My Second Botox Treatment For Chronic Migraine

Two weeks ago I received my second Botox treatment for my chronic migraine. Again, I received 31 injections in my head, neck, and shoulders. This time I had a major migraine when I walked in the office.

I already knew from my first round of injections that the treatment, ironically enough, will cause a migraine. I did not know just how bad it would be this time, already having one.  I could barely function that day.

Now, I am sure the big question is "How's it working?". As it has only been two weeks, this is difficult to say with certainty. That said, I have had a couple of days where I have needed less of my pain meds. More surprisingly, to me, is there have been several days where I did not need a pain pill upon waking!!! I have needed to take a pain pill within an hour (more often than not a half hour) upon waking, every single day for over ten years!!!!

I am hopeful, but afraid to have too much hope.  Those who live with chronic pan will totally understand where this fear of hope comes from.

For now, I am keeping my fingers crossed!

For more information on my Botox treatments, check out my first post.

I Need To Do Better With Meal Planning!

Do you plan your meals for the week? Or are you the super human that can actually pan for the month? I want to be you! I am tired of coming home from work and looking at my son and both of us wondering what the heck is for dinner!

Here is our scenario:

I cook Monday and Wednesday
Jayce cooks Tuesday and Thursday

No one ever thinks ahead as to what we will have that evening. No one thinks to take anything out of the freezer. So we just waste time trying to figure out what sounds good at 5PM every day. Not a good way to eat well rounded meals!

So, how do we start? Well, we are going to need to get together really soon and hash things out. Jayce starts a new semester tomorrow, so having a meal plan will certainly make both of our lives easier!

If anyone has ideas, I am grateful! Keep in mind, I work full time and he goes to school full time. He, nor I are fantastic cooks, but we do not like to eat a bunch of processed foods either.

Tie Dying The Evening Away

As I mentioned in my last post, my friend and I are renting space at a craft fair.  Our primary focus will be tie dying.  Last week, after work, we spent a few hours getting some of our offerings prepared.

I love how these all came out! We have here 6 bandanas, 3 pair of socks, 2 heavy weight dish towels (these were my favorite!) and 11 T-Shirts. It's a good start and will be followed up with a few more sessions. The best part? Our bottom line is soooooo low!

The materials for dying were all leftovers from the company picnic. My manager let us keep packets and packets of dye, about 8 large bottles of already mixed dye, elastics, and gloves. So those materials were all free.

The dish towels were just .50 each on clearance! The T- Shirts averaged 1.27 each, the socks were .50 per pair on clearance, and the bandanas were .99 each!

So far, out investment for everything is under $25 and another $30 for the space.  That $30 will be donated to help NF Childhood Cancer.

Planning For An Upcoming Craft Fair - First Time!

My friend and I are participating in a craft fair for the first time ever. I am super excited and a little worried. Excited to have the possibility to earn a few extra bucks doing what I love, creating stuff. And worried because, well it is my first time and I want to make sure my overhead does not exceed the sales.

We will be offering a variety of handcrafted items, with a focus of tie dyed items. They are an item that seems timeless and so much fun to make! My friend is amazing at this and I can certainly hold my own.  I will also be doing some smaller crocheted items, such as washcloths, coasters, and cup coozies.

We do not have a "business" so I do not feel that limiting my offerings by sticking to a "branding" attitude is needed here. I just want to spotlight the various things I love to create.

I have quite a few ideas and some time to work on them as the fair is a bit over a month away.  I was thinking of offering handmade gel air fresheners, sewn kitchen towels, and I may just leave it at that.

We have an 8'X8' booth with a table and I am bringing a clothing rack for the tie dye clothing.

Has anyone had experience with this? Any ideas?

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Our First Family Picture in 8 Years! Graduation Day

This is the first picture with all three of us in it since 2006! Talk about a treasure :) .

Hubby hates to have his picture taken, so we usually have to be in stealth mode to capture him. This generally means, the picture does not do him justice and one of us is the photographer in stealth mode!

I am so glad to have this picture!

How Do You Say Goodbye To A Childhood? Graduation Day!

Today my son graduates from High School and this Mom is having a much harder time with it than she thought she would. I mean, how do I say goodbye to the childhood and hello to adulthood for this boy?  He is my only, my baby. The baby that towers over me, sure. But, nonetheless MY baby.

Am I a helicopter Mom? Not so much anymore, but yes, I was for years. This is the child they told me I would never be able to conceive.  This is the child who has Asperger's Syndrome and went through hell to get a correct diagnosis at 8 years old.  This is the child that was bullied for years. The child that is introverted to a point that we genuinely worried. The child that spoke his first word at 5 months old, spoke complete sentences before he could walk!

How do you say goodbye to Dinosaurs, Pokemon, and bird fascinations? Goodbye to the word Mommy? Goodbye to being the one to fix things? Skinned knees? Bump on the head? Bad nightmare? It's OK, a hug a kiss and a Mom will protect you and make it go away always worked. Not so anymore!

This is my child, and I am so proud of every accomplishment he has ever made - especially when the odds were stacked against him. I am amazed every day with the young man he is!

He has learned so much in the past few years - self worth, pride, and courage. Oh the courage! Here is my child, bullied through High School, taking his Senior year at the Community College, showing up for his Graduation practice in a place where the very bullies exist- with his head held high and doing it of his own choosing!  He did not have to take part of the ceremony to get his diploma. They would have mailed it.

But he chose to attend, because he EARNED it, he DESERVES it, and those bullies have no impact on the happiness he has found.

Yes, I guess the child is mostly gone and the adult is doing a wonderful job in forming itself.

As I shed my tears tonight, they will have a dual meaning - mourning and celebration!

But, damn, I will always miss that child- even while I embrace the adult.