CRAZED MIND: June 2010

"Lovable Labels BlogHer' 10 Getaway Contest"

Today is not a normal day for me. Why? Well I was allowed to sleep in til 9 a.m. Yeah, can you believe it? 9 a.m.! This is an unheard of time of day. I can not remember the last time I slept so late. And I feel so rested. That extra 4 to 5 hours of sleep is the same as a normal complete nights sleep. So now I am more than twice rested.

What is the problem with this? Well beside being amazed at not hurting when I woke, no aches, no pains, no catches in the back, no eyes dry from lack of rest, no headache even. Add in that I do not have any major household chores to do either. There is not a stack of dishes awaiting me. Laundry is not hiding behind every closed door. The floors are relatively mess free.

Instead I have a whole day....wake to sleep....to spend with my Dear Hubby. And he has my undivided attention. Him and his laid up foot. Yes, he is still in the living room recovery room at Stay Put Hospital (aka our house). I have showered him with pillows, blankets and plenty of pets willing to sleep with him. He has the remote control to the TV, laptop computer at his couch side table, cell phone in fingers reach and an array of magazines and books to fill his time with. I have plied him with coffee, fresh cooked breakfast with homemade biscuits, triple layered sandwiches and oozy doozy desserts of pies, cookies and puddings.

So here we are. On a not so normal day. Waiting for my Dear Hubby to heal. And enjoying every minute of this time together. Holding hands and sharing hugs. Even stealing a kiss or two. Watching old movies and playing cards. Staying up deep into the night (well almost to midnight last night!) while we challenge each other to remember our favorite dates. Waiting for him to heal. Finding time for us to heal too. We are growing with each other again.

Who knew? Surgery brings a second honeymoon time. I can't wait til we do the other foot this next winter. I wonder what we share then?

Oh My Aching Head

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Well I told you I am stressed and have a headache. Thankfully I was able to get a lil relief. And I was also able to do it with out any medication. Instead all from homeopathic and natural relief.

There is a spray called Headache Buster and it is for migraine and cluster headaches. This worked great! One spray up each nostril and then all was clear very soon. My eyes do not hurt. My head is clear. And most of all I do not wish to scream anymore.

Here is what sinusbuster.com has to say about Headache Buster. "Combines the power of capsaicin with two additional headache-fighting ingredients - feverfew and peppermint oil. And it's 100% natural! Works immediately, to relieve even your worst headache symptoms. Headache Buster is all-natural, which means it does not contain chemicals, additives or preservatives of any kind. It is non habit forming, zinc-free and has no known drug interactions. Unlike many headache medicines, Headache Buster does not contain acetaminophen, an ingredient under fire by the FDA."

I was sent a sample of Headache Buster to try. This is my honest opinion of how it worked for me. And I have to say I am thankful to have something here to give me some relief. And not have to ingest drugs when my tummy is already upset from the stress.

Busy Busy Busy

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It has been a long two weeks. Today I would swear my brain is fried and doing it's best to crawl out my ear. Stress is getting to me. But alas, time to buck up and say screw it.

Dear Hubby had foot surgery and is in the first stages of recovery. He had a bunion removed and two toes straightened. So that boils down to cutting off bone and breaking and resetting two toes. That then means he is at home and off his feet for several weeks. I am thrilled to have him here but the extra work does get to me sometimes. You know I do not always handle stress the best. Mostly I smile and just tell myself to keep on going not letting on that some days are pushing me to my wits end.

I am way way way behind on my reviews too. So do not be shocked when you see them popping up all over. That is next. Top that off with another trip (4 hours one way) to south Texas this weekend to help clean for another family. So I leave tomorrow to do that and should be back home Monday. Yeah one exciting moment after another.

Thanks so much for all of the help I have from my bloggy friends. Y'all are my largest support system. I am thankful for your comments, steadfastness and great humor. See you more soon soon soon!

Movies to Share

I love when I can share with he kiddos in my life. It gives me such satisfaction to know that I can add to their enjoyment. Well this week I was able to do that for two of the kiddos in my life.

First for my dear Romy who is the 4 yr old daughter of my best friend. They borrowed Madeline's Great Adventures that I have from Shout Factory. I just received a message from Jennifer on how it went.

"Romy loves the DVD. We have watched it many times. Her favorite part is where the girls take care of Ms Cravail when she is sick. She also likes the bit where the puppy dog leads the children to find Madeline.

I like the DVD as well. The story is about different kinds of families and working together against adversity. I love the rhymes. It is one long poem. Romy has occasionally repeated lines in the same tone as the narrator."

See how nice it feels to know that Romy was able to become so interactive with the show. This is a recent release at the end of June. So you should be able to find a copy. Or just pop over to Shout Factory to pick up one.

I also shared Disney's StarStruck extended edition with Ashley across the street. She is such a fun tween that loves to sing with the show. You should see the great act she can put together.

StarStruck is a modern day Cinderella story (and you remember that is my favorite childhood story). And this version also has a CD of the sound track. Ashley now not only acts out the show at home but has become a tween rock star in the car too.

StarStruck promotes strong messages about honesty, humility, self-acceptance, and strength of character. This is a message that is perfect for Ashley as she is changing from lil girl over to young adult.

I am appreciative to Click Communications for providing a timeless story with the modern day beat for me to share.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes,

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

and eyes and ears and mouth and nose,

Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes

You remember this one as a child? A great lil exercise song right? Well it reminds me of where all the aches are. From the base of my head down to my toes! Why? Well because of my back mostly. I try very hard to have good posture, but miss the mark often. That causes me back pain along with a curvature too. For Dear Hubby it is worse.

He has found that his bad posture is also effecting his feet. Walking off kilter and now he has horrid bunions that he is to have surgery on this month. We are trying our best to correct our problems by educating ourselves. Currently we are working on the book Esther Gokhale's "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back". Knowing that if we correct our posture and exercise our back we will feel the effects all the way from our head, shoulders, knees and toes.

Dear Hubby is not thrilled about the pain he is in but has been doing many of the back exercises in the book. He says that it does make him feel much better. I also know that our education here has made us more aware of how our posture helps relieve the pain we are both having. As I was just trying to type this post while laying on my tummy and using my netbook. Silly me. Soon I was hurting all up and down. Of course I have moved to a proper sitting position and now can type without the shock down my spine. I know sounds silly but we all have to be reminded on what to do to take care of ourselves. I am glad to have received 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back for review. For it is much needed for my household.

Now off to learn more about bunion surgery for Dear Hubby. Oh his aching toes!

For the Love of Pete

Have you ever heard that term? Oh! For the love of Pete! Well here it is a term of great affection instead of aggravation. Why? Because we do love Pete.

Pete is a well known, well liked, affable guy who runs the local funeral home. He is large and jovial and has a booming voice that sounds like warm honey. Women flock to him and men trust him. Pete is Pete!

But Pete is in pain right now. His lower back has been giving him fits. Visits to the doctor and the chiropractor have not corrected the problem. They are working on it. Thankfully I was able to step in and offer a lil bit of relief. I let him use the VitalWrap System that was sent to me for a review. It was great (according to Pete).

Remember I said Pete is a big guy. Well he is a big guy, very much so. Tall with big arms and broad shoulders and a nice size tummy to complete the package. The first thing we liked about the VitalWrap was that it fit with room to spare. (Being a big gal I know how this can be a great plus). Then Pete told me that just the compression from the band was helpful in bringing some relief. But the best part was when he used it as a cold wrap. As Pete said, that is a 9.5 in a 10 point scale. Worked great, was very cold and relief was greatly noticed. The heat side did not register with Pete as well. He gave it a 6. Said it would be better if it could become hotter with the ability to turn it down from there. But at the same time Pete said he could withstand more heat and it may just be him. Thought it was closer to a low on a heating pad.

Now what is the VitaWrap? VitalWear designed the VitalWrap system-an affordable, portable, easy-to-use heating/cooling/compression system. The VitalWrap system effortlessly straps around any body part, delivering optimal heating and cooling treatment. It has the ability to wrap around your tummy/back, legs, feet, arms, shoulders...you name it. Also the compressor on it is quiet. (Pete loved that.)

I am liking what I see about this. Also a wonderful part is it can be used on anyone, adults or kiddos. I can see how this would be handy for those in my life that are quite active and (like Dear Hubby) accident prone. Pop over and check out more if your interested. And in the mean time....know that we still love Pete!

For the Love of Books

Are you an avid reader as most in my family are? I grew up with a reverence toward books. My grandmother was a teacher and a Liberian. She would send me boxes of books that had been taken out of circulation. It was like Christmas every time one came.

Through the years I would take my favorites and keep them aside. The other books I shared with friends and family and even resold. But those special books followed me to college and into my marriages and on my daughter's bookshelves. There she grew to love these stories and to trust my taste in books.

When we lost our home to fire it was these very books that she and I morned the loss of. Once I found a copy of my all time favorite copy of Cinderella on EBay. We bid on that book til we won it. Now it sits on my bookshelf beside my bed. A small victory over that fire that one of my friends had returned. Several other books we have never found again anywhere.

Well I have found another book to add to that shelf of special books. And since my College Girl trust my taste I was thinking maybe you would also like to share it with me. "Unbound" by Dean King has left me with wonder and awe at the strength of the human race. This is a story of 86,000 Red soldiers who walked over 4,000 miles in 370 days to escape the Chinese Red Army in 1934. Less than 10,000 would survive. Now only 30 of those who escaped were women and amazing that all 30 of those women survived.

Dean King followed this same trek and interviewed those along the way. He followed their story of friendships, perseverance and strength to share with us. I was swept away with this feat. Learning how these women went through hardships and struggles that I could never imagine enduring. Here I was reminded again that the strength in women comes from their hearts and souls not from the muscles of their bodies.

I am often asked by my friend Nessa how I keep going some days. (Not that what I do is in anyway compared to these women). But that no matter how tired I can be or knotted up my hands and knees are that day, I keep on with my daily plans. It is here in that strength women rely on to follow their hearts. Mine is for my family and home. These women also wanted to make a way out, a way to freedom, a way for their families to continue.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided.

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