I never know what to write for a title...

It takes a lot more effort than necessary to think of titles for my blog posts that aren't the same thing all the time. :P I know it's a trivial thing...but my brain gets hung up on things like that. I mean...my essays in school always took just a little bit longer because I couldn't use the same words in close proximity to each other. I don't know...it's a thing. lol. But...at least I have a lot to update this time instead of just droning on about the same ol' things all the time. :P 

The last week of April and into the first couple days of May, I had a really bad migraine. Several days it was so bad it even woke me up early in the morning. It had been awhile since I've had a migraine last that long and be that intense. Since I have hemiplegic migraines, I'm not supposed to take the triptans that are commonly used as rescue meds for migraines due to an increased risk of stroke. Basically all I can do is take 4 ibuprofen, a Benadryl, a promethazine, and put an ice back on my head or neck. Some days that just doesn't cut it. I've been taking nortriptyline for 13 years now as a migraine preventative for my hemiplegic migraines. While I've only had two hemiplegic migraines since then (one was NYE 2013 and the other was after I had a scratched cornea in 2019 and the ER doctor shined a light for too long in my scratched eyeball), I still get regular migraines pretty frequently. My doctor prescribed me topiramate as a preventative a few years ago, but that didn't make much difference. 

Johnny had a phlebotomy appointment on May 1st and since he needed to make a regular doctor appointment to refill his prescriptions, I went ahead and made appointments for both of us with our family doctor the same day (so he only had to take off work one day instead of two). I was going to get an allergy shot while we were there, but I totally forgot about it. I talked to our doctor (who is amazing) about the migraines and we decided to try Aimovig as a migraine preventative. It's a CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) monoclonal antibody that is a receptor blocker. Previously, my doctor had given me samples of CGRP receptor antagonists to use as rescue meds. Ubelvy isn't covered on our insurance, and Nurtec is $150/month (my doctor also gave me a few samples of Nurtec in case I need any rescue meds, though.). Meanwhile, Aimovig is only $100 a month and we have a copay card from the company which takes it down to $50 a month. And I don't mind doing injections...needles don't bother me at all. 

It took forever to actually be able to get my prescription for the Aimovig. It requires prior authorization with our insurance...and that took awhile. Then when the prior authorization finally came through, the pharmacy didn't have it in stock. In fact, none of the area locations had it available. But we were finally able to get it Monday night. Johnny picked it up at about 8:30pm and I waited half an hour (it's kept refrigerated and it's recommended to wait until it's room temperature so it doesn't sting as much). It's a SureClick Autoinjector which was really simple. Prep the area with rubbing alcohol, remove the white cap, pinch the skin on my thigh, push the pen all the way down, press the button (it'll click) and hold it down for about 15 seconds until the window is completely yellow (and it clicked again). Then dispense then pen in a sharps container (I used an empty detergent bottle that I already had) and that's it. 

Honestly, I wondered if I did it right at first because I felt absolutely nothing. But after I tossed the pen, there was a dot of blood so obviously it worked. A little while later I could feel where I'd done the injection...but it wasn't what I'd describe as painful. However, the next day I started feeling kinda crappy. I thought it was allergies (especially since I'd forgotten to get my allergy shot) but after four Benadryl and two Sudafed and it didn't really make a difference on my runny nose and sneezing. Then when my throat started hurting and I just felt kinda blah and achy...I realized it was probably the "flu-like" symptoms that can sometimes be side-effects. I felt a lot better by the next day, though. 

I also talked to my doctor about my issues with pelvic adhesive disease and the possibly of surgery for a total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, adhesiolysis, and possible colporrhaphy if necessary. I've had horrible pain that has just gotten worse over the last 16 years. I had to have a rectopexy and colon resection in 2010 that had to be done via open surgery. Then when I tried to get my tubes tied a year later, the surgeon couldn't even find one of my fallopian tubes because there was so much scar tissue from my previous surgery that has attached all of my pelvic organs together. So my doctor referred me to a urogynecologist and I'll have that appointment in a couple months to see what my options are. It shows he specializes in pelvic reconstruction surgery and I found that he was also recommended in the local Ehlers-Danlos FB group...so hopefully it'll all work out well.  

In other news, we took the dogs to the groomer a few weeks ago. They had some major grinch toes goin' on! We had the groomer use a hypoallergenic shampoo for Nova, but she's still been having allergy issues. I'm thinking it might be the doggy perfume. We made their next appointment while we were there, so I'll have to remember to talk to her about it then. We also need to make their appointment for their vaccines and Nova's allergy shot. 

I finally got around to printing my planner. I haven't had a paper planner in years...but I've been missing it. Especially now that I can print my own stickers! I also still have a lot of Happy Planner stickers to use, too. 

Work has been going well. April was a bit slow, but still better than it was in April 2025. I need to finish listing products on my website. I'm also thinking about giving TikTok shop another try, but we'll see. I was able to create the shop this time without any problems (as opposed to last time when it was a nightmare), so I suppose that's at least progress. 

We've also been getting ready for Johnny's trip out to Seattle. His mom had another stroke last month and isn't recovering like she had with the strokes she'd had before. He'll be staying with his brother again. I'm glad he'll get to spend the time with his family, but the doggies and I will definitely miss him! 

Hello January

First real post of 2024! 

I was sick the last few days of 2023 into the new year. It didn't last too long and I'm feeling better now. Whenever I'm sick, my neuropathy flares up really bad...so I wasn't getting much sleep. I tossed and turned a lot which made my back and joints even more sore than usual. So we just had a relaxing New Years at home. 

New Years Eve was Nova's birthday! Unfortunately it gets celebrated with her least favorite thing in the world...fireworks. :P Luckily there weren't a whole lot of fireworks and they were over after about 15-20 minutes. It wasn't too bad until one of the neighbors behind us set off some really, really loud ones. It's illegal to set off fireworks here outside of the dates and times allowed during 4th of July, but that never matters. Since I was sick, we didn't do anything for Nova's birthday last weekend but I think we're planning to take her to Petco this weekend to let her pick out some new toys and treats. She LOVES going to Petco (anywhere, really). We always have to make a stop by the small animals because she likes watching them. I want to get both Boz and Nova into the groomer sometime, too, but we need to take them to the vet to get this year's shots first. So we'll get around to that sometime. The dogs are doing great, though. I mean...Bozley is still the pickiest dog ever and it's a pain trying to get him to eat all his food, but they're such cute, sweet puppies. Nova is far more calm, laid back, and cuddly. She has been such a wonderful addition to our family...I can't imagine not having either one of them. 

On New Years Day, Johnny was in the mood to deep clean the kitchen. He started in the morning/early afternoon cleaning the bar and everything on it and then when I was done with orders, I finished up most of the rest. I didn't get to the microwave or the fridge...and I didn't do the upper cabinets, but it's a pretty good start and looks great. :) 

I got my new laptop! It's nice having a fresh start after 10.5 years of having the same computer. I'm loving it so far! I got a Dell Insprion 15-3520 with an i7 processor, 16gb RAM, and 1tb of storage (though I have two 5gb external drives that I store most of my stuff on)...which is basically an upgraded version of my old laptop which was a Dell Inspiron 15-5520 with an i5 processor that I'd upgraded from 8gb to 16gb RAM. It's SO much faster than my old laptop and has a better keyboard, graphics card, and Bluetooth. One of my requirements for a laptop is that it has a numerical keypad (I do a lot of accounting so I use 10-key all the time) so I had limited options to choose from...but I'm happy with this one. I do wish that it had a DVD drive, but it's much lighter without it. It also doesn't have a USB-C port, but I'd rather have the three USB-A ports instead of two and one USB-C. My phone is really the only thing I have right now that's a USB-C so it's not that big of a deal...I have a C to A cord that works fine. My only real complaint is that the outflow vent is above the keyboard pointed toward the screen...so the top of the keyboard often gets pretty warm. My last laptop had the outflow vent on the outside edge so I didn't notice it as much. But...overall I'm very happy that I have a new laptop and everything actually works. lol. 

I've been busy the last couple days redesigning a new planner for the year. My sister got me a Hoop Mama Creative Boss planner that I used last year, but it was mostly focused on business-only and I want one that incorporates everything and is more tailored to my needs. I'd made one back in 2021 when I was still doing transcription, but it was before I started CandiMaker so I needed something more. Hopefully this new planner will do the trick! 

I'm also excited to start making planner products to sell for CandiMaker. I want to make covers, stickers, and more...and I'm pretty excited about it. Of course, my biggest issue at the moment is trying to decide how to arrange my products...if I want to sell them under CandiMakerStickers or revamp CandiMakerDesigns for planner products (which is the way I'm leaning right now). So we'll see how it goes. First, I need to finish uploading my stickers to eBay. I only uploaded a few designs to start because I wasn't sure if it would even be worth it...but I made a decent-sized sale within just a few weeks. 

I've been watching a lot of Burn Notice and Chance on Hulu in the background while I've been working. The only thing I've really watched Hugh Laurie on was House...and I loved that show. He plays a much different (yet still American) character on Chance but I really like him in it. My favorite character, though, is D. He's a pretty unique character and I just love his demeanor and the way he always says, "awesome," in response to everything. And then Johnny and I have been watching Reacher and Man in the High Castle during dinner. Reacher is probably my favorite currently-airing show right now. I love Alan Ritchson's character...and I love the humor. Season 1 was awesome, but I'm enjoying Season 2 as well. I hope it'll continue airing for many more seasons! We just started Man in the High Castle last month and we're on Season 2 now...it's pretty interesting and I'm curious to see where it leads. And new episodes of Law & Order and NCIS start again in January. We dropped the Live portion of Hulu during the strikes because there weren't new episodes of our shows anyway...but we may get it again now that they'll be back. 

Well...I'm gonna get back to work! Hope everyone has a wonderful 2024! 

Good weekend!

We've had a good Memorial Day weekend. Ashlyn spent the weekend at XH's parents' house. Friday night Johnny and I watched Blacklist and then just lounged around and stayed up late. Saturday morning I took Bozley to the groomer. He always smells so good after his spaw appointment. :) Of course he came home and the first thing he wanted to do is roll around in the grass. :P Then that evening my sister and one of my niece's came over for dinner. She brought their 180lb great dane over to meet Bozley. Bozley was VERY interested in the fact that we had a female around. :P We took the dogs on a walk over to my grandparents' house and that was really nice. Then we came back to our house and just hung out for awhile. She left her laptop with me to [hopefully] get her files off of her failing hard drive. So she'll probably come back over next week or so to pick it up and go on another doggy walk. It was a really nice evening. Plus I got to show her the new paint and everything! :) Bozley was SO tired after they left! But he had a good time, I think. :) Here is a picture that my sister took during our walk: 

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I've also been busy downloading SO MANY fonts (and a few graphics) from Creative Fabrica. I noticed on FB that they were having a special where you could get unlimited access for 1 month for $1. Sold! I've found so much great stuff! I like the fonts and graphics for my planner and things like that. I've nearly got my planner all finished! I'll post pictures of it when my cover arrives and it's all done. I'm SO excited about it. :) I find that I'm far more productive and efficient when I make time to utilize my planner...especially if I set time aside everyday to get everything written down and check to make sure I'm not forgetting anything. And too often I get part of the way through a planner and it just feels like it's missing something and I start slacking off. So hopefully I won't have that problem with my new planner. :) 

Almost the end of May?!

I tell ya...the years just seem to go by so fast. I'm pretty sure I say that a lot...but it's just so crazy to me how fast my kids have grown. Aubry has been a legal adult for almost a year. We got Ashlyn's class ring this year and she will be a junior in high school next year. And then just another short year after that she'll be graduating high school. WHAT?! So crazy! 

It feels like this school year just started...and now it's over. Ashlyn had a great first semester with remote learning...but the second semester was...not so much. One required class she'll have to retake next semester...but the other class was just an elective. When she doesn't keep her grades up, she ends up without wi-fi and the data to her phone turned off. So...she wasn't online much this semester. :P She tends to be a bit too focused on the social aspect of school and struggles with time management...but hopefully next year will go more smoothly. 

Aubry has been stopping by about once a week or so to hang out for a bit. I got her started watching Dawson's Creek on Hulu. ;) She found out that Jenson Ackles is in it (in season 6) so she and I have been watching an episode or two (starting from the beginning) while she's here. I'm pretty sure Ashlyn has already watched the series herself. It was filmed when I was in high school...so it's neat to kinda share with them what the clothes and music and everything was like back then. Hard to believe that was over 20 years ago! 

I've been working on some files for work. In between, I've also been working on creating my own planner! Quite a few years ago (like in 2013 or something) I'd created a planner and it worked pretty well for me at the time. But then I started seeing other planners and decided to give them a try. In 2016, I switched over to Happy Planner and have been using them since. But there's not really a planner out there that checks ALL the boxes as far as what I'm looking for. I really need something more functional for work to stay organized. I still really like the overall look of my Happy Planner with the disc-bound system, so I'm kind of starting there. I've always had the classic size, but since I'm going to be printing it myself, I don't want to have to worry about cutting down the pages. So I'll just be using letter-size pages. It'll also give me more room to work with so I can include everything I want and have enough room for everything I need for work. But since I have all the classic size stickers, I'm making it so they will all still fit more seamlessly than in a normal "Big" Happy Planner. So I'm pretty excited about that. 

We're still working on getting the living room and kitchen put back together and organized the way we want...but we've finished up the dining room and I'm loving it so much! I absolutely love how the green paint looks and the little accents we added like the wine rack and then switching to an actual 3-tier fruit bowl on the kitchen counter and going back to using the bowl on the table as the decorative bowl it was actually intended to be (it came with rocks and floating candles if you fill it with water). I found some pretty rocks to put in there and some artificial succulents (since the cats would eat any real plants we have). I'm very pleased with how the dining room looks now. :) 

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Super Busy!

It's been a crazy busy week. On Monday, I grabbed 10 work files all for the same case. That is my favorite thing to do...being able to work on files that are related to each other. It definitely seems to make my workflow go even quicker. There were more available, but I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew, so to speak. So I've been working on those throughout the week.

Yesterday I took the day off, though, because Johnny had an appointment for some skin cancer biopsies. He had a large basal cell carcinoma removed from the top of his head in 2014 (that's what happens when you do swimming pool work for years without wearing a hat!). He has several more spots now that also need to be removed. My poor guy! So we will wait for the biopsy results and then go from there. Right now he's just struggling with being able to sleep.

Since I've been so busy with work this week and we were gone for several hours yesterday, I decided on quick and easy meals this week. Monday was Baked Ziti. Then we had tacos, burritos, or taco salad for Taco Tuesday. I browned the hamburger and mixed it with the taco seasoning, shredded the cheese, cut up the lettuce, and Ashlyn made the guacamole.  Wednesday we had leftovers. Last night we had sloppy joes with cheese peas and candied carrots. All three of those recipes came from my mom. The sloppy joes are super easy. It's just browned hamburger then mix it with ketchup and minced onion and heat through. The cheese peas...just drain a can of peas and melt Velveeta cheese in them...mix them up. Candied carrots are just canned carrots, drained, little bit of butter, and then brown sugar...heated on the stove until the sugar melts. And then tonight we will have leftovers again.

I've been trying to find my planner groove. I've loved planners for as long as I can remember. Even before high school when we got planners through the school, I always had planners. My favorite back then was the Five-Star planners that I used in middle school...but I've had several other kinds as well. In 2016, I switched over to the Happy Planner brand and I still love it so far. I got my new 2019-2020 planner a couple weeks ago and it has a slightly different layout than I usually get. So I've been playing around trying to figure out what I like. While I like decorating my planner to look pretty...I'm definitely more of a functional planner. I also love color coding...so everything has it's own pen color. Here is my decorated functional Happy Planner. :)

I use the colored box at the top for appointments and other things scheduled in advance. The line right below it I use for meal planning. The bottom I use to track work stuff. The rest is just for everything else. I am thinking about getting a different kind of planner specifically to track all my work stuff that is just January to December (instead of the 18 month planner I have now) and perhaps the mini size. Or they also have new skinny planners as well...so maybe I'll go that route. Or maybe I'll just continue to write it all in this one. I haven't decided yet. :P