Welcome To My New Life Fighting A Disease I've Never Heard Of Before....... Ankylosing Spondylitis

  Guess how I spent my day??   I crafted a horror doll. If you don't know what a horror doll is, you're not the only one. I didn't either until my husband shared a YouTube video of a lady making a horror doll. With Halloween approaching it seemed like a fun project. Plus it gave me a purpose.   Between waiting for her layers of paint to dry, an idea popped into my head. I admit I am a Pinterest junkie. On Pinterest I have saw so many cute signs made out of old wood. Since I already had paint and brushes out, I decided to make a fall sign. Luckily my husband, who is a pallet hoarder haha, had disassembled several pallets this past weekend. I scoured through his stack of pallet boards, until I found an old, weathered looking board that was split a bit on one end. I figured the split would give it character. Plus the board probably was unusable for my husband's next project.   With board in hand, I headed back inside. I considered doing a horizontal sign but in th...

  This morning was one of those mornings, the kind where you would like to stay in bed all day, but can't.   Normally, I try to not commit to too many engagements on the same weekend, let alone the same day. Ankylosing Spondylitis has taught me very quickly who controls my social agenda. As many of you with autoimmune diseases wholeheartedly know, our minds and hearts may be set on doing something but our bodies may say, "no way, not today".   I had confirmed months ago, I would attend my cousin's wedding at 4 p.m. today. I was expecting I would have all day to get this ole body moving and ready to attend. Of course, it doesn't always go as planned.   For several years, I have attended an annual Women's Conference in the fall. I enjoy these conferences very much and value the time with my friends and community. I found out a few weeks ago that the conference was today from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. That's how you end up filling too many activities into one...

  I am really not looking forward to today.....   Anyone suffering from AS knows when we overdo ourselves, we end up hurting more and dealing with extreme fatigue. I have a feeling it's going to be one of those days.   My husband and I are leaving in the morning for a much needed vacation. Today I have to pack, shop for groceries for my sons, clean the house, and take my mom to urgent care for a possible UTI. After all these years you would think I would know better than to procrastinate until the last day. Oh well, I'll tackle one thing at a time.   If I don't make it to the grocery store it'll be okay, the boys will survive. My oldest son already suggested I could leave money and they'd eat out each night! I don't see that happening haha.   It is so nice that our kids are old enough to take care of themselves, the house, and the dog. Plus they will keep an eye on my mom also. I absolutely loved having little kids, one of my greatest joys, but having th...

  As I face the day ahead I like to start out with a smile. Things seem to go better when I smile.   Therefore, I thought I'd share a little laugh with you. My life can be a bit strange and I tend to have strange experiences. An example would be my former job where I was a worm counter. Yes, you heard right I counted nightcrawlers, mealworms, etc all day for 3 years. I'll explain that further in a later post. Somehow strangeness just finds me....lol.   Today I want to tell you about my odd Walmart experience. Last winter I was at Walmart with my mom. We always have a weekly Walmart trip together. On this certain day, my mom went on over to get groceries while I went to the pharmacy. As an ankylosing spondylitis patient I spend a good deal of time at my Walmart pharmacy. That day I chat with the pharmacy employees, pick up my meds, and head over toward groceries.   I am taking my time looking at this and that. I cut down a less crowded aisle near ladies pajamas....

  Yesterday my mom called to chat. She had been to visit my sister. Mom mentioned my sister was cleaning her bathroom walls. Which got me to thinking, I haven't washed my bathroom walls in such a long time I don't even remember it.   My clean freak of a mom would croak if she knew that. However, when I was employed I just didn't have the energy to do much housework. Basically I came home, fixed my kids a quick bite to eat, took a shower, and went straight to bed. I typically was in bed by 8 pm. I know that is crazy early but I had to be up every morning at 4:55 a.m. for work. Plus as most of you with anklosing spondylitis can relate, I had some nights of rolling and turning. Hip pain, rib pain, neck pain, and burning feet are my worst nighttime AS visitors. I wish I could be one of you super woman who work a job, have a spotless house, and are moms. I applaud each of you. I have many times felt such disappointment in myself because I can't keep it all up. My family de...

   I'm sure a lot of you will relate in trying to save your family money at the grocery store.    Due to the progression of my ankylosing spondylitis I had to give my job up in December 2016. That was a very emotional decision for me. I may write about it at a later date. This post is about couponing since we are a one income family at this point.    I tried subscribing to our local newspaper in order to clip Sunday coupons. I found this to not be cost effective. Some weeks I only used a couple of the coupons, paying $2 per paper was a losing proposition. I canceled my subscription after 2 months. Of course that was not as easy as it sounds, the newspaper office called constantly offering me better rates. At one point I might have restarted my subscription but after being called 4-5 times a day, I said forget it. Why doesn't telemarketers report the consumer said "no" and stop calling?   Back to my subject!  ;)   I found a wonderful s...

Some days AS tries to get me down, but I always  remember this saying.