I have finally been hosted!  My new site, Foggy Mama, is all about raising children while living with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and surviving.

I try to keep humor in my life.  Otherwise, I’ll probably lose it.  Lose what?  My sanity! 🙂

Come on over and visit me there.  You would really make my day!

Hugs and laughter,
Erica

Poll: Do you spank your children?

You can click on any picture for a larger view.

Tonight, my Congo African Grey parrot, Cricket, decided that she didn’t want her usual supper of mixed veggies and pellets.  She wanted to have what we were having.

So, she went and took it for herself.  My daughter, Casey, was eating her chili and butter bread while chatting with her friends on Facebook.  Cricket started out with butter bread.  She climbed down her cage and onto the coffee table by the computer.  Where, incidentally, my daughter had placed her butter bread.  She nonchalantly helped herself to the bread and kept going back for more. 

 

However, she did share with my daughter, Casey. 

 

After all, she is a very polite bird.  She is so polite that she waves when she wants her food.  I’ve raised my birds and children to mind their manners.  She seems to be doing quite well.

  

Once the two had finished with their butter bread, they started in on their chili.  Cricket seemed to really like it.  Props to my hubby who made it.  I’m not sure who got more, Cricket or my daughter. lol  At one point, Cricket had a whole beakful of chili.

After they finished with their supper, Cricket thanked Casey and gave her a kiss.  It was a sight to see, that’s for sure.  Nothing is better than sharing a great meal with a good friend.

After supper, Cricket thought that she’d relax with a good book.  Alex, from the Alex Foundation, has been her crush for quite some time.  I don’t have the heart to tell her that Alex died many years ago.   So, I let her read her book and dream of Alex. She just seems so content.

 

 

 

Many people haven’t even heard of Fibromyalgia.  Some that have heard of it don’t believe that it truly exists.  I’m biased on that one!  I have suffered with Fibromyalgia for 26 years.

 Just because you can’t see my pain, doesn’t mean that it’s not real.

Yes, I am limited to what I can do most of the time.  It’s not because I’m lazy.  I would rather be out there running with my children, swimming a few laps in the pool,  or writing a long letter to my loved ones without my hands cramping up and my muscles going into a spasm on me.

If you’re not sure what fibromyalgia is, here’s some information for you.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points — places on your body where slight pressure causes pain.  It is classified as a syndrome not a disease because it has many overlapping symptoms.  These symptoms can affect all systems in the body.

Fibromyalgia affects about 2% of the population in the United States alone. It usually affects more women than men.  The name fibromyalgia comes from three root words,  “fibro” meaning fibrous tissue (such as tendons and ligaments), “myo” meaning muscles, and “algia” meaning pain.

The following is a list of fibromyalgia symptoms for informational purposes only.  This is not intended as a diagnosis for fibromyalgia.  If you feel that you may have fibromyalgia, please consult with your doctor.

Not all of these symptoms will apply to everyone at the same time.  Sometimes, fibromyalgia pain will rotate to different areas of the body at different times.

SYMPTOMS:

Widespread Pain

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndromes 

Morning Stiffness

Fatigue 

“Fibro fog”: Cognitive or Memory Impairment

Dizziness/Vertigo

Sleep Disorders

Urinary and Pelvic Problems

Chronic Headaches

Cold Symptoms

Temperomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome(TMJ) 

Chest Symptoms

Anxiety

Depression

Dysmenorrhea(excruciating pain during menstrual cycle)

Myofascial pain

Muscle twitches

IBS(irritable bowel syndrome) 

Factors that aggravate fibromyalgia:

Overexertion. Many fibromyalgia sufferers report an increase in their pain and fatigue after exercise or other forms of physical activity. Overexertion tends to increase the severity of muscle pain and fatigue.

Stress. Stress plays a big role in aggravating fibromyalgia symptoms. If a fibromyalgia sufferer experiences emotional stress or anxiety, it can bring on muscle pain, headaches, or even cause anxiety attacks. Other  stressors, such as loud noises or bright lights, can trigger these fibromyalgia symptoms.

Weather. Rain or snow, or having to dealing with rapid changes in weather can trigger painful symptoms and worsen headaches, muscle aches, and depression for fibromyalgia sufferers.

For more information, visit MayoClinic.com

Louis Anthony Jewelers Giveaway |Welcome to the Motherhood – Reviews, Giveaways, Advice, Coupons, Review, Coupon Codes

Question:  What has been your best learning experience?

Someone once asked me this question.  I had to think on that one for a while.  Although life in general is one continuous learning experience, I wanted to give a more specific answer.

My answer:  Mistakes.

In the past 30+ years, I’ve learned best from my mistakes and those of other people.  As much as I don’t like making mistakes, they have served as the best teacher; especially when it comes to relationships.

I’m on my third marriage.  So, to be honest, there have been many mistakes.  Speaking of being honest, I’ve learned from my mistakes that honesty really is the best policy.  When presented with a new relationship, I tried to become a person that I thought they wanted.  Someone more interesting or fun to be with.  Hoping, against all hope, to be liked.  Thinking that I was not good enough just being me,  I lost my true self.

Let’s face it, when we first meet someone who we’re attracted to, we do everything in our power to seem appealing to that person.  We spend time doing things with this person that we wouldn’t normally do.  We feign interest in topics that we don’t necessarily possess a passion for.  Or, in my case, we don’t divulge a part of ourselves for fear that this person might find it stupid or even repulsive.  By doing this, we give up the most important part of ourselves just to make that person like us.  Why do we do that?!

Later, when we have established a relationship with this person, we begin to regret doing those things.  Once we begin to be honest about our likes and dislikes, this person is shocked that we feel this way.  Eventually, we become resentful for having to do these things that we dislike or even hate.

When I started dating my third husband, I failed to divulge that I’m an avid baseball fan.  I chose to hide this information from past experiences.  In the past, when I divulged this fact, most men didn’t like a woman who knew as much, if not more, as they do about baseball.  Or, if they didn’t like baseball, they felt that they took a back seat when baseball season came around.  I admit that I am kind of obsessed when it comes to baseball.  I don’t miss a game.  When making plans, I schedule things around my baseball schedule.  My mistake, in most cases, was waiting too long to let them know the real me.  I’ve learned to be honest and upfront right from the start.

It finally hit me when I started dating my third husband.  I wasn’t upfront with him about my love for the game.  So, when I finally told him, he was surprised.

“You never watched baseball before,” he said.

“Yeah, I know.  That’s because most guys don’t like the fact that I’m so into baseball,” I replied.

“I think it’s great,” he said shrugging his shoulders.

From that day on, we have shared many a baseball game together.  And I have taught him many things about baseball that he never knew before.  Now, we have a bond that can’t be broken.  God forbid anyone try to interrupt our baseball time together.  There’ll be H*ll to pay if they try!

This is only one example of how mistakes have helped me to learn.  There are so many other ways that mistakes can become a learning experience.  I’m not saying, “go out and make mistakes so you can learn from them.”  I’m just saying that if you make mistakes, there is a learning experience there.  You can take that experience and made things better.  You don’t have to keep making the same mistakes over again.  Some can be a life changing experience.

What has been your best learning experience?  Life?  Kids?  Your job?  Parents?  It may be something totally different from mine.  I would love to hear about your learning experiences.

Raising children today means setting boundaries. With the ever-changing world, not everyone has the same morals. Some parents aren’t concerned with their childs’ welfare. As long as their child “stays out of their hair”, they couldn’t care less what their child is doing or where he or she is going. Other parents, on the other hand, are concerned with what their child is doing and will read this and take this information to heart. Those parents who don’t use discipline or aren’t worried about their children most likely will not read this.

I have found that setting boundaries can help ease some of the problems that most parents face. I’m a mom of four children; two boys ages 11 & 12 and two girls ages 17 & 19. No child is perfect. In the same respect, no parent is perfect. The parent/child relationship is always changing and growing. Each child is different. Therefore, it is very important to set boundaries for each child according to his/her age and maturity. For example, my 17 year-old daughter has a 10:00 curfew on school nights. She actually set this boundary for herself. She knows that she must get up early to prepare for school. In setting this boundary for herself, she shows her maturity level. My boys, on the other hand, would stay up until the wee hours of the morning. Ergo, their bedtime boundaries must be set for them.

Here are some simple rules to go by when setting boundaries for your children.

1. Listen and compromise: Listen to your children. Find out what they want. Your child may want to do their homework at a later time in the day because they are so overwhelmed right after school that they just need a break. I did this with my boys. I used to make them do their homework right after school. I used to fight tooth and nail with them on this issue. One day, I sat down and actually listened to what they wanted. To my surprise, they made sense! After listening to them, we compromised. Now, when they come home from school, they have play time or TV time for two hours. Every day at 4:30 they know to sit down and do their homework. No fights, no tantrums (from them or myself), and no excuses! NO PROBLEM! It’s wonderful.

2. Set specific rules: There are some rules that you can’t or won’t compromise with them. Therefore, you need to be specific. If you tell your daughter to be home by 10:00, then she should be home by 10:00 right? Okay, what if she’s “home” but hanging outside with friends until 11:00? You weren’t specific. Make sure that you tell her, “be home and in the house by 10:00 tonight. What happens, God forbid, if you find drugs in your teenagers’ room? What do you tell him/her? “I don’t ever want to see drugs in this house again.” That is just telling your child to go ahead and do drugs just don’t bring into the house. This subject definitely needs more attention from professionals. This was only used as an example of being specific.

3. Trust them: From an early age, your children need to learn that they can trust you. In the same manner, you need to learn to trust your child(ren). Allow them room to make mistakes and then learn from them. Let them show you that they can be home at a certain hour. If they earn that trust from you, reward them. I can’t stress how important it is to reward your children for good behavior! Most children hear the negative side. Don’t say, “You made it home on time but…” Make sure that you thank them for being home on time. If there is another issue at hand, wait until later to deal with the issue. Give them time to bask in the glory of doing something right and gaining your trust.

4. Be consistent: If you tell your child(ren) that they are grounded, stick to it! Don’t let them cajole you into releasing them from being grounded early.

• No, means no!
• Don’t give in!
• Stick with it!
• Let them learn!

If you are always letting them talk you into going somewhere when they’re grounded or you’ve already said no, then you lose! Chalk one up for your child and zero for you. It can be a long, hard mountain to climb when you stick with your first answer. Your child will try to make you feel guilty or give you the silent treatment as punishment for sticking it out. Please, please, please DO NOT give in. This is the only way that your child will understand that your word is golden.

The same goes for your positive words and deeds. If you promise to take your child to the movies, then do it! If something so totally unavoidable comes up, I’m sure that they’ll understand. Be honest with them and explain the problem. Then work out a compromise to follow through with your promise. If you’re inconsistent all the time, your child will know this. He/she will use this against you to get what they want.

http://fingerprintglasses.wordpress.com/wordless-wednesdayphoto-of-the-week/

If there’s one characteristic that defines a good internet marketer, it’s adaptability. The online marketing world moves so fast — faster than any other industry around — and those that make their fortunes online always move faster than anyone else. From the arbitrage heydays to the modern era of CPA affiliate products, top internet marketers are always looking a step ahead, and are always looking for the ultimate advantage.

There’s one aspect of internet marketing that attracts its fair share of controversy and discussion. It’s link cloaking, of course, and the discussion is around whether it’s really necessary for affiliates. For those who don’t know, link cloaking is simply a visual disguising of affiliate links, leading the URL to appear as an in-site page, when in reality it’s an outbound link. Why is this so important to affiliates? Well, let’s have a look.

To begin with, link cloaking is important for affiliates that make most of their sales through blogs and personal recommendations. A large portion of affiliates, particularly those who operate large scale online companies, keep a personal or professional blog. While it’s rarely their major income source, most affiliates occasionally use promotional links on their blog. The problem is that many readers are instantly skeptical of what they view as paid recommendations. Whenever they mouse over a link’s anchor text and see an affiliate code, they back away and don’t make a sale.

This is where link cloaking can help with a direct sale. Rather than having readers shy away from a great product, link cloaking can help marketers direct reader to the product. When they see an inbound link with a domain that they trust, they’re sold. All that’s standing between them and the sale is the quality of the product itself.

Secondly, link cloaking is essential for certain marketing channels. While Google Adwords has often been a favorite for affiliates, they’ve recently changed their policies and appear to be taking a harder stance on affiliate products, particularly those with unclear conditions and slightly misleading terms. While this isn’t a problem for most affiliates — the majority of whom promote products that fall well inside the terms and conditions — some affiliates are having trouble getting their PPC ads to show, after being struck with a poor quality score.

This is where link cloaking can again save the day. Rather than having a direct link leading to an affiliate page, direct-to-offer PPC advertisers can cloak their links and have them redirect through their own server. This isn’t just perfect for avoiding the infamous Google slap, but also for adding tracking data and inter-offer landing pages.

There’s a third, top secret, advantage to using link cloaking. While most affiliate websites offer long-term cookies, few will cover multiple products. With the right strategy, you could incorporate multiple affiliate links into a single cloaking redirect, leaving you with the potential to earn twice as many commissions per clicker. Alongside the other great benefits of link cloaking, this really sweetens the deal, and makes link cloaking an absolutely essential practice for serious affiliates, full-time internet marketers, and dedicated online entrepreneurs.

To learn more about link cloaking, check out the free Cloak & Dagger Affiliate Secrets report. Feel free to distribute this article in any form as long as you include this resource box. You can also include your affiliate link if you sign up at Phantom Link Cloaker.

Becoming a top affiliate marketer is hard, especially when you’ve got endless competition snooping in on your methods. The affiliate marketing industry is tough, and without guarding your secrets it’s easy to see them spill out for everyone to apply, mastermind, and earn from. There’s nothing more disappointing than seeing your hard work pay out for someone else, which is why it’s absolutely essential to clock all of your affiliate links.

While cloaking sounds like an ultra-difficult procedure, it’s really pretty simple. By using some intuitive link-cloaking software, you can have all your affiliate links pointing right at their targets, without your buyers even knowing. If you’re still not sold on link cloaking, these five reasons should have you begging for a simple cloaking solution.

1. Cautious buyers can smell an affiliate link from miles away.
It’s true. We’ve read so many blogs, seen so many recommendation pages, and viewed so many ‘review’ websites that we’ve become cautious of affiliate links. It’s just the nature of recommendations; while some people trust personal recommendations, others back away from a sale when it looks like a paid commission. With link cloaking, every one of your affiliate links is disguised, so buyers won’t be worrying about buying from a commission-generating source.

2. Affiliate managers love to steal commission data.
Data theft is a sad truth of the affiliate world. As helpful as most affiliate managers are, there are always bad apples who scrub sales, steal data, and milk your campaigns for their own commissions. Affiliate networks need to know that you’re not sending fraudulent traffic, but they don’t need to know exactly where your traffic is coming from. Link cloaking can help you avoid the potential theft of your traffic sources, and minimize the chances of your commissions going missing.

3. Without cloaking, hackers can steal affiliate information.
Did you know that there are pop-ups out there designed to do nothing other than detect affiliate links and substitute one account number for another? That way, whenever a sale is made, you’re not getting credit. Instead, the commission credit goes to a hacker, who carefully planted adware on a user’s computer. Since cloaking takes your affiliate link out of the URL bar, hackers can’t access the data, and automated scripts like this are powerless when it comes to stealing your commissions.

4. Cloaking is essential for good affiliate monitoring.
You are tracking your data, aren’t you? If you’re using self-hosted tracking software such as 202, you need to be cloaking your links too. Whether you’re running traffic through a landing page or directly to the affiliate page, setting up tracking alongside your cloaking makes it easier to monitor user behavior, track conversion rates and EPC data, and split test different types of linking and landing pages.

5. Cloaking can help with SEO.
We’ve all experienced Google’s recent crackdown on affiliate products. When your pages are indexed, any affiliate links could be hurting your ranking. It’s a little unfair, that’s for sure, but it’s the rules that we’ve got to play by. By cloaking your links, search engines are powerless to detect any affiliate products, and you could end up getting a better ranking, or for PPC users, a better quality score.

To learn more about link cloaking, check out the free Cloak & Dagger Affiliate Secrets report. Feel free to distribute this article in any form as long as you include this resource box. You can also include your affiliate link if you sign up at Phantom Link Cloaker.

Did you just get a new parrot or are thinking about getting one?
There are some very important things that you should know about parrots. To raise a healthy, happy, well-mannered parrot check out
Click Here! To check out Raising Polly

When you buy Raising Polly, this is what you’ll get:

The ebook, “RAISING POLLY: How-to Raise a Healthy, Happy, Well Adjusted Bird.”

Plus you get 2 Free Bonus Gifts
FREE AUDIO copy of “RAISING POLLY.”

FREE BONUS BOOK, “TRAINING YOUR PARROT.”

Maybe you already have a parrot. Then you know how intelligent they can be. If you’re looking to train your parrot to do some tricks, the bonus ebook, “TRAINING YOUR PARROT:12 Simple Tricks Any Parrot Can Learn!” is for you.

I taught my African Grey and Jenday Conure to wave in one day! My African Grey is only 1 1/2 but, my Jenday Conure is 11 years old. It doesn’t matter what age your parrot is, they can still learn.

Click Here! To check out Raising Polly

You won’t be disappointed!

There are fourteen doors in my house. There’s the front door, back door, four bedroom doors, two bathroom doors, and six closet doors. With that many doors in the house, I don’t understand how my boys always zone in on which door that I’m behind. Whenever they see a closed door, they feel that it’s necessary to knock on it. I am partly to blame for this. I have always tried to teach my children proper manners. That includes knocking on a door and waiting for a response before trying to open the door. However, if I close a door that usually means that I need my privacy. It doesn’t seem to matter which door it is, there always comes a knock on the door before I’ve decided to open it myself.
If I’m in the bathroom, with the door closed, then I definitely want my privacy. It’s like these kids are drawn by some magnetic field to a closed door but repelled by an open door. Every time that I go into the bathroom to do my business, my business and nobody else’s business, there’s a knock at the door. There must be some mathematical equation for this. Closed door + mom= knock, knock, knock. For the last twelve years, I have not been able to go to the bathroom in peace.
Today, I entered the bathroom hoping, just once in my life, for two minutes of privacy. Lo and behold, what do my ears hear? Knock, knock, knock.
“What,” I yell from my throne.
“Mom, are you going to the bathroom,” asked Austin.
“No, I’m visiting with the Pope,” is my reply. “Of course I’m going to the bathroom. Why what do you want?”
“Never mind.”
“You mean to tell me that you couldn’t wait two minutes to tell me never mind,” I grumbled opening the door.
It’s always something that could have waited just two tiny minutes until I opened the darn door. The question or comment never comes in the form of a dire emergency. God forbid they have to wait two minutes, let alone two seconds, to aggravate me.
Earlier today, I went outside to smoke a cigarette and to get a few minutes of peace and quiet. Ha, that didn’t work. As I took the first drag of my cigarette and pondered what my next task of the day would be, my oldest son, Christian, knocked on the inside of the back door and peered out the window at me. With phone in hand, he opened the door letting the freezing cold winter air into the house and proceeded to ask me what his fathers’ phone number was.
“I don’t know! What do I look like, a phone book?” I asked with a scowl on my face.
I set my cigarette down on the railing and went in to find his dads’ phone number. He had called his dad several times within the last two days. It shouldn’t be that hard to find the number already in the phone. I then proceeded to show him how to gently put his finger on the redial button and keep pressing it until the area code for New Jersey came up. After all, that’s about the only number from New Jersey that is dialed on our phone. He kept pushing the redial until he saw his dads’ number. With a smile and a press of the talk button, he had learned something new. He was totally dumbfounded by his new found knowledge.
I left him to his conversation and went back outside to finish my cigarette. When I came back in, I had to dodge the dust balls floating across the floor as my husband chased them with a broom. Oh my God, he’s sweeping! Yes world, I said sweeping and not sleeping. Now that’s a first. It’s really nice of him to sweep even though I’ll have to go behind him and redo it after he goes to work. After all, he is a man. I went to my room and shut the door. Maybe this time I can get some quiet time. Usually, when I have my bedroom door shut that means I’m either sleeping or I just want to be left alone. As soon as I sat down on my bed, there came a knock on the door.
“What,” I yelled.
“Can I come in,” asked Christian.
“Yes.”
I waited for him to open the door but he didn’t. I guess it wasn’t that important. I shrugged my shoulders and lay down on my bed. Knock, knock, knock.
“What now?”
“Can I come in?”
“Yes! I told you two minutes ago that you could come in,” I screamed.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you,” he said opening the door.
“What do you want?”
“I just wanted to let you know that dad didn’t answer the phone,” he informed me.
“And you’re telling me this why,” I asked shaking my head.
“Cuz I wanted to let you know that I’m waiting for dad to call me back,” he replied sweetly.
Will there ever be a time, I wonder, when I can relax behind a closed door? Perhaps I need to start hiding out in the closets. I have yet to see the boys knocking on a closet door.

I’m singing the winter blues… and it came to me in the form of a Katy Perry song!

I’m hot and then cold
I’m yes and then no
I’m in and then out
I’m up and then down

My 11 year old son has a cold.  And, loving his mama so much, he decided to share it with me.  My immune system is very low.  Ergo, I catch anything that anyone has to throw at me.  I must stand there in the forefront with my baseball glove in hand waiting for the next foul ball. So far, during this awful flu & cold season, my record is 2-2.  Damn I’m good.

The flu and cold season usually starts in October and doesn’t end until sometime in April.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for the common cold or the flu.  But, there are some things that you can do to help boost your immune system before you get sick and even when you do get sick.

Foods that can boost your immune system before you get sick

• Garlic has the ability to increase your resistance to infection and stress.  During the holiday season most people feel some sort of stress.  Let’s face it, when you’re stressed, you definitely feel worse.  Right?  Of course I’m right.  Try adding more garlic to your diet during this cold and flu season and see how much better you feel.
• Cheese and other dairy products have conjugated linoleic acid, a natural component of dairy fat that have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties.  
• Yogurt and other cultured milk products contain probiotics which help boost your immune system. Probiotics are live microorganisms that help fight the bad organisms.
• Vitamin C, found in citrus fruits and fruit juices, can help boost your immune system.  You can also find Vitamin C supplements over the counter.  Make sure you check with your Dr. before taking any supplements.
• Zinc, found in the meat group and supplements, plays a major role in boosting the immune system.

Foods that help you to heal when you’re sick

• Ginger root used in small portions can help the common cold.  It induces sweating and decreases nausea and vomiting.  You can add fresh ground ginger root to your tea with a little bit of honey.
• Honey has powerful antimicrobial properties.  A teaspoonful topped with lemon juice every couple of hours does wonders for a sore throat.
• Chicken soup helps with nasal congestion, warms you up inside, and tastes great!
• Eating well balanced meals is important at all times.  But, more-so when you’re sick.

Other things to do to help boost your immune system

• Eat a well-balanced diet
• Take your daily vitamins
• Wash hands regularly, and then wash again.
• Exercise regularly
• Decrease stress as much as possible.  I know, easier said than done.
• Drink lots of fluids, ie. water, juice
• Cut back on unhealthy habits such as alcohol intake and smoking.

These are just suggestions and are not meant to override a doctors advice.  You know your own body.  Therefore, if your cold or flu symptoms persist or worsen, CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house…Under my tree was a gold and diamond mouse.”

“This has got to be a joke,” I thought.  I’ve recently been surfing the web for Christmas gifts.  Some of the things that I found were so ridiculous I just had to say, “Are you kidding me?”
I found this really cute site called MOUSE ENVY that sells unusual styles of a computer mouse.  Some of them are so adorable and most of them are only $15.99 – $19.99!  I decided to look through the whole site to ensure that I found just the right one.  When I stumbled across the cow mouse, I mooed with joy!  This one is absolutely perfect!

However, I still want to look at the rest so that I didn’t miss something better.  Lo and behold, the prices on them went up a little bit.  No big deal until…

I clicked on the limited edition tab , sipped my coffee, scrolled down, and almost choked on my coffee.  There, to my surprise, was the Diamond Flower mouse.  It’s available in 18-carat white or yellow gold and set with 59 diamonds in the shape of a flower.  The itty-bitty mouse costs … you’d better sit down for this one and no drinking while reading.  It could be hazardous to your health.

Drum roll please…

SCROLL DOWN

  $ 23,250.00 ! Yuppers, you read it correctly.  Twenty-three THOUSAND two hundred fifty DOLLARS!  Now that’s flower power!

On Friday, December 11, 2009 I started my very first novel.  For the past twenty years I have dreamed of nothing else but writing a novel.  After five kids and two failed marriages, I have finally seen the light.  I know now in order to be a writer I have to write.  Ya, I know…duh!  Whether I’m writing a letter, blogging, jotting down ideas, or actually writing part of my novel I’m still writing.
I made a pledge to myself and my family that I will sit down and write every day.  I know that I must make time to write.  So, I have set a goal for writing my novel.  My goal is to write at least 1,000 words a day Monday through Friday until my novel is finished.  I will take weekends off from my novel.  But, if I feel the urge to write on the weekends I’ll write.
Since beginning on friday, I have three chapters finished. The total word count so far is…

3,650 words in three days!

So, as you can see, I’m well over my word count goal.  I’m very happy about that.  I just hope and pray that I can continue in this manner.  Because, I know that there will be days when I won’t be able to write at all.  Some days, with my Fibromyalgia, I can’t even lift my arm let alone get out of bed.

Please wish me luck:

Labor
Under
Correct
Knowledge

Why do the BIG holidays have to occur so close together?  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my softail has become a wideglide.  Consider in the factor that I have Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, and don’t exercise that much and you have a recipe for a fat chick. 

Just the thought of exercising is exhausting.  When I climb out of bed, I’m already in pain, stiff all over, and still exhausted after 9 hours of sleep.  How can I exercise when I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck?

This morning I looked in the mirror and saw some other woman staring back at me.  She looked like me but, a larger version of me.  Where had the time gone?  Where did all those pounds come from?  I sat down and cried.  Now, mind you, I’m not a shallow person.  I’m not overly concerned about my looks.  But, I have put on 15 pounds in the last 3 months.  Between my chronic pain, fatigue, lack of exercise and poor weather conditions my body has run amok.  And “amok” definitely does not imply that I “am ok.”

With that being said, I decided to do some research on the subject of exercising with Fibromyalgia.   If you have Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, or any other Chronic Pain disorder then check out these sites and get moving.

The first two on the list are my favorites.

 http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer?pagename=topics_exercise

 http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/treatingfmscfs/a/exercise.htm

Fibromyalgia Slideshow: Fibro-friendly Exercises

http://www.fibromyalgiaexercise.net/

http://www.fibromyalgiaexercise.net/Fibromyalgia_Exercise-_Part_2.html

http://www.fibromyalgiaexercise.net/Yoga.html

Comments are always welcome.  I’d like to know if anyone else has similar problems.  Maybe you have a better way of dealing with your disorder.  If you do, please feel free to share with us how you cope with your chronic condition. I hope this helps you.  I’m headed out right now for a short walk.  I’ll meet you back here. 

The past week has been really bad for me.  I’ve been in a lot of pain and the fatigue has taken control of my life. I have lived with these disorders for 26 years.  You’d think that I’d be accustomed to it by now.  Well…think again.  I guess, in a way, I’m used to it but, I don’t like it and I’ll never accept it.
I don’t like not being in control.  I’m a very independent, strong-willed person.  I fight these disorders every step of the way.  Prayer is one of my best defenses.  I know that God can’t take away all of my pain. When I pray for God’s help, I don’t ask him to take my disorders from me.  I ask him to help me understand and deal with them.  I do find a lot of comfort from prayer.  It’s one way to help keep a positive frame of mind.  When I pray or read the Bible I feel much better mentally which, in turn, does a world of good for my physical well-being.
There are other steps that I take to help me deal with the pain.  I take pain medications  as needed and muscle relaxers.  Hot baths help for a little while.  Heat is always a good thing when I’m in pain. I can’t remember one day when I didn’t have pain.  I try to avoid using my pain medication at all cost. Sometimes, when the pain is too bad, I relent and take my Tramadol.  For me, Tramadol doesn’t take the pain away; it merely lessens it to a dull roar.  However, I’m afraid to move on to something stronger.  I  really don’t want to become addicted to anything.
The fatigue, on the other hand, is more extreme lately now that the sun has decided to take a vacation.  When the cold, wet weather rears it’s ugly head my pain and fatigue become almost unmanageable.  I haven’t been able to have any semblance of a normal sleep pattern for quite some time now.  Of course, I couldn’t tell you what an average, normal sleep schedule entails. I’ve tried taking sleeping pills to regulate my sleep but, to no avail.  The first time that I took them I had an episode of amnesia.  That was not fun at all.  Now, I just sleep when I’m tired.  I would just like to have a normal sleep pattern like everyone else. 
My normal sleep schedule is so sporadic that I can’t remember what day it is or what time of day it is.  For example:
Yesterday I fell asleep at 1:30 in the afternoon and slept until 6:00 that evening.  I spent time making sure that my children were fed, cleaned, and sent to bed.  I was so exhausted that I thought I’d go to bed and sleep some more.  So, by midnight, I retired to my bed and slipped into a dreamless slumber.  This morning I was awake by 5:00.  School was canceled today so the kids romped around the house making a complete mess. After dealing with the little tornadoes that swept through my house, I was so exhausted that I had to lie down again.  So, at 1:00 pm I lay down AGAIN.  My better half took care of the kids and supper whilst I had no clue of what was going on around me.  By 8:30, I woke up to the phone ringing.  Every time I wake up from a nap,  I’m totally exhausted no matter how much sleep that I’ve had. 
I have to force myself out of bed all the time.  If I don’t  then I’ll continue to sleep for 12 hours at a time.  When you have children, that option is not possible.  I try to do most of my sleeping during the day when the kids are in school and then at night when they are in bed.  Sometimes that doesn’t work.  My fatigue is in control of when and how long I sleep. 
I would do almost anything be have a normal life.  I want to be able to go outside and run with my children, go for long walks, work a normal job, and so many other things that I can’t do right now.  Unfortunately, there is no cure for Fibromyalgia.  So, until that day comes, this is where you’ll find me venting about my disorders.

Everyone has a muse.  “What is a muse?” you ask.
A muse is someone or something that influences you to be creative.  Your muse inspires you to produce a creative work of art.  Whether you’re a writer, poet, musician, painter, or other artist, you have a muse.
What I want to know is :  What does your muse look like?  Do you have a special person that just sparks your creativity?  Or is it an object that you carry with you or interact with for your spark?  Or, do you have a fictional or fantasy muse?
I’m sure you’re wondering what my muse is.  If you’re not, then that’s okay.  But, if you are, then I’ll tell you.
I met my muse today.  She is fantasy based.  It’s actually a little green orb inside my head.  When I get an idea, my muse glows giving my eyes an even greener hue than they already have.  My muse then travels from inside my head, out my ear, and into my hands.  The more my muse grows and glows, the brighter and bigger my idea becomes. 
Okay, I know, you’re thinking that I’m a bit on the strange side.  Well, you’re not thinking anything that I don’t already know.  This is just my fun, creative way to begin a new project.  I sit and think about my little green muse lighting up and floating out of my ear, landing in my hands, and then….
Voila, a new idea is born.  This is the muse that visited me today and gave me a new idea for my novel.  I hope that she stays with me for a very long time!  Won’t you please share your muse with me?

Life with kids isn’t always a  picnic in the park.  But, I still love them unconditionally.

For the past week I’ve been crocheting Christmas bonnet wall ornaments.  I give them out for Christmas presents to family and friends because money is very tight right now.  It take me six hours to crochet each bonnet, not including the starching, drying, and decorating time.  It takes less than a minute to starch them but, the drying time exceeds 8 hours .  Decorating them takes about 15 minutes.  So, with that being said, it takes over fourteen hours for the finished project.

I have produced 10 bonnets of all different colors.  I was so proud of myself for getting them done in plenty of time for Christmas.  Dealing with the pain that Fibromyalgia entails, it was a feat in itself.  However, I endured the pain and fatigue just to ensure that there were enough gifts for everyone on my list.
This afternoon, after finishing my last bonnet and placing it on the starching board to dry, I retired to my bed for a nice long nap.  While images of smiling faces receiving my gifts danced through my head, I was quite unaware of what was going on in the living room.  To my despair, my two sons were wrestling and knocked over a cup of coffee that I had abandoned earlier.  When I opened my bedroom door, I almost cried.  Coffee was splashed all over my Christmas bonnets, table, chairs, floor, and the boys. 
Once I had the mess cleaned up, I took inventory of what was salvageable.  I had only saved four ornaments.  Well… it’s back to the starching board.  Thank God I still have time.  Needless to say, the boys spent the rest of the night in their rooms.  But, from the heart of a mother, I still went upstairs and tucked them in, doled out hugs and kiss, and wished them a good night.  After all, a mothers love is unconditional.

I have searched far and wide to find nice gift ideas for $10 and under.   I don’t get credit for any of these links.  I just wanted to provide some helpful ideas for you.  I know money is tight for everyone.

I have chosen one picture per page.  Click on the picture to visit the site.  There are several different gift choices per page.  So, don’t go by the picture alone.  Check it out.  Maybe you’ll find something for that special person or the hard to shop for person.  Enjoy, and Happy Holidays.

    

Gift sets, candles, coffee and tea gifts, flags, delicious gourmet food, picture frames, sports gifts, desk items, and so much more! All for under $10!

 

Stuff for smart masses.  A little bit of everything.

 

There are currently  1,473 items for $10 or under.

 

 

Lee Valley has some neat gifts.

 

Shower mousse and body mist gift ideas for $10 and under .

 

 

 

   Even FAO Schwarz has gifts for $10 and under! 

 

 

 

 

e-CorporateGifts.com

 

 

Current now offers a section of gifts all priced under $10. With such a wide assortment of items to choose from we’re sure to have something for any occasion.

 

 

 

  Colonial Candle has some beautiful gifts for $10 and under.

 

 

 

   

   Pier 1 Imports has some great gift ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

   Some really nice things at Fashion Bug.

 

 

 

 

   Irawoods.com has some cute stuff.  This ionic hair dryer for only $9.91.  I swear by ionic hair dryers.

 

 

 

 

 

  For those of you who are religious…

  paracletepress.com has some really

  nice things there.

 

 

 

 

 

   Serrv.org has some  

   very beautiful gifts!