Help! My foot is morphing!

Last night I was sitting here working away when I looked down and saw that my big toe had an edge around it. Kind of like when you fry an egg and have that crispy fringe around it. It looked like that! Like my toe had started melting and then hardened up again but left that residue puddle around it. Got the picture? I know.... hard to describe.

Being late on a lazy Sunday I just looked at it every once in awhile and thought hmmmm.... I'm so mellow these days! (HA! But the rest of me is morphing so why not my toe?) It finally occured to me that something was probably stuck to it. Which reminded me of a story Sis Chris once told.

She was looking outside at her deck and was watching the squirrels snacking. She saw one with a lump on its forehead. She was feeling sorry for the poor deformed squirrel. Until she realized that it had a Lucky Charm stuck on its head!!! I still can picture that!

So boring ending to my story. As I got ready for bed I decided maybe I should check and see what it was. It was that annoying tab that is sometimes left in plastic bags from the store. Perfectly positioned and of about the same color to leave a melted ring around my toe! :-D

Take care everyone!

An 80s Flashback - what a blast!

Another trip to Indy with my bestest thriftin' buddy! We HAD to go! We had coupons for 10% off everything in the store at Joann's and Half Price Books was having their holiday weekend 20% off storewide sale! I don't hardly ever miss one of those. Heck, it's my favorite store with even cheaper prices!!!

How many of you have kids who were born in the 80s? How many of you watchED A-Team every week? For most of the 6 years they were on.... Okay then! Don't you love it when a plan comes together? :-)

I was at the 2nd of 3 HPBs and wandered over to the DVD section. I had been halfway looking for the A-Team sets since I saw the movie and it all came back. I looked over at the tv section and what did I see? A-Team season 1!!! I kind of swooped in and grabbed it. (That is one TIGHT section there!) I was so excited!

So today after I got some stuff done... I sat down to watch episode one. OH MY! That ensemble was put together so well. Murdock and BA - what a hoot! Hannibal is so suave and Face - well, Face is Face. I never have enjoyed seeing things blown up and flipped and shot at as much as I did - and do - watching that show. It's such an escape!

Tomorrow is the bonus day of the holiday. Might just have to be more A-Team watching. ;-) The heck with work around the house! I need some A-Team therapy!

Here's your bargain tip for the day. If you're around a Half Price Books, get on their mailing list so you get annoucements of sales. They have a 20% off sale around many holiday weekends. They usually have a "Buy $25 in gift cards, get a $5 coupon" deal around gift giving holidays like Mother's and Father's Day and Christmas. You can truly buy some presents for others and get the FREE present for yourself to use later! What a deal!!!

Happy holiday everybody!

A master bargain trip!

I am soooo impressed with myself! I had a $10 off coupon for Joann's. I went to the Lafayette store looking for the pens I like that were all gone in Avon. (Broke my heart so bad that Ann got all the good stuff!) Wandered around until lo and behold I found a hidden away clearance section. And there were my pens - marked down to 97 cents a package!!! (3 in a package with cute faces on them and they write in BLUE!) So I picked some up. Found some fabric markers marked way down. Got a container on sale for half price.

Tally at the register? $1.37 cash for 21 pens (7 packs), 8 fabric markers and a container. Dang, that was fun!

Okay, okay, I know SOME of you can't even understand that!

Take care!

You know you're with friends when....

You can say loudly "I have a big mouth and I know how to use it!" and they all just laugh at you. :)

How do you know when to retire? That thought crosses my mind often these days...

A giggle for the geeks among us

A new employee calls the Help Desk to complain that there's something wrong with her password. No, it's not the usual caps-lock problem.

"The problem is that whenever I type the password, it just shows stars," she says.

"Those asterisks are to protect you," the Help Desk technician explains, "so if someone were standing behind you, they wouldn't be able to read your password."

"Yeah," she says, "but they show up even when there is no one standing behind me."

Okay, I admit... somedays that is ME saying that! :D

Living with Dercum's Disease

So you all know I have this from past blogs....

What's it like living with Dercum's?

It's a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. It's thinking you're feeling pretty good and ready to tackle anything; then standing up and discovering you barely have the energy to take out the trash. It's knowing that every time you see a new doctor you're going to have to explain about Dercum's and possibly be met with skepticism or worse. It's having a friend who tells you that when she's in pain she thinks of a younger person who just died and that lessens her pain. And she doesn't understand why that doesn't work for you. It's giving up the things you could always do like shop, work out, do housework, work full time, etc. because you no longer have the strength or the ability to focus or the activity will result in a painful flare. It's realizing you've gone from "I can do anything" to saying at least once a day "I can't do it."

On the other hand... it's discovering that you are now part of an amazing new family in Dercum's world. Through online support groups, facebook and email you begin to know each person and think of each as a family member and friend. It's the relief that comes with finally getting a diagnosis and then finding a doctor who will work with you to treat it. It's the excitement that comes with knowing that you are part of a group of people who WILL make a difference in how Dercum's is viewed and treated.

I hang on with the firm belief that I have this for a reason and I'm going to do my best to serve that purpose each day.

I have a Dercum's blog now. (This is also on there.) It is chickwithdd.blogspot.com

Stop by sometime!

So close and yet so far....

My baby sister spent a week with me recently. (Miss her!) One day she noticed my prayer jar. She asked why there was money in it. I said it was for my retirement fund. She stated "You're supposed to put PRAYERS in your prayer jar!" To which I replied....

"What?! You don't think I'm praying to have money to retire????"

:-D


By the way - I was FINALLY at Trinity Mission Outlet on senior day! Get 15% off on Thursday!

This one cracked me up!

Sorry... I've been bad....

Here is one to make you laugh. I did!

HYPNOTIST AT THE SENIOR CENTER



It was entertainment night at the Senior Center.
Claude the hypnotist exclaimed: 'I'm here to put
you into a trance; I intend to hypnotize each and
every member of the audience.'


The excitement was almost electric as Claude
withdrew a beautiful antique pocket watch from
his coat. 'I want you each to keep your eye on
this antique watch. It's a very special watch.
It's been in my family for six generations.' He
began to swing the watch gently back and forth
while quietly chanting, 'Watch the watch, watch
the watch, and watch the watch...'

The crowd became mesmerized as the watch
swayed back and forth, light gleaming off its
polished surface. Hundreds of pairs of eyes
followed the swaying watch, until suddenly it
slipped from the hypnotist's fingers and fell to
the floor, breaking into a hundred pieces.

'CRAP!' said the Hypnotist.



It took three days to clean up the Senior Center.


By the way - today was senior day at Goodwill. Hope you went and found some goodies!

We all need a little help from our friends

My brain is doing its usual bounce this evening. Was going to say 2 things about me and then I thought maybe I should make a list of the things you probably don't know about me. But hey! Where's the fun in that? It's better when you find these things out on your own....

Last July I entered a new world. I have a rare disease that pretty much defies all medical learning and makes our body do weird things. There's no cure for it and treatments mainly are to limit pain. As I learned more and more I began to panic. How fast does this grow? What happens next and when? Is there anything I can do about it??? My poor doc had to experience me in a close as he'll see to hysterical state. I felt better when he said he'd be my partner in this but I still didn't have anybody to talk to who would truly understand. That night I googled Dercum's and found a few support groups. I read some entries and it became apparent that one had a very kind and supportive group of people. This group is on www.mdjunction.com . I signed on and sent my first message. I had a response the next day! From several people reassuring me that my feelings were normal. As were my physical symptoms! That group has become my family. We chat, we answer and ask questions and we send hugs. Wow!

I became so attached to this group and mdjunction that I offered to be a group leader. A few months later I started a second related group. When I'm down they lift me up. When I'm worried, they help calm me. We laugh! And we probably cry sometimes. But I know my DD family is there for me always. I would not be doing as well without them!

Mdjunction has over 700 groups. They are mainly for medical conditions. I've checked the ones for depression, lipomas, fibromyalgia and more. It seems ther are people all over the world who are like you! Who are willing to talk things over with you.

Four years ago I started a knee replacement support group. Our web site is www.tippecaknees.blogspot.com Well, we now have a group on mdjunction!!! This way we can all see questions and tips and talk to each other instead of one to one. (Though I can still get private messages.) This is something I've wanted to do for years and now Roy and mdjunction have made that possible. I'm excited!

Have I said how much I like the site? ;-) check it out. www.mdjunction.com

Take care!
Diane