. I have been having some real problems with my eyes (dry, infected, painful) and a really dry mouth ( so dry that my lips stick to my teeth when i try to talk), dry skin, extreme fatigue, skin discoloration and some itching. The neurologist (I see for migraine and sleep apnea) has ordered numerous sleep studies because despite my c-pap being set correctly because i remain exhausted.
A while back I was talking to a friend at work and she said "gosh. that sounds just like Marie _ _ _ _. she has sjogrens disease and she has a lot of the same symptoms". now keep in mind that i have been telling my PCP for a long time that there is something wrong with me--- i just don't feel right. He has poo-poo'ed me for several years and i felt he thought i was a hypochondriac. Anyway Marie printed out a list of the symptoms of sjogrens---out of 52 symptoms i had about 32 of them.
So with paper in hand and the previous discussion with my opthamologist in hand--in my eye problem post earlier---I trotted off to my PCP again. I showed him the list and explained to him the whole thing and insisted that he test me for sjogrens, rheumatoid arthritis-- something-- and got them to take some blood for these tests.
anyway -- trying to get to the point here-- on Oct 26, 2007 my friend Sandy from the office called me at work to tell me the labs were back..... I could tell there was something wrong by the tone of her voice. Her exact words were 'well, here is the good news you don't have sjogrens." i said well that is good i guess-- i paused and said "wait, i can tell by your voice something else has shown up-- tell me" . The reply she gave me was something i could never have anticipated ..even though i have mentioned it in a previous blog. the words i will never forget and that have changed my life were what she said " your SCL-70 was positive'. being a nurse i sorta knew what was coming but still have a hard time saying it---she said "SCL-70 is the test for scleroderma".
OK-- so long story short is that i have a 98% chance that scleroderma is my diagnosis. What the heck is scleroderma?? It is a auto-immune connective tissue disease that is pretty rare (14 in 1 million people have this and of that number 3/4 are female usually aged 34-52--only about 300,000 people worldwide have this). Literally Scleroderma means "Hard skin"--according to which type of scleroderma you have the course of the disease is really wide.
according to some of the information i have found-- the prognosis for the worst kind and worse case scenario is surviving 2 yrs. Most people do not fall into that category- some of the other info is that the average life span after diagnosis is more like 20 yrs. But-- heck even at 20 yrs i will only be 68 years old!!! that is getting younger by the day. But, and this is a big but, we don't yet know if this IS my diagnosis (really hard to diagnosis) or what form i have, what effects this has already had on my body (usual time you have had disease until diagnosis is 3 yrs because it mimics so many other things). i have an appointment with the specialist at the end of January--so i guess we wait some more.
anyway-- if you think of it say a prayer for me, for my body,(not only is the skin effected but often the real problems are with lungs, heart, kidneys and guts getting sclerosed-- and not able to work correctly) and my family and my mental health as we all learn to deal with this devastating diagnosis.
here is a web site for the scleroderma foundation if you want to learn more- -http://www.scleroderma.org/

if you have made it all the way through this -- i want to say a special thanks to you

hi there (if anyone ever reads this LOL)
i am in a OK news, bad news kind of situation. i have found out the root of all my health problems... the OK news is that now i know what is wrong.... the bad news is that it isnt something i would want to have-or want anyone else to have. It is one of those "orphan" diseases--something rare that only affects about 14 in 1,000,000 people (yep that is is 14 in 1 million) most of you will have never heard of it --when i tell you what it is. i have to wait to tell you until i tell my family which will happen this weekend.
anyway--- IF anyone is reading this and feels the need-- i would appreciate any kind of prayers or good thoughts you would care to send!