Happy Things Courtesy of iPhone

I've been spending much of the last four days laying in bed or on the couch. My arthritis has been pretty relentless. But that's ok, I had the time and my body I'm sure will thank me, right? Anywho, thought you might like a little photo collage of some happy tids and bits of our lives the last few weeks.

 Happy animals that love each other. Charlie is squished at the back of HER crate, while Buddy takes up the most space. They really do tolerate each others crazy antics so well, it still cracks me up, two years later.

 I love how little kids really seize moments. This day, A asked if we could eat lunch outside like a picnic with a blanket. How can you say no to that.

 We went to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for one of their summer movies. You may be thinking, movie in the Cemetery, C-R-E-E-P-Y? But no it wasn't, it was so fun. Everyone crammed in on a lawn area, eating, drinking and having fun. We saw Grease, and being in the group setting with everyone singing along made it that much more exciting. 

 Hubs and I got to be part of an advertising photo shoot for a national paint your own pottery place. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon. As you can see the hubs was living the model lifestyle;)

 New bedding! I'm one that likes to mix things up every so often, so I don't like to spend a ton on bedding. This whole bed make over -- sheets, pillowcases, blanket, duvet cover -- cost just under $100. I'm in love with yellow and gray right now.

 When my mama was here, we got to see the documentary, First Position, about a ballet competition. We loved it. And I love her.

 A couple of weeks ago I finally, after much urging from my hubby, purchased a N.ook ereader after thinking about it for over six months. I was hesitant to give up the good old book, but I love it. It's so much friendlier on my wrists and I can have so many books loaded on it. Then I discovered if you have a library card to your city's public library you can borrow ebooks from it's website. How cool is that? So I went and got myself a library card today, a local library branch is just 1/2 mile from our house. I have to say it's been probably 15 years since I was in a public library and I was pretty excited to get my card. Now to start borrowing online.

Celebrating exciting things with good friends! I love the iPhone for letting you take self portraits, and for the hubs long arms that make them actually good looking photos,

What's Happening

Just a quick little update. We've had one of the best, busiest, craziest weeks around here. What we've been up to would make a "normal" person tired (just ask the hubs) so you can only imagine what it's doing to my poor little body. I'm wiped, can barely move and well it's just a testament that even good stress wreaks havoc.

I did Humira again on Monday, still hurts like crazy but thanks to my Crohnie friend, I take 2 tylenol about half hour before and it takes the edge off. Thanks P! And although I'm not seeing a huge difference day to day, what I am noticing is that about 5 days before my injection things start to get more painful -- both bowel and joint -- so maybe it's helping a bit in that first week. Fingers crossed that's the case and that the more I have in my system the more I'll notice.

So as usual, all I can do is listen to myself, stand up for myself, say no even when I hate it, and remember that even though I want to do everything, that's just not my reality, it's not my normal. It's hard, it stinks but it's ok.

And even though my body sucks. Life is good.

Mother's Day 2012

For the first time in five years, I actually got to spend Mother's Day with my mom. It's been wonderful. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for her. She has shown me what unconditional love is, taught me how to Keep Calm and Carry On and ALWAYS been there to catch me when I'm falling, laugh with me, shop with me and just love me through it all. I love her so much and will never be able to truly convey what she means to me.

My cute, Zumba loving mama.

As many of you know, we are still waiting and praying for a sweet baby and their birth family to find us. And although I'm not holding a baby of our own today, I feel so peaceful. I watched this beautiful video today, which shows the immense love that exists in adoption and what amazing, selfless people birth mothers are. We continue to be hopeful and excited for this journey, we will get there.

My past Mother's Day posts here and here

Signs

Two signs that pretty much sum up my existence and my daily mantras!

Game (Back) On

Last night we resumed the Humira game. Here's to hoping that in two-three months (or sooner) I'll start feeling the benefits both in my GI tract and my joints. And lets all say a little prayer or two that I don't encounter any more infections that will derail me again.

And a small confession here, injecting myself with Humira makes me swear. Now if you know me, you know that cussing is not my thing. My dad and brother used to try to bribe me to say bad words. I know my family is odd;) It's not the actual needle going in that hurts, it's the dang medicine that burns SO bad that the words just come out and I have to say, they help me express the nasty feeling. *&%^! At least it's just one shot every two weeks now.

Today I have the post Humira 24-hour icks. But I'm thankful I can plan and know they are coming and just let my body have the time it needs. Thank goodness for comfy clothes and a bit of overcast weather today.

Random Musings

Here's just a smattering of randomness from my head to your eyes...

What I'm listening to you: I'm obsessed with the new Jason Mraz song, I Won't Give Up. Check out this cool little lyric video I found on YouTube, here. The words and the arrangement, they makes me smile ear to ear and cry and feel at peace EVERY SINGLE time I hear it. And OMG as I'm typing this and watching Ellen, she just said Jason Mraz will be on after the break, yeah! It's my lucky day. And he just said, "Music is the weapon in the war against unhappiness." Thank you sir, you are right!

What I've been watching: I'm not one to be overly enamored with celebrities, they are just people. I have some favorites, but not too much crazy fangirl behavior. I've watched Giuliana and Bill on Style Network since it began. It started as just a guilty pleasure, sometimes a little annoying, but then they were brave enough to share their journey with infertility and now their journey through her diagnosis of breast cancer. And wouldn't you know, I'm now obsessed with them, how they've handled all that's been thrown at them, what a great relationship they seem to have and how there is something comforting in not feeling alone in such struggles. And then I watched Giuliana Rancic's E! True Hollywood Story and I was even more impressed. I will admit before all of this, and just seeing her as a host on E!, I thought she was a bit too much sometimes. But wow has that changed. She's a class act and so is her hubby! Official big fan right here.

What I did today: Oh you know just the usual, call the doctor, schedule an appt for this afternoon, go to another appt, head to T.arget, go to the next appt and drop off a urine sample. As my hubs and I said at the exact same time, after recapping, "Just another day in the life of Al!" It's not a day until we deal/talk about bodily functions around here.

I'm on four more days of antibiotics to officially clear up this very stubborn UTI so I can start Humira again. Ah.

What I'm doing this week: Meeting two new people who battle their bodies and autoimmune diseases everyday too. Sometimes, I just want to shut it off and not talk about this stuff everyday and be a hermit. But what almost always wins out is my desire to share my story to hopefully help others share theirs and let each person know that they are not alone. It's my calling, my purpose in having to deal with all that I do.

What Spring color I'm loving: Mint! Oh how I wish I could wear it in clothing form, but alas it's NOT my color. So I opted for Mint toe nail polish to get the fix, LOVE!

What I'm looking forward to: My mom visiting in a few weeks, yippee. It's been six months since she has been here!

What I can't believe: That our cute little god daughter will be 3 tomorrow! What?! She's growing up so fast. Happy Bday little miss K, we love you.

Off Schedule

I love schedules and calendars. They make me happy and in my out of control health world, they bring some comfort. Well today was supposed to be a Humira day. Keyword, SUPPOSED. But thanks to my awesome little body, that's not happening. I've timed it perfectly to have a "Very Big" bladder infection, according to my doctor, hit yesterday. So fun.

What does that mean, well it means I have seven days of antibiotics to take and then after I've completed the course I can resume Humira. As you'll remember, ANY infection means no injection.

Bladder infections are on my list of infections I'm prone to. But thanks to very diligent urinary tract health practices, I hadn't had one in well over a year. So that begs the question, with the Humira in my system for a month is this the first of a line of infections to come?

I hope not, but of course I can't help but wonder, neither could my GI or GYN today (I got to see both of them today, lovely ladies really.)

So now we wait. I take the antibiotics and hopefully get some relief ASAP from this latest little set back. And get back on Humira track next week. And hopefully back on schedule. My GI agrees with my Rheumy, it may be as early as 8 weeks but as long as 6 months before I see an improvement with the Humira.

But here's the upshot, I listened to my body and knew I needed to get the bladder infection under control before I could even think of Humira, thus not putting myself in a worse situation. Pat on the back Al! Thankfully I already had both of my appts scheduled for today -- two thumbs up for that at least working with my schedule. You have to look at the bright side right?