Week in Photos & Words - 6/23/15

I'm a week or so behind in blogging. So here is what is happening here on Anna Maria Island (Florida). 

The buildings are still just as colorful.

Our friends BB & Bob are doing well and visit us daily. I love these birds.

I put out a water bowl for them. Hehe. 

I've been eating pretty healthy still. My body feels slightly better when I eat healthier food. With that said, I totally enjoy others eating delicious foods.

My fun food of the week...breadsticks from Domino's. SO good! I allowed myself just a bit. 

I'm still getting bit on a daily basis. Like not even once or twice but multiple times throughout the day. These "no see-ums" are getting the best of me. We have 75 citronella votives on the way from Amazon. I will beat these little bugs.

Really...my forehead?!?

I just figured out that there are charity auctions on Instagram! I won this print from @gracelaced and all the monies went to a family's adoption.

I made it my new memory verse. I have "We have this hope" memorized so far. I'm a really, really bad memorizer. I can memorize facts and contents but word-for-word memorization is super hard. I remember "we have" by thinking of a baby orange (a "wee" orange if you will) being halved. That helps me start out the verse.

 A frame for our vintage Anna Maria Island map that was given to us. My hubby found this frame & mat for...yup...$1. It was a custom frame for a covered bridge photograph which he carefully removed.

A walker! We gave mine away in PA since we really couldn't fit it along with my wheelchair and all of our stuff when we drove down. This one was just $5! Score! My wrists and hands usually hurt too much to use it but it is always nice to have around the house.

And words without photos...

I need to make a decision about Ketamine for my RSD. I need for the RSD not to spread to my face or organs. In the last year it has gone from just my knee to both ankles, both feet, my other knee, my back, my elbows, wrists, hands and fingers. At times it feels like my ankles will shatter. (update: and now my stupid hips)

Ketamine is very, very pricey. I currently have Blue Cross it will not cover it. They would cover a device implanted on my spine that gives me narcotics automatically though. What? How is that possible? Anyway...

Ketamine has side effects which honestly scare me. But I have a lot of RSD friends that have given me great suggestions for hopefully helping with some of those.

Once I make the decision (and I'm almost there...almost), we need to figure out how to pay for it. God has been amazing to us through all of this and we are really trusting Him on this one.

So that is what is happening here.

Week in Photos (6/12/15)

I haven't felt up to blogging in awhile. This week was tough but there is hope close by. We have decided to pursue ketamine. Honestly it is either that or major narcotics again. I took a half pill this morning and so I am able to do a bit more (like blogging!).

I wouldn't mind not being able to use my hands or walk but the pain that comes along with it is horrid. And now...onto the past week or so.

The hubby vacuums. And this morning I woke up to find clean clothes folded on the kitchen island. This man is amazing to me and I'm so thankful. 

 Blue toes! The bottoms of my toes turn a light blue-ish color. My doctor pointed it out weeks ago and it is something that comes and goes. It really doesn't bother me. Discoloration is just a small part of RSD.

 And lots of photos of me. I've been trying to take more. I want to remember more than just the pain when I look back on our six months living on Anna Maria Island, FL. 

 Some not so good days...

There has been lots of sitting this week. Lots of YouTube watching. I've been watching old toy commercials, how-to videos, and just finished BBC's "The Great Interior Design Challenge". So good! 

A boat on the canal.

An actual ad in the local paper. Love it!

Thank you to all my readers who have stuck with me. I hope you have a happy, pain free day.

Happy June!

Heaven will be like Anna maria Island but better and my mind cannot grasp this. 

My body continues to fail but my heart and mind sing with praises with each view. When I didn't feel well (which was basically every day) in PA, I would simply lay in bed or lay in the living room. I didn't have many options since it was too cold to sit outside. My RSD hasn't gotten any better but I have more options here. I can sit on the dock in the back yard, sit in my gravity free chair on the sun porch or the hubby can plop me at the beach. 

My pain hasn't improved here in FL and has actually worsened. There are so many different hurts. Sometimes it feels like my fingers and wrists are being broken. My bones hurt and I just look at them in confusion. It doesn't look like they should hurt. They look like normal hands. But the pain is outstanding. I cannot think. Some days there is stiffness and I can barely move my left hand. My fingers curl in on themselves and sometimes get stuck like that.

Sometimes I cannot put any weight on my left leg. Not even one step. RSD causes your nerves to feel like they are both on fire and the coldest they have ever felt - at the same time. It is quite odd. 

But God is amazing and we are so very blessed. I think most people have at least one area of their life where things aren't going well. This could be finances, relationships, health or time.

Other things happening here in FL: 

The hubby named this bird BeBe.

Library books of the week: 

Tempting Fate (the left top corner) wasn't worth it. Girl Underwater (bottom row) was WELL worth the read! I have to go back today since I'm already finished with these. The library is about a mile or so from our house. LOVE THAT!

And this may be the worst photo of me ever. The mosquito are loving my blood! Thankfully lavender essential oil takes away most of the sting. Could someone know that I don't mind them biting my body but if they could stay away from my face, I'd appreciate it.

I hope everyone has a great day. Remember to encourage someone today.