Picked a Peck of Peppers

Most of us have heard the children's story of Peter Piper who picked a peck of pickled peppers, but how much is a peck?  It took me a little while to figure it out, but a peck is 2 gallons.  Ironically, today hubby truly picked a peck of peppers from our garden - a combination of jalapeno and cayenne.  We have so many peppers that we packed 5 quart bags to take to people at work and we still added quite a few to our freezer.  Our plants still have so many on there that we will probably pick another peck in a couple of days.

Busy Weekend

This was the weekend that my mother, brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews came to visit.  We have been planning this weekend for months (they are moving from California to North Carolina).  We had a great time visiting with the boys (2 1/2 years and 17 months).  My brother drove with their 2 dogs from California to Texas and my sister-in-law and kids flew.  After being on an airplane all day, the boys were a cranky bundle of energy.  They spent the weekend with us and then they will spend a couple of days with my parents before heading out to North Carolina.  They will all be driving from Texas to North Carolina.  It is about a 3 day trip, so I am afraid those days will really test my brother and sister-in-laws nerves and patience with 2 energetic boys and 2 restless dogs.  They were joking that they should have hubby come to North Carolina with them and be their live in Nanny for the boys.  Hubby is able to keep the boys calm when no one else can, so they are probably going to wish he really did make the trip with them.

New Girl

I have been watching the previews for the new show "New Girl" that started last night starring Zooey Deschanel.  I was afraid that all of the best parts were going to be on the previews, but thankfully that is not the case.  I am looking forward to the new TV season and thankfully we have a DVR because there are just too many to catch live. 

I'm Back

I have been MIA for a few days.  Monday evening I had to take my neighbor to the ER because she broke her toe.  Then on Tuesday night I fell extremely ill, to the point where hubby found me passed out on the bathroom floor and had to take me to the ER.  The doctors don't know exactly what was wrong, but they are treating it like severe food poisoning.  It is possible that it was caused by our water, but we don't know.  There was a water line that broke Tuesday afternoon and the water was supposed to be boiled because it was not safe to drink.  I was not aware of this and drank lots of water Tuesday evening before getting sick.  We didn't hear about the boil notice until after I was already in the hospital.  The doctors took various cultures and should have the results in a couple of days.  Tonight is my last night in the hospital and then I can go back to my own bed.  Everyone has been extremely nice and helpful; my neighbor pitched in to help hubby with out dogs, which has been really great and everyone has been offering to come help him.

To help brighten my stay, hubby bought me a stuffed monkey named "Mailin" who sings.  He is so cute because he moved his mouth and feet when he sings.  Also my great-nephew brought me a get well card.

I am glad to be on the mend and hope all is healthy in each of your worlds.

Bastrop Fires

The big news in our area this week has been the fires all around Central Texas and specifically the one in Bastrop.   The residents were evacuated from their homes on 9/4 and still have not yet been allowed back.  As of today, the fire was only 50% contained.  I know of 2 employees at the company where I work that have been impacted, but we are not sure if there have been others.   At the last I heard, there were 1386 homes lost and 38,000 acres burned.  Hopefully the firefighters are able to get the fire contained enough that the families can go back and see what is left.   I commend the firefighters who have been working non-stop.  Some people don't think about how hard or dangerous a firefighters job can be until something like this happens.

Single Teen Mother

This weekend, our next door neighbor will be bringing home a "baby" to take care of for her class assignment.  She is the only one who can take care of the baby and she is really excited.  She only hopes she doesn't get a baby that is extra fussy (wouldn't it be nice if you could choose in real life).  She has asked if she could come stay with us this weekend, so she will be away from Mom who may be tempted to assist.  Hubby and I gladly said okay.  Her teacher will activate the doll at midnight on Friday night and she has to care for it until school starts on Monday morning.  I think she will do absolutely great with the "baby" and think it will make for a fun weekend.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Time Again

Well, as everyone knows, I am a big TSO fan.  I love their music and really love their Lost Christmas Eve show.  Yes, I know it is September, but I just bought my tickets for their December 21st show.  This year, hubby has promised to go with me.  TSO has to be experienced with someone who loves their music just as much as you do.  We have some friends who are also going to try to get tickets.  If they do, maybe we can make it an evening - dinner and a concert.  The concert is on a Wednesday, but since it is before Christmas, it will really reinforce the holiday spirit.

Crestor

The doctor put me on Crestor about 2 years ago because my cholesterol was too high.  Since cholesterol and heart issues run in my family, I agreed to give it a try.  A few months after starting the Crestor, I began to have knee problems.  I went to the doctor and was told that my knee problems were due to arthritis and basically I needed to learn how to live with it.  Admittedly a bit frustrated, I tried to learn as much about dealing with arthritis as I could.  In the course of learning about arthritis and possible ways to deal with it, I learned that Crestor causes joint issues.  My doctor assured me that Crestor was not the problem and that my arthritis was just getting worse.  End result, keep taking Crestor and learn to deal with the pain.  There were days when the pain was so intense, I would question if I could even walk.  The pain was worse that any pain I had ever felt.  I became so annoyed with how closed minded my doctor was, that I switched doctors.  Last week I asked her if I could try going off of Crestor for a couple of weeks and see if it made a difference in the pain level.  She agreed as long as I would continue to take my other meds and watch my diet. I stopped taking Crestor the next day and after only 3 days being off Crestor, my pain level was significantly reduced.  I can walk with minimal discomfort and I truly feel like my old self again. 

I am so glad I didn't give up and just resign to taking this medication.  There is no way I will ever go back on Crestor.  I would much rather deal with elevated cholesterol than deal with the side effects.