Not a Good Patient

I am not a patient person when it comes to not feeling well. That's why I try to eat the right foods and exercise for more than an hour a day, six days a week. I do take Sundays off. I run, do weights and swim. What can be more devastating than a sinus infection? My head feels twice it's size and my face just throbs with pain in addition to my ears being stuffed up.

I haven't had one in a long time; I'd say maybe eight years ago? It started before the week we were to go on vacation. I weathered it out because I didn't want to be taking antibiotics while traveling. I survived the plane ride in addition to the numerous roller coaster rides. I thought it more or less had disappeared.

Nope! This Monday, it started all over again when we had a cold front move through bringing much needed rain. The pain, not throbs, in my sinus cavity was unbearable. I finally broke down and called the doctor and he saw me on Friday. He confirmed my diagnosis and prescribed an antibiotic for me. I know the drug companies come out with many every year and I couldn't remember back eight years ago, what antibiotic I had taken. He wasn't my doctor back then, so he prescribed Ciproloxacin. Okay. He's the doctor and I respect him.

I'm allergic to aspirin, codeine and penicillin, in addition to having SVT, so it's safer to put me on a sulfur-based antibiotic which Cipro is. I read the instructions provided by CVS and it mostly focused on being careful to avoid calcium and dairy products. They provided a time schedule to take the pill two hours before consuming dairy products or six hours after. I took the first pill at five, two hours before dinner.

Then, I started to itch. What was that about? I reread the CVS warnings; didn't see anything. Then I read the side effects provided by the drug company. I was in trouble. This medication might cause rashes, severe cramping, changes in your heart rate, seizures, yeast infections and the list went on. I immediately called the pharmacist who advised me to discontinue the medication and call my doctor first thing Monday morning. In the mean time, eat cheese to diminish the effect of the medication.

I love cheese so not a problem. I continued the night and began to itch like crazy. I couldn't even sleep. Then came the irregular heart rate which I took a double dose of my beta blockers to get back into rhythm.

When I got out of bed at six the next morning, I thought I had this medication out of my system. Nope! I had the most severe leg cramps I've ever experienced, to the point I was in tears. I drank lots of water hoping to flush it out of my system. The rest of the day, I just spent sitting in my chair reading a book. I was so exhausted from the last twenty four hours I went to bed at eight pm.

You know? Maybe the sinus pain isn't as bad as I thought. I can do without the antibiotic!

Rough Week....

I have survived my first week back from vacation! Not only have I had a chance to work intently on my next manuscript, I have had a fight with my neighbor about them always parking in front of my mailbox so that I have to go to the post office to get my mail. I guess having a three car garage; two car driveway and a cul-de-sac in front of their house is not enough for them....

I've had a fight with our FSA insurance because they didn't feel the ER hospital bill I provided them for the $250.00 copay provided sufficient information for them to process the claim. They want an entire itemized bill with ALL charges on it. Really? BCBS of Illinois processed it without any problems. I have requested the bill which will take two weeks to process...

I have unanswered emails...regarding my projects...

I am a normally happy, positive person, but this week has tried my patience. I know there are more serious problems in the world and I should count my blessings. I keep saying prayers for everyone. On day at a time!

Vacation!!!

What a whirl of a vacation! I told you about the wedding but now I need to tell you about the rest of the vacation!

We went to Colonial Williamsburg, VA for the week. I just love Virginia. It is such a pretty state. The only relaxing day I had was on Tuesday when my husband played golf and I stayed behind and relaxed by the pool!

Let me preface by saying, my husband and I, when we first started dating were roller coaster junkies. We went on everything we could. One of the reasons we love Williamsburg is because of Busch Gardens. Starting in 1991, we went every year.

As we got older, we started going every other year. Why? We discovered Hawaii and didn't want to waste every vacation in Williamsburg. Did this stop us from roller coasters? Absolutely not. Where we lived in Pennsylvania, we were only an hour away from Hershey Park and Dorney Park.

Then we moved to Texas where there is Six Flags. Let me tell you, the thought of standing in long lines in the Texas heat didn't really appeal to us. It has been a while since I've been on a coaster. (2008 to be exact!) When we went to Disney World in March, I went on the Harry Potter coaster and got a little sick to my stomach.

This Williamsburg vacation had my husband really excited. He couldn't wait to go on the rides. Okay. I'm not old, but I'm no spring chicken either. With my SVT (fast heartbeat) acting up more often than I want it to, I was a little apprehensive about this journey.

Monday, we were at the park at 10. First couple of rides were just okay. By four, I kind of had had it. But I did learn something important; keep you head forward. That way, you don't bang your brain stem on the back of the seat. Learned that the hard way!

On Wednesday, we were back at it again. This time we got kicked out of the park due to some pretty bad storms. I found myself a little disappointed  because now I looked forward to the rides.

Thursday, in the rain, we did the old town tour. We just love the way Colonial Williamsburg has made a day so enjoyable with great actors and actresses portraying the trying times of that era.
We ate at one of the taverns and also snuck in a wine tour.

Friday? Back at the park. Finally, around 4 (only because we had to pack) my husband conceded he had had enough of the rides.

By the way, as an author, I had become pretty frustrated on my book I'm working on. My characters were not talking to me as I sat in front of my laptop; fingers poised on the keyboard...nothing. Who came to life while I was on these rides? My characters. I had to write things down when I got back to the condo. So, this week I look forward to fine tuning my story!

Dysfunctional Families

Went to a family wedding in New Jersey over the weekend. The last time I've been to a family wedding was when my nephew got married up in Canada three years ago. It was great to see everyone after six years of being in Texas. I know every family has their unique relationships and it gets kind of hard to explain it to people, so where do I begin?

This was my mother's side of the family. My mother was the youngest of five children; two brothers and two sisters. The brothers hated each other and never spoke again. The three sisters only spoke to my mother but not to each other. Lots of internal fights my mother didn't know about. It's the same way in my husbands family with the aunts and uncles. You know, 'back in 1953, she/he said this about me and I'll never forgive her/him'....and they don't!

The oldest, Grace, was much older than my mother. Grace married first and had a son, Paul and daughter, Grace. She later divorced, remarried and had a son, Robert.

Grace named my mother, Estelle, Grace's god mother. My mother was only three years old at the time. So the wedding was for young Grace's grandson, Andrew who is thirty two years old. Grace is ninety and refuses to admit it. She is as sharp as a tack and in great shape. She religiously walks five miles a day. Her husband, Chuck, is a deep sea diver. He finally gave it up three years ago at the young age of ninety.

Other than my sisters and their family, I don't really keep in touch with the rest of the families on my mother or my father's side. I have tried, but most of them want nothing to do with me or the rest are after a hidden agenda better left alone.

After listening to all of the family stories, I have tons of materials for upcoming books!

Time management for authors...

I don't remember when I've ever been so busy? I remember back when I worked on craft projects while pulling sixty hour weeks at work, raising a child, entertaining the family with weekend dinners. When I get to the weekend as of late and I see many unfinished projects, I just shake my head.

I'm busy writing is what it is. I don't count how many words I write or how many hours a day I devote to writing because when the ideas are fresh in my mind, I find myself writing for hours on end. There are other days where my mind is blank and I think my characters are taking a couple of days off. That's when I catch up on other things such as lawn and house work and other work I do on a part time basis.

It's almost July 1. It's summer and where has the time gone? I feel like I've lost a month.....can I have it back? I need to work on some time management!!!

An Afternoon on the Tribute Golf Course in Texas!

I finally got out to play a round of golf with my husband this Friday afternoon. Now granted, I've been with him plenty of times; when we were first dating and I was determined to play golf, after we got married and then during all of our vacations. I am a very competitive person and not the best loser. Neither is he. We have learned to be happy, is not to play games against each other but to try to be on the same team. It's the only way we can survive as a couple. But back to the story.

Jim is a very good golfer and I mean very good. He's been playing since he was twelve and was on his high school and college golf team. Never a pro but in his prime, he could've made it. The harder a course, the more he likes it. As a novice, I tried to play with him. On the first shot, he would hit the ball about two hundred and fifty yards to my fifty feet. After about nine holes, I had had it. Yes, I kept trying but I became very discouraged and when people played with us? It was downright embarrassing. I finally found out I was happiest drinking beer and driving the cart.

When we would go on vacation, I would ride with him and take pictures of the scenery for my scrapbook. I would keep my ears open to golf terminology and what club he would use so I could hold a golf conversation with the best of them.

When I decided to write my new book about a lady professional golfer, the world of golf took on a new meaning. I did my research on past players as well as the current contenders. After reading some reviews from Flag in the Play where I didn't get technical enough (and I know football!!!) I decided I want this book to be perfect!

We started off by ourselves and soon joined up with a threesome of guys on the fourth hole. They were struggling with the game. They kind of rolled their eyes when they saw me, you know. A woman golfer. When they learned I was just observing for my book, they became a little self conscious of their game and every time they made a bad shot, they would turn to me and say, 'don't put that in your book!'. I told them the story is a comedy and I wouldn't dream of it. However? I did learn a lot of terms from this (not all swear words, mind you) but Jim doesn't make the kind of shots these guys did. Also, I learned about the game called 'Wolf' and how to bet on your game. Of course, they don't do that in the tournaments but I can see where this might come in handy.

Hopefully, I found some new followers who are looking forward to this coming story!

Fathers Day Plans

I just want to take today and look at the photographs of my dad. I love him and miss him so much!


That is before I watch the men's US Open for my upcoming book I'm working on. Since I missed my husband's tee time yesterday, he insists we watch this together to make sure my book is accurate. I try and explain it's about relationships involving a woman golfer, but the selective hearing only hears the word golf.