I'M AN EASY SPIRIT, WALKING IN THE CLOUDS

WALKING for me is a CHORE. I used to LOVE it, though, logging 10 miles, sometimes MORE, a day. But over time I paid the price. It got increasing difficult to do. My knees wore out. I have meniscus tears, Baker Cysts, arthritis and now diabetes. Comfortable shoes are hard to come by. Up to now I've worn GrassHoppers. They did the job. I was content with my Jensen Stretch Bucks. They cost about $40. I buy two pairs a year, online. Those are the only shoes I've worn for the past four to five years. Sad considering, once upon a time, I wore stilettos. Try to visualize that if you can, blog buddies. Truth be told, I wore them to make me taller. LOL  These days, I usually try to get FLATS without laces because it's difficult to bend over and tie them without collapsing in a pile because of dizziness. Not to mention the neuropathy in my hands making it difficult to manipulate the laces. But a year ago, when our local WALMART moved to a new location and slashed prices at the old store. I picked up a couple pair of  Danskin sneakers for $10. I figured the price outweighed the trouble tying them.  So I began alternating them with the GrassHoppers. It felt good to own more than a couple pair of shoes that fit. My closet is full of ones that don't. (I need to donate them.) Anyway, life was good. I went about my business over the past year, never giving another bit of attention to shoes. But that all changed in a heartbeat, a month or two ago. I saw the shoes pictured above FOR SALE at Meijer's. I thought they were the UGLIEST things I had ever seen.  But at the same time, they intrigued me. So I slid one shoe, after another, on my feet. OMG. What an experience. I thought I died and went to Heaven. It was like walking in the air, on a cloud. I have NEVER, EVER worn a pair of shoes so COMFORTABLE in my whole life. Forget the GrassHoppers. Forget the Danskins. These were the shoes for me. Hands down. They were called EASY SPIRIT 360. I bought them on the spot. I did NOT care that they did not match anything in my wardrobe. I wore them religiously for a week or two. Then decided I needed another pair in a Black or Brown color. I found them easily online, but was shocked by the sticker price. I had gotten the champagne colored ones at quite a discount. Paying $70 dollars in addition to shipping and handling was a bit steep. So I searched everywhere in town for someplace that had them, instead. The only color I could find around here was BLUE. I figured they would go with my jeans. So I got them. My husband almost killed me. "You spent WHAT on a pair of shoes." I reminded him of all those high heels I used to dance in. They were not particularly cheap. He thinks because I'm an old lady now, my shoes should be dirt cheap, like the two for $10 pairs I got at WALMART. Give me a break. That was a fluke. Some things are just PRICELESS. Joy is a precious commodity. These EASY SPIRIT 360 shoes are as good as gold, in my humble opinion, at least for me. It's my BIG splurge now that the hubby has a temporary job. I LIVE in these shoes. I'd sleep in them if I could. They feel that good.

 I have alternated between the champagne and blue ones for a while now. My feet were smiling. So when  payday came this month, I broke down and ordered another pair online. I still wanted the versatility of the BLACK color. They arrived this past weekend.  They are the color of coal. (Although they are coming out much lighter in the photo.)

I am a happy camper. I absolutely, positively LOVE these shoes. I am receiving no compensation for this endorsement. Just passing along some information to you, my blog buddies ... about something that has literally put a spring in my step, a song in my heart

and a smile on my face

 and both of my feet.

But admittedly with a DENT in my bank account.

HERE IS THE LINK

TO THEIR WEBSITE

http://www.easyspirit.com/e360/53979927,default,sc.html

 

JEWELRY DOES NOT LIKE ME

I am not a fashionista by any means. My hubby has given me a few pieces of jewelry throughout our many years together. When we were younger it was sterling. Later it became 14 kt. gold. But... I am notorious for losing these things. I have had earrings fall off my ears, DESTROYED by a shopping cart wheel, or car tire. I have lost bracelets, hiking. A necklace with all my precious charms just disappeared from my jewelry box when we moved. My favorite brooch, Made in Ireland came undone from my suit coat and slid under all the seats in a concert hall. People looked, but nobody found it. I once wore a small diamond pendant around my neck, on a trip to the  East Coast. A waitress asked if it was real. I told her yes. Later,  when she bumped into me in the bathroom, she somehow lifted it  from my neck? I didn't realize it until we were miles away. Rings have slipped off my fingers in the dead of winter. Into a lake, in the middle of summer, without me realizing.The list of mishaps goes on and on. So... many years ago, my husband and I decided to call a moratorium
on all jewelry purchases. Why throw GOOD money after BAD and keep buying stuff for me... if it's just going to end up, damaged or missing?Therefore, I'm not  BIG on accessories. I have a diabetes necklace that I wear. A couple rings. Earrings, if I dare. But that's it. However, recently I have developed a fetish for INTERESTING costume jewelry bracelets. Ones, that match the outfits, I'm wearing. I LOVED the colors in this particular piece. So... I was dying to BUY it. Should have saved my dime.

UNFORTUNATELY
my LUCK has
NOT CHANGED.

The dye from the bracelet

BLED ALL OVER ME.

Does this kind of stuff happen to anybody else?
Or is it just me?

THE ART OF TRIANGLES

THE BACK

THE SIDE

THE FRONT

Sometimes in our travels
we see interesting things.
This

TRIANGLE HOUSE

piqued our interest

because we had seen

something just like it

in another state, miles away, months before.

In that state it was
a CARRYOUT store.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN
A TRIANGLE BUILDING?

BETTER KNOWN AS AN
A-FRAME

SUGAR AND SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE

My doctor did not sugar coat this NEW news. In one fell swoop, she pulled out my sweet tooth, telling me I’m DIABETIC, sucking all the joy right out of my life. “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” How would I cope? A million things came to mind. None of them good. No more French Crèmes at Christmas or Jellybeans at Easter. I couldn’t bear the thought of giving up my Licorice Allsorts and Junior Mints at Halloween. No more Milk Duds at the movies. No bread, rice, pasta, corn, pizza. No baked potato with a steak. Forget lemonade, smoothies, and ice cream cones. And my beloved Chai Tea made of all that sweet goodness, dead to me. These things all convert to glucose immediately. I’m in hell. Why is this happening to me? Why can some folks eat what they want without this problem??? I’m cursed. Don’t even talk to me about food exchanges. I did not understand them when my BFF did Weight Watchers. I do not understand them now. For the time being, I am NOT going to throw everything out of my refrigerator and cupboards. I’m just going to eat more sensibly, some of what I want, just LESS of it. That along with taking the meds, my doc prescribed. The first night of meds did not go well. I woke up drenched in sweat, with my head feeling like someone drove a ten inch spike in the middle of it. My stomach hurt. I was nauseous. Room was spinning. Diarrhea was endless. All normal side effects, I was told. I made up my mind, right then and there, I was going to take LESS of it and get those numbers down with diet. I have struggled with this lifestyle change since the end of June when this was diagnosed. Besides, the obvious dietary issues, and the medication woes… I am sick and tired of poking my fingers to take blood so I can see what my GLUCOSE NUMBER is. It hurts. My poor fingertips are dried and cracked, they feel like pin cushions. I’ve tried a million different lotions. Nothing helps. I guess it really doesn’t matter because I have to wipe the fingers clean with rubbing alcohol, so they don’t cause a chemical reaction with the test strips, giving me a bad reading. So why bother to soothe my hands with anything special? Just a waste of time and money. As for the TEST monitors, don’t even get me started. This is not an exact science, people. According to the FDA, there can be a 20% leeway in their accuracy. That means the numbers could be off by as much as 40 points. That’s NOT fair when I’m being deprived of life’s simple pleasures BECAUSE of those NUMBERS. The doctor handed me my MONITORING kit. It was free. Imagine that? Pardon me for being cynical. Does she get a kickback from the company for using that particular one??? Seemed to me, the numbers were running very high everytime I tested with it. It was frustrating. So my hubby and I decided to experiment a little. We checked Consumers Report and bought a second kit at our expense. The money these companies make is in the test strips. They’re expensive. Upwards of $120 for a pack of 100. And if you’re testing 2-3 times a day, they go fast. My insurance covered most of the cost of them, and the lancets that went with the monitor the doc gave me. But they will not pay for this NEW one. So be it. I want a comparison. When I used both, we discovered the numbers between the two monitors are all over the place. Nothing consistent. Always a discrepancy, never the same. High. Low. It doesn’t matter. So how can I trust which numbers are correct? I assume next time I go to the hospital for blood-work I can test myself when they’re done? And see which one of my machines comes closest to theirs. I have also noticed the readings in one of my hands is always higher than the other when I test. I wonder why? I have NEUROPATHY in my left leg, from the hip to the knee. In my right arm, from the shoulder, to the elbow. And, in both my hands. My hands are really bad. The numbness, coldness and tingly feeling is just horrible. I’m told the damage is done and this can not be reversed. Perhaps this nerve damage is why the numbers vary so much. On the other hand, my vision is blurry, supposedly from the sugar poisoning my body, so maybe I’m not seeing clearly enough to read the numbers? I find out if I also have RETINOPATHY in the next couple weeks when I go to my ophthalmologist. I keep telling myself I can do this. Get my health back on track. DEAL with it head on. Turn things around. But the truth is DIABETES is only one of the issues plaguing me. I have the meniscus tears, the Baker’s cysts. The high blood pressure. Cholesterol. Sinuses continually draining. Abnormal thickening of my lungs.  I’m coughing up phlegm, sometimes tinged with blood every morning and night. Food gets stuck when swallowing. TOO much information, I know. There is NO end in sight to this madness. INQUIRING minds in BLOGGER wanted to know what was happening to me. So I've  given you the scoop, HOT off the presses. Suffice to say, I’m overwhelmed. But I do not intend to write about it... anymore, unless the news is GOOD. So let's change the subject, next time.
NO more DOOM and GLOOM.

“All that's sweet was made But to be lost when sweetest.”

“O! Let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven; keep me in temper; I would not be mad!”

THE STATE OF THINGS

I have told some of you this already.
But for the rest of you, here is the situation.
After they found spots on my daughter's lungs

and a mass on her liver...They did more tests.

AND
she got some MORE devastating news.

...UPDATE...

The blood vessels to her vital organs have attached and entwined themselves in a big gnarly mess to some scar tissue on her liver. It is inoperable. If any of the vessels gets nicked or rupture for any reason, she's been told it's instant death. So she just has to go on and take life one day at a time, because hers could be cut short, at any moment by this condition. ABSOLUTELY nothing else to do??? Meanwhile the spots on her lungs are still of concern but doc has a wait and see approach. She goes back in October for another checkup to see if they've gotten bigger. And to check her kidney function which is also at issue, in addition to her liver. Needless to say this has been extremely difficult for my daughter. She feels constant pain in her back and stomach from this. She is continually pulling, back to back shifts, at her job while taking care of her children, trying to cope with what this all means. Her emotions are pretty well spent. But she is finally able to take a few days off to just unwind. It will be good for her to get away. My daughter is a very private person and it is NOT her nature to share the details of her health with others. But the POWER of PRAYER is a POSITIVE thing. And when you find yourself in a situation like this, you NEED all the support you can get. So on her behalf, I asked for yours. We appreciate all your love, concern and prayers. It means the world to us. THANK YOU.
 
PS). UPDATE ON YOURS TRULY COMING NEXT WEEK.

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

This is our kitchen set. We have had it for 30 years.

One by one,
in the past year,

the welds on the chairs have given way,
spilling us on the floor.
Last week I ended up face first into the

vegetable bin of my refrigerator,

as a result of the last chair breaking.

So...
 our little trip down the road,
 took a detour to a furniture store.

This is what we found to replace the old set with.
Since our anniversary is next week.
We figured this would be the perfect gift to ourselves.
If it lasts as long as the last set, it should outlive us.
Thank goodness
my hubby has a temporary job

that PAID for it.

PS) COMING SOON an UPDATE on
yours truly's and my daughter's health.

PLOTTING AN ESCAPE

I HAVE CABIN FEVER.

GOING TO HEAD DOWN THE ROAD
For a DAY TRIP or two.

BUT that always LEADS me

to the
WATER'S EDGE

someplace.

See you in a few days.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FOOD & FUN

ALL
Politics

Aside

REMEMBER...

While you're watching parades,

swimming and taking in fireworks.
Or chowing down
on hotdogs, hamburgers, barbecue,
potato salad, coleslaw, watermelon

and strawberry shortcake.
It's NOT about
the food or fun.

CHECK OUT THIS
 YouTube

 VIDEO

below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TPgJSZf5Vw&feature=related

HAPPY 4th of JULY