Thanks to all my blog friends!!

I really appreciate all of my blog friends kind words! You all are wonderful!! I truly appreciate each and every one of you. I am doing much better today after 3 major doses of prednisone and antiviral meds. My smile is getting a little better, not so droopy. Atleast I look less and less like the Joker on Batman-LOL!!! My left eye is also blinking a little every once in a while. I am still drinking on the right side of my mouth with a straw and I'm not able to eat "dry" food because it keeps getting stuck in my throat. I am thankful I do have all my sight in my right eye though. I am also very thankful that Bell's Palsy doesn't affect my arms, legs, etc.

I'm off to make some breakfast now. Thanks again for all your thoughts, prayers and kind, kind words. Everyone have a wonderful day!

It is Bell's Palsy.

Well I have had some day! I went to my Dr. at 11:45, didn't get seen until 12:30. He immediately sent me to the Emergency Room, where I had my blood pressure taken, temp, a series of tests and then a CAT Scan. One good thing is I don't have any brain swelling or blood leaking anywhere, but I do have trauma-induced Bell's Palsy. I am on 4 different meds right now and told to rest and relax. That is what I am doing. They said I can go back to work on Wednesday, which kind of surprised me (I thought that was too early). I called my boss and he said don't come in on Wed. unless I feel much better. He said I know my body better than the Drs. I appreciated that. I also told him I won't be able to take alot of stress for awhile and that the guys will just have to take on some of their own work for awhile and he agreed.

On top of all this John is fighting with the insurance company because they say the never bound the comp and collision he told them to put on the car but they increased our billing to reflect the increase for comp and collision go figure! I think we will have to get John's friend who is an insurance claim attorney involved. It just never ends does it!!

I am not going to worry about anything though, I just need to get better! Hope everyone is doing fine!

Update on Accident problems

Hi Everyone! I'm headed to the Dr. in a little bit. I am having Bell's Palsy symptoms since yesterday. Hopefully a little prednisone will get rid of these symptoms and I will be as good as new! I will keep everyone informed.

Hope y'all have a great day!

Beautiful Dahlia in my garden!

Yesterday when I came walking through my courtyard I spied this beautiful dahlia I had planted in the spring. It was raining a little and the raindrops looks like little diamonds on the dahlia, just beautiful! I thought I would share it with y'all!



I will be resting today. Feeling a little more sore after my accident yesterday. R&R is just what I need now.

Everyone have a great day!

Not a great day all the way around

Yesterday I was thinking about the 9th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. I remember that day very clearly. My husband was on a train headed to NYC and the train left the station in Morristown, NJ late and when the train got to Hoboken, NJ it was stopped. Everyone on the train wondered what happened, 9-11 attacks is what happened! My husband was suppose to be in that building and a train delay stopped him from being there thank GOD!!! I did not hear from him until 3:30 that afternoon, when he sent a fax from his office in Parsippany, NJ to the office I was working in that he was all right. I have never felt so much anxiety, fear, terror and just a very large group of emotions. When I got that fax, I was the happiest woman on earth!! There were many other families that did not get that wonderful news that their loved ones were just fine and would be home that night. I thank God every day for sparing my husband and I mourn the other 3,000+ people that lost their lives.




Today at one of the ceremonies Karen Carroll said these words:

"Let today never, ever be a national holiday. Let it not be a celebration," said Karen Carroll, who lost her brother, firefighter Thomas Kuveikis. "It's a day to be somber; it's a day to reflect on all those thousands of people that died for us in the United States."

I agree with her. I think we should be somber and we should reflect on all those thousand of people that died that day. Please say a prayer for all those lives that were lost and families whose lives will never be the same.

On another note and not that this is anywhere near as horrible as 9-11, I am going to share with you my awful morning. I was driving to my sock knitting class today listening to the radio which had a segment on 9-11, I was reflecting on the things the commentator was saying. I again was thanking God for sparing my husband and saying prayers for those who lost their lives when the gentlemen driving his truck in front of me slammed on his brakes due to road construction (which by the way there wasn't anything posted that there was road construction ahead and that 2 lanes would become 1!). I was driving my 2002 Toyota Rav4 which I tried to stop (I had a 1.5 car length distance between me and the truck ahead of me and I wasn't going fast) when my Rav4 would not stopped. I tried pumping the brakes, slamming on the brakes but the car sped up faster!! I slammed right into the back of the truck in front of me and his trailer hitch went right into the front of my vehicle! The radiator started smoking, fluids were dripping all over the road it was horrible!! After I composed myself I got out of my car and walked over to the man kneeling down looking at his bumper. He stood up and said to me, "you should have seen your face when you realized the car wouldn't stop, I felt so bad for you. I watched you try to stop the car and it just wouldn't stop." He called 911 for me and when the police came he told the policeman I tried to stop the vehicle but it was like the car had a mind of its own. I felt so bad that I slammed into the back of his truck. His truck had a few scratches but then we noticed the bumper was a little bumped out so he is going to have it looked at. I didn't get a ticket even though I slammed the guys truck. The policeman said I need to have the Rav4 checked out because it maybe something that has been misfunctioning on Toyota vehicles. I was never so scared in my entire life-I never had a car accident before in all the years I have been driving! I started shaking and when John came to pick me up I just wanted to cry but I held it in. What a horrible feeling having an accident is!

I am now having some aches and pains in my neck and my back. I have a horrible headache but that was stress induced because it is starting to go away. I guess I will be driving a rental car until they can fix the Rav4. I hope they can also find out why it wouldn't stop-I'll keep y'all posted on that front! I am just thanking that I wasn't hurt and the other driver wasn't either. Cars are fixable, people are not!

This has not been a good day all the way around! I hope everyone else is having a great one!!

Haircut was a success-no problems this time!!

Hi Everyone! I am happy to report my haircut with Sarah at Ulta went absolutely wonderful last night! If you remember my post the last time she cut my hair, I was extremely upset (that is putting it really, really mildly!!!!). Last time she cut 3.5 inches of hair when I just asked for a trim. This time when I went in I talked with her before and she said she felt bad about the last haircut because she made it so drastic. She said she would only trim it this time. Thank goodness she is a woman of her word! The first haircut with her actually ended up growing out beautifully. She actually explained that she needed to cut it that way so it would grow out better. The previous hairdresser was cutting into the cowlicks I've developed (all 5 of them) and that made them stick out more! I am really glad she fixed that for me and I got a wonderful haircut last night.

The final approval of the haircut was John. When I got home the first thing he said was, "I really love the way your hairstylist cut your hair and styled it this time". That was all I needed to hear!!

I guess the moral of this story is sometimes you need to change things drastically to make things better!

I hope everyone has a lovely Friday!!

A new author to me

I have found a new author, well new to me anyway and her name is Josi Kilpack. I love to read cozy mysteries. I am glad I can add another author to my list of favorites! Josi has written "food" related mysteries and here are a few:

Lemon Tart: A Culinary Mystery

In this debut volume, cooking aficionado turned amateur detective Sadie Hoffmiller tries to solve the murder of her beautiful young neighbor a single mother who was mysteriously lured from her home while a lemon tart was baking in her oven. At the heart of Sadie s search is the woman s missing two year-old child. Whoever took the child must be the murderer, but Sadie is certain that the police are looking at all the wrong suspects including her! For an added treat, original mouth- watering recipes for Sadie s Lemon Tart, Homemade Alfredo Sauce, Carrot Cookies, Brownies, and Granny s Gingerbread Bundt Cake are sprinkled throughout the book.

English Trifle:

English Trifle is yet another delightful culinary mystery by Josi Kilpack. The english destination and included recipes were fantastic! My favorites were definitely Sadie's Scrumptulicious Scones & the Chicken Tikka Masala. One is sweet, the other is spicy - just like Kilpack's writing. A delicious combination!

Devil's Food Cake: A Culinary Mystery

t s been years since author Thom Mortenson has been back to Garrison, Colorado. As part of the committee who invited the bestselling writer to speak at the library fundraising benefit, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect right down to the homemade devils food cake she baked herself. Certainly, murder was not on the menu. When Thoms manager ends up dead on stage, Sadie jumps in to offer her guidance and expertise to investigators. But when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice but to pursue justice on her own. After all, is Sadie to blame if she keeps stumbling over information? Can Sadie turn her back when people intricately woven into the deception keep crossing her path? With her son, Shawn, at her side, her reputation on the line, and a full cast of suspicious characters, Sadie Hoffmiller is once again cooking her way through a case that offers far more questions than answers.

Josi has a new book coming out called Key Lime Pie.

A little about Josi:

Josi S. Kilpack grew up hating to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and accredits her writing "education" to the many novels she has "studied" since then. She began her first novel in 1998 and hasn't stopped. Her seventh novel, Sheep's Clothing won the Whitney Award 2007 for Mystery/Suspense. Her most recent book, Devil's Food Cake, is the third book in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. Josi currently lives in Willard Utah with her husband, four children, one dog and varying number of chickens. For more information about Josi, you can visit her website at www.josiskilpack.com or her blog at www.josikilpack.blogspot.com