The REAL World's Kickin My Butt!

(searching to notice more of these lifetime moment)

I'm exhausted! My boss's friend needed help at her office last week and all of next week. After my recent $800.00 car repair bill, I needed the extra money so I said I'd do it. But with my insomnia & working a FULL day between the two jobs, I'm WIPED OUT! I got home from work & took a 3 hour nap until 8:00 pm & then couldn't sleep all night. 

I'll admit it...I'm spoiled, with my normal 6 hour work days & Monday's off. I have a whole new appreciation for my schedule! 

Being a single mother for years, I worked full time and never thought anything of it...just did what I had to do. But now that I'm doing it again, "I yigh yigh!"

Funny how we take our life, situation, health, family, etc. for granted until it's taken away. My new motto, 
"BE THANKFUL!"

(seeking to enjoy all that's going on around me)

Money vs. Life

Lately I've been confronted with how much time is wasted worrying & stressing over money. I know we all need it, but how much can buy true happiness?

With my dad facing his 4th stage lung cancer battle & listening to my boss talk about her 44 year old niece battling liver cancer which started in her colon, it really had me looking at the things that occupy my thoughts, time & often battles w/ my spouse.

Money? Really?

Money can't by health, happiness, time, or memories.

Just something to think about...count your true blessings!

HOME CURES FOR A COUGH

My middle son had pneumonia when he was four months old. This contributed to a weakened immune system his whole life. The minute he would get a little bit of a cold, it would go straight to his chest. After several years of constant trips to the doctor for bronchitis, at 4 years old I started treating the cold/cough at the first onset of symptoms. I would immediately boil water and make a "croup tent". I would let it cool down a little bit, then put it in a bowl, take a large bath towel and have them lean over the bowl with the towel over their head (holding it out like a tent), this holds in most of the steam. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT LET THEIR HANDS OR FACE GET TOO CLOSE TO THE BOWL! Have them take in deep breathes of steam. You will have to give them a break after a few minutes, then repeat the steps. They will immediately start to cough as they take in the deep breathes, just have them continue doing it, it will subside. The next step is to rub warm (not hot) Vicks on their chest and back. Make sure you rub it all the way down to where their lungs are on their back. Put a t-shirt on and put them to bed.

It can be a little tricky at first, but after doing it a few times, it becomes very simple and it seems to work better than a humidifier. Make sure that you do this procedure at the very FIRST signs of a cough.

This has saved me a lot of time and money. I still do this for all of my kids and stepkids, even now that they are teenagers, they don't like it, but they know it works! I hope this information is helpful and will save you trips to the doctor also.

The Hidden Danger of Endometriosis

I suffered for years from endometriosis and it almost cost me my life! Endometriosis is a silent, often undetectable problem for many women. I had been suffering from severe lower abdominal pain for a year. It became so bad that I started getting a fever and having trouble going to the bathroom. I went to the doctor who passed it off as some type of flu. He prescribed pain medication and told me it would pass. My stomach started to become severely bloated. When I went back to the doctor, he made me feel as though it was all in my head.

Finally, after eating a large meal one evening, I found myself hunched over on the bathroom floor, with a stomach the size of a five month pregnant women. The pain was excruciating and unbearable. My husband drove me to the emergency room. I was immediately rushed in and they stuck a large tube through my nose, down to my stomach to drain the contents. After endless tests, CT scan, MRI, Ultrasound and blood tests, they said they “thought” I had an intestinal blockage.

They took me up for surgery. After opening me up, they found that endometriosis had gotten outside of my uterus and wrapped itself around my intestines, thus creating a blockage. Two surgeons worked on me, one cutting away the endometriosis in hopes of saving that area of my intestines, the other performing a complete hysterectomy at the age of 34. The worst part was that if I had not made it to the emergency room that night, I would have died due to the toxins that were backed up in my body for a month.

I cannot stress the importance of listening to your body. If the doctors are unable to find anything, then ask them to look for endometriosis. I had little knowledge of the damage that endometriosis could cause to my health. I trusted my doctors to “see the signs”. I hope that my experience will help bring attention to the life threatening dangers of this hidden problem.