Life Lesson #1: Things ain't always easy
The last two weeks have been complete and utter chaos. So. Much. Going. On. Despite everything that has happened, the three constants are family, church, and friends. Life ain't always easy, but it's always worth it.
Life Lesson #2: There are some things you can't change
Like your age. Or your luck. Or sickness. Or death. Don't dwell on the things you can't change; dwell on the things you CAN change that will actually bring you more happiness. It's not easy. Of the things you can change, your attitude is the best place to start.
Life Lesson #3: Some things ain't fun, but you gotta do 'em anyway
Like having to find a way to talk about modesty and being lady-like in your young women's class without offending anyone, hurting any feelings, or making someone feel like they don't belong at church. Everyone belongs at church. If you don't know the expectations, you can't really do what you're expected. Teach the expectations. Then, love the people you teach them to whether the meet them or not.
Life Lesson #4: There will be winter, but spring always comes
The past two years I've battled a severe onset of winter blues. This year has been especially bad because as I type this it's stormy outside. Meh. As much as I love seeing the clouds over the mountains and skiffs of snow on the benches, it would be really nice to see some pretty colors budding on the trees and smell some pretty flowers. Winter may still exist, but eventually I know we will have spring. The Savior had a serious winter, and then a glorious spring three days later. Perhaps that's why our year is divided into quarters of three months .... Spring always comes.
Life Lesson #5: Sometimes they run ahead a little
Last night I learned that burying your 11-year-old nephew's dog (twice) that was hit and killed by a car in your skirt and Sunday shoes while it's drizzling rain is totally worth it. That makes no sense with the title of this life lesson, but let me explain. My niece, Erika, and I buried my nephew Ryan's dog, Rocky, last night after he ran into the street where an oncoming car hit and killed him while my 6-year-old nephew, Ben, watched it all happen. (The parents of the boys were supposed to be enjoying an anniversary dinner, darnit.) When I got to the house to help Erika bury Rocky, Ryan was in tears and very upset. We worked at getting the hole big enough and the boys pitched in on the shoveling. Ryan found a rock for a headstone and we buried Rocky. When the parents got home, it was suggested that we move Rocky to a better spot where the lawnmower wouldn't eat the headstone to bits. Yes, we buried the dog twice. But it was worth it. Totally worth it. After he was buried (the second time), Ryan was asked if he wanted to say anything. I'd asked him earlier (when we buried Rocky the first time), but he was crying too hard and couldn't say anything. He was still crying the second time he was asked, so my brother said something in Ryan's place. He said, "Rocky was a good dog. We loved him. The best thing about Rocky is that he was always ready to go. He'd run ahead a little and then turn around and wait for you to catch up." I pointed out to Ryan a little later that all Rocky had done was run ahead of him a little, but he was definitely waiting for Ryan to catch up. It convinced me even more that life goes on for every living thing after death. Whether there's one heaven for everything, or one heaven for every thing it doesn't matter. What we cared for and loved in this life, human or not, will be part of our heavenly existence in the next life. Heavenly Father loves us too much to keep Ryan and Rocky from being together again, whether it's daily visits for a walk or weekly visits for a serious game of catch. We will all have people and animals and lives we care about that run ahead of us a little. The important thing is that we will eventually catch up. And when we do, it will be a glorious, tear-filled, joyous reunion. And it will be worth every minute of waiting we have to do.
Lessons learned.
5/17/11
5/13/11
LDS with LDS
For a while now I've had a weird patch of skin on my left leg. It was achy and stiff and painful to press. The skin was tight and sort of itched occasionally. It was red and would sometimes swell (most recently to the size of a softball on the day before Mom's birthday after I stood on my feet for about 11 hours and baked four cakes ...). Basically, it was getting annoying and with my upcoming flight I was a tad worried it might be something that wouldn't be good to fly with. Last Sunday, after talking to my sister-in-law (who is an RN), Mom and I drove to the ER. Sixty dollars later: no diagnosis and a referral to the dermatologist with the explanation on the form as a "skin lesion." Ooh. Sounds lovely.
Yesterday morning I went to the dermatologist. I was just hoping and praying it wasn't cancer. We'd already ruled out cellulitis and blood clots, so that was good. The doctor took one look at it and said, "You have a rare disease called Lipodermatosclerosis." Say what?! He briefly explained it and prescribed two meds: Prednisone (steroid) and Lasix (water pill) to be taken on alternating days for four weeks. Oh, and AmLactin, some lotion that works wonders on skin disorders, which we will look for at Costco tomorrow. Hoorah. Then, I get to go back and see him in four weeks to assess how things are coming along. He wasn't bad to look at, so going back isn't a problem. Plus, the look on his face when I told him I'd lost 230 pounds and that I was sure my previously extra hugeish size had probably caused the dang rare disease was priceless.
Anyway, I Googled the "rare disease" this morning and, boy howdy, some of the photos are just, well, nasty. He did say I have a mild case. Guess he wasn't kidding. Thank heavens Mom forced me to go when she did! I guess it can really cause some serious problems if you let it go. The description of the disease is: Lipodermatosclerosis (aka LDS) is a skin and connective tissue disease. It is a form of lower extremity panniculitis (or in other words, an inflammation of fat under the epidermis [aka skin]). Phew! Try explaining THAT to people. And it really is rare, according to the NIH (National Institute of Health). It occurs mostly in middle-aged and obese people. Well, I'm middle-aged (just in number, not in behavior) and I was super-morbidly obese 2 1/2 years ago (now I'm just regularly fat), so all of that combined is probably what caused the disease. How freakish is that?
I'd post pictures they showed online, but some of them really grossed me out and I don't want any of my one readers to lose their lunch. Besides, I want to eat Mexican food for lunch and I don't know if I could do it with those images floating around in my brain. Ick. The good news is the doctor thinks it can be reversed since I have a "mild case." The bad news is I have to take meds while I'm on vacation in DC, one of which is a water pill, so Shauna will have to stop every 30 minutes every other day so I can pee. The good news is that my sister-in-law said I'll probably lose a couple of pounds on the water pill. The bad news is it probably won't be the other 30 pounds I didn't lose after surgery. The good news is I don't have cellulitis, blood clots, or cancer. The bad news is I still can't wear shorts without making people vomit. Ah, such small prices to pay for all the good news, right? Yep. I think so.
Oh, and the title "LDS with LDS" ... I just thought it was funny that my "rare disease" has the same acronym as my faith. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Lipodermatosclerosis. So I'm LDS with LDS. Booyah! That's got to mean I'm an extra faithful member or something doesn't it? Since I contracted a disease with the same acronym? Right? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrright.
Crazy lady signing off,
Katiedid It
Yesterday morning I went to the dermatologist. I was just hoping and praying it wasn't cancer. We'd already ruled out cellulitis and blood clots, so that was good. The doctor took one look at it and said, "You have a rare disease called Lipodermatosclerosis." Say what?! He briefly explained it and prescribed two meds: Prednisone (steroid) and Lasix (water pill) to be taken on alternating days for four weeks. Oh, and AmLactin, some lotion that works wonders on skin disorders, which we will look for at Costco tomorrow. Hoorah. Then, I get to go back and see him in four weeks to assess how things are coming along. He wasn't bad to look at, so going back isn't a problem. Plus, the look on his face when I told him I'd lost 230 pounds and that I was sure my previously extra hugeish size had probably caused the dang rare disease was priceless.
Anyway, I Googled the "rare disease" this morning and, boy howdy, some of the photos are just, well, nasty. He did say I have a mild case. Guess he wasn't kidding. Thank heavens Mom forced me to go when she did! I guess it can really cause some serious problems if you let it go. The description of the disease is: Lipodermatosclerosis (aka LDS) is a skin and connective tissue disease. It is a form of lower extremity panniculitis (or in other words, an inflammation of fat under the epidermis [aka skin]). Phew! Try explaining THAT to people. And it really is rare, according to the NIH (National Institute of Health). It occurs mostly in middle-aged and obese people. Well, I'm middle-aged (just in number, not in behavior) and I was super-morbidly obese 2 1/2 years ago (now I'm just regularly fat), so all of that combined is probably what caused the disease. How freakish is that?
I'd post pictures they showed online, but some of them really grossed me out and I don't want any of my one readers to lose their lunch. Besides, I want to eat Mexican food for lunch and I don't know if I could do it with those images floating around in my brain. Ick. The good news is the doctor thinks it can be reversed since I have a "mild case." The bad news is I have to take meds while I'm on vacation in DC, one of which is a water pill, so Shauna will have to stop every 30 minutes every other day so I can pee. The good news is that my sister-in-law said I'll probably lose a couple of pounds on the water pill. The bad news is it probably won't be the other 30 pounds I didn't lose after surgery. The good news is I don't have cellulitis, blood clots, or cancer. The bad news is I still can't wear shorts without making people vomit. Ah, such small prices to pay for all the good news, right? Yep. I think so.
Oh, and the title "LDS with LDS" ... I just thought it was funny that my "rare disease" has the same acronym as my faith. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with Lipodermatosclerosis. So I'm LDS with LDS. Booyah! That's got to mean I'm an extra faithful member or something doesn't it? Since I contracted a disease with the same acronym? Right? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrright.
Crazy lady signing off,
Katiedid It
5/2/11
7-0 and more
Mom turned 70 years old yesterday. Happy birthday, Mom!!!
In honor of the big occasion, (and since you're only 70 once) I fixed her three birthday cakes. The verdict is still out, but I'm pretty sure all three were a big hit. Mom's picks (in order of most-liked to least) were the Carrot Cake (recipe from Linda's mom, Elaine), then the Italian Cream Cake (courtesy of Pioneer Woman), and last the Chocolate Sheet Cake (also Pioneer Woman). I also altered the carrot cake recipe and made one with whole wheat pastry flour and brown sugar. Pretty tasty!!! The whole wheat cake did fall apart a bit, but Mom assured me it would taste just as good. Well, nothing tastes quite as good as it's better-looking counterpart, but it was still quite yummy.
Mom had lots of visitors and got some nice gifts. I love celebrating her birthday more than celebrating my own. Just wish we could have done something special to celebrate. Alas, I was 10 hours behind an oven. Guess I'll have to treat her to dinner and a movie at some point in the near future. How I love her!!! I'm positive that Heavenly Father knew we needed to be together in order for me to survive. That's why I was blessed to have her as my mother and my best friend. She just makes my world so much better. :)
AND to celebrate her 70th birthday the U.S. Military decided to make sure Osama bin Laden was annihilated. Bet she won't forget this birthday any time soon! The whole world celebrated on her special day! (Just wish it could have been a celebration for Mom and not because a terrorist was dead. But whatever.)
Washington DC is less than three weeks away. HOLY. COW. How does that happen? Just yesterday it was nearing the end of February and I had purchased my plane ticket and thought the months worth of waiting was going to wear me out. Now I'm freaking out because there's so much to do. And I'm leaving Mom. And Dad. AND THE DOG. How will Bear live without me?! Even better question: Will he remember me when I get back?! I think I need to get Mom hooked up on Skype so we can see each other to chat each night and she can hold Bear up to the screen so I can give him loves. (Bet you were excited to read that, huh Mom?) Yes, I'm pathetic. No need to tell me. I already know.
On the other hand, I'm WAY excited to spend time with Shauna Ba-Nonna and her little munchkin. She keeps reminding me she has a "sidekick" that will be 11 months old. As if teething, barf, poopy diapers, tears, and naps bother me. Ha! That madness doesn't even phase me. Been around too many kids for that to even be an issue.
Bonus! I'll be there over Memorial Day. That means I won't get to decorate graves with Mom. :( But it means I will be in historic places to celebrate what our veterans (including my Grandpa Karl Koyle) have done to preserve our freedoms and rights. You can't beat that. Only negative about the whole trip is that I have to take my freaking homework with me. Ah, school. The bane of my existence right now. If Shauna thinks an 11-month-old sidekick is bad, she ain't seen nothin' yet! At least her sidekick is fun and eventually sleeps. MY sidekick (aka: online school) NEVER sleeps and is RARELY fun. Meh.
My camera (Nikon D3000)
is making the journey with me. You can betchyer booty I'll be taking massive amounts of photos. Prepare yourselves to be overexposed (haha, good pun, Katie) when I do a post (or ten) about my trip. For now, I gotta go so I can start making a packing list and be sure I have enough luggage to get me home with the extreme quantity of souvenirs I plan to buy. Less than three weeks ... that's plenty of time, right?
In honor of the big occasion, (and since you're only 70 once) I fixed her three birthday cakes. The verdict is still out, but I'm pretty sure all three were a big hit. Mom's picks (in order of most-liked to least) were the Carrot Cake (recipe from Linda's mom, Elaine), then the Italian Cream Cake (courtesy of Pioneer Woman), and last the Chocolate Sheet Cake (also Pioneer Woman). I also altered the carrot cake recipe and made one with whole wheat pastry flour and brown sugar. Pretty tasty!!! The whole wheat cake did fall apart a bit, but Mom assured me it would taste just as good. Well, nothing tastes quite as good as it's better-looking counterpart, but it was still quite yummy.
Mom had lots of visitors and got some nice gifts. I love celebrating her birthday more than celebrating my own. Just wish we could have done something special to celebrate. Alas, I was 10 hours behind an oven. Guess I'll have to treat her to dinner and a movie at some point in the near future. How I love her!!! I'm positive that Heavenly Father knew we needed to be together in order for me to survive. That's why I was blessed to have her as my mother and my best friend. She just makes my world so much better. :)
AND to celebrate her 70th birthday the U.S. Military decided to make sure Osama bin Laden was annihilated. Bet she won't forget this birthday any time soon! The whole world celebrated on her special day! (Just wish it could have been a celebration for Mom and not because a terrorist was dead. But whatever.)
Washington DC is less than three weeks away. HOLY. COW. How does that happen? Just yesterday it was nearing the end of February and I had purchased my plane ticket and thought the months worth of waiting was going to wear me out. Now I'm freaking out because there's so much to do. And I'm leaving Mom. And Dad. AND THE DOG. How will Bear live without me?! Even better question: Will he remember me when I get back?! I think I need to get Mom hooked up on Skype so we can see each other to chat each night and she can hold Bear up to the screen so I can give him loves. (Bet you were excited to read that, huh Mom?) Yes, I'm pathetic. No need to tell me. I already know.
On the other hand, I'm WAY excited to spend time with Shauna Ba-Nonna and her little munchkin. She keeps reminding me she has a "sidekick" that will be 11 months old. As if teething, barf, poopy diapers, tears, and naps bother me. Ha! That madness doesn't even phase me. Been around too many kids for that to even be an issue.
Bonus! I'll be there over Memorial Day. That means I won't get to decorate graves with Mom. :( But it means I will be in historic places to celebrate what our veterans (including my Grandpa Karl Koyle) have done to preserve our freedoms and rights. You can't beat that. Only negative about the whole trip is that I have to take my freaking homework with me. Ah, school. The bane of my existence right now. If Shauna thinks an 11-month-old sidekick is bad, she ain't seen nothin' yet! At least her sidekick is fun and eventually sleeps. MY sidekick (aka: online school) NEVER sleeps and is RARELY fun. Meh.
My camera (Nikon D3000)
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