Sunday, February 26, 2012

The Oscars

Well, I am taping Celebrity Apprentice to watch the Oscars.
Yes I said taping cause we have not yet made it to the 21st century and dvrs...we still tape on a vcr.
I don't usually watch the Oscars, but I do love Billy Crystal so I had to watch.
Watching the people who present and accept the rewards my daughter and I have decided that people ought really let themselves age naturally.  It really looks bad when you try to defy age.  I think some of the most stunning women are the ones who embrace their looks:


Helen Mirren









Blythe Danner










                                                     

and then there's 
Joan Rivers








just sayin.















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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Oh my aching back!

My back seems to be getting worse.  I got a referral for a second opinion, however this takes time.
I only hope and pray that there is an opening soon and the new Dr has better news.

It's hard to believe that I have been putting up with this since April of last year.  There has to be help out there somewhere. StumbleUpon

Saturday, February 18, 2012




My body is revolting.

 I don't mean "to look at" (well, on most some days I do mean that) but staging a coup, an uprising, a Network moment
I guess after the 40 odd years of eating what I felt like and lack of exercise, my body has had enough.  Last April, while bending over in the shower to wash my feet, my back seized.  I couldn't straighten up.  I yelled for my hubby who moved me to the bed and massaged my back.

His question? "Did you stretch before?"
WHAT?!? Am I so old and decrepit that I need to stretch before I shower?

I digress...
Next day I was stiff, but felt all had passed.
Little did I know, it was only the beginning.  I started getting back pain so I go to my primary care doctor. She's not sure whats going on... but hey, lets try therapy.  12 visits to the therapist and no relief so I go for an EMG.  I hate needles.  He sends me for an MRI and on to the next Dr who is basically a middle man.  I'm not really sure if she even has a clue.  I am informed that I have arthritic degeneration in my 5th lumbar and she sends me on to another Dr who gives me a shot near my spine to relax the muscles.  That makes things worse, so back to the middle man Dr.  This time she sends me to a different therapist.  This therapist knows exactly what is going on and she gets to work.  She explains to me that I have an annular tear and the spinal fluid is leaking.  This is causing me pain and numbness down my leg and we don't want that to continue or I will get nerve damage.  After 6 weeks I am finally getting to the point where I can work on strengthening my abs.  However, the middle man thinks that this is not good enough and she refuses recommend any more therapy and sends me to the neurosurgeon.  She informs me if I feel therapy is helping I can certainly go and pay for it myself.

Nice
So, on to the neurologist and another MRI with contrast this time.  This Dr tells me not only do I have arthritic degeneration but I also have pseudo cysts.  Spinal fluid is leaking which is why I have such bad pain in my leg but he's not sure where its leaking so until it gets worse there's nothing he can do.

So after 4 Drs, 2 therapists, and a middle man/dr and God know's how much money, I'm right back to where I started from.

Ahhh, the miracles of modern medicine.




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Monday, February 6, 2012

Hunger Games

I know I'm a little late to the game, but I finally read "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.  This is a story about "Panem, a country that rose up out of the ashes of what was once North America".  Now broken up into 12 districts, each specializes in one aspect of what people need to live.  Katniss lives in District 12, they are responsible for mining coal and are the poorest of the districts. 

As the book opens, it is the day of the reaping where two children between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen from each district to participate in the annual "Hunger Games" were they will fight to the death.

I usually don't get into futuristic books, but this one isn't to hard to imagine.  The author does a great job describing the landscape of the time period without being to wordy.

We follow Katniss and Peeta who are chosen to represent their district.  This is a huge event that is celebrated and televised to all.  The pairs from each district are given mentors and a fashion team to coach and prepare them to earn sponsors (who can give them slight advantages in the arena) and devise a game plan.

This was a fast and great read.  I am super excited to see this on the big screen and excited to read the next book in the series.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.
Pure enjoyment. StumbleUpon