Monthly Archives: July 2022

Sunday thoughts

Posted on by
2

Just like that July is over and August is here. It always surprises me how fast time flies by. Tomorrow we will begin the 8th month of 2022. I guess the positive side is, that summer will end soon, and cooler days are near. Of course, August and September can still be hot in the south, but I am looking forward to days when the temperatures are not in the low 90’s at 10:00 at night. This heat has been awful this year and I do not expect next year to be any different☹. I am hopeful that next year we will have central air in our house, so we will not feel like we are living in a sauna even with window units.

Tomorrow, I have my follow-up doctor’s appointment with my pain doctor. You know the one that forced me to reschedule because I was a few minutes late and two minutes away after driving for an hour and a half a couple of weeks ago! It probably is not a good thing that I am still feeling a little sour about this and I already know they will have me wait for no less than 20 minutes tomorrow. Why is it okay for them to always run late, but when I do one time I have to reschedule, leave work early again, and drive that long drive for a second time within two weeks, especially when gas prices are out of control? This hardly seems fair to me, and it is going to be extremely hard to not let them know how I feel about this!

I think I have mentioned this to you before, but the Gilenya I take for the MS is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because it seems to be keeping the MS at bay and not letting it progress, which I appreciate. It is a curse because one of the main side effects is sinus issues and I have had an evil sinus headache for three days now. If you remember I did post several years ago about stopping the Gilenya and trying something different because I was sick of the sinus headaches. Honestly, there was no way to know that this medication was helping as much as it is. I knew years ago I would have to decide to either deal with the sinus headaches or risk my health, which logically seems like a no-brainer. I hate the constant headaches but would regret changing medications and end up in a terrible situation. This is a catch-22 situation, but I decided a long time ago that I would just endure the sinus headaches.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope your weekend has been full of relaxation and doing what you enjoy. Tomorrow is the start of a new week and a new month, which will hopefully include many amazing new opportunities. I look forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Heat, Headaches, and MS Hug

Posted on by
4

For the past several days I forced myself through my workday and the things that I had to do. Unfortunately, I was unable to do any posts, work on my essay for the writing competition, or read because I have been battling a headache that seemed to be never-ending. Anytime I thought it was improving, I was proven to be incorrect when the massive pounding in my head returned with a vengeance.

Many of you reading this post today and may have visited my site before are already aware that I have Multiple Sclerosis. Anyone new to my site, thank you for taking the time to visit and I hope you will return. I enjoy writing about various topics and hope you will enjoy what I write about as well.

I have lived with Multiple Sclerosis for over 20 years, so basically more than half of my life. Over all these years, I have had numerous challenges, setbacks, disappointments, frustrations which fueled stress, and enough tears to fill the ocean. The one thing I have not experienced is giving up and letting MS control my life.

One of the main reasons why I refuse to give up is I made a promise to my late grandfather shortly after my diagnosis that I would always continue to try to move forward, and I would never surrender to MS. Although he has been gone for almost 9 years, I will continue to keep the promise I made to him. It might help that I am also extremely stubborn and obviously a born fighter, just not the violent type of fighter😊!

During the 20-plus years of living with MS, I have dealt with vision impairments, numbness, various forms of pain, stress from the harshness of symptoms, fears from potential disease progression, changing and deciding the right medications, relapse, neuropathy, doctor’s appointments, dizziness, and much more. Most of my pain does not prevent me from living my life and I just push through it and try my best to ignore it. After all the years of experiencing head pain, I am still unable to tolerate it. Unfortunately, it does not matter how many headaches I have already had in my life or how often I battle with them in any given week, the headache always wins our war.

There once was a time when I had a headache, I could take Advil and lay down with an ice pack for an hour or so and the headache would be gone. I wish I could explain how much I miss those days! Unfortunately, over the past few years, nothing provides me with any relief. Although I had many reservations, I ended up trying everything my doctors recommended, but they were all a complete waste of time and money because they did not help. I have tried combinations of over-the-counter medications, such as Advil, Excedrin, and Sudafed, which have helped more than anything else.

Over the past several days, not only was I dealing with the headache straight from hell but the invasive tight band feeling also known as the “MS Hug” visited me. The only good thing about COVID was social distancing, but I guess the MS Hug did not get the memo. I am just speculating, but I think I am experiencing the tight band feeling because of stress, the insane heat, or a nasty combination of the two.

This outrageous and uncontrollable heat is my enemy because it always causes me to feel awful. Over the weekend, I had to run out to two different stores and when I finally made it back home, I told my husband I am not leaving the house again during the day until at least November. I am pretty sure if the temperatures get any hotter, it will be the death of me. I do understand that this massive heat is being felt all around the world, and I do not think anyone can say global warming is not real anymore.

How are y’all handling the incredibly dangerous heat? One thing that I believe helps is to stay hydrated. I have four different stainless steel insulated water bottles. I fill the bottles about a quarter of the way with water and put them in the freezer. This makes it so I always have ice-cold water handy! I strongly recommend them, especially during the summer months. These stainless-steel insulated water bottles are very affordable on Amazon and there are any colors you can think of😊!

Another thing I recommend during these HOT summer months is if you must leave the house, start your car, and let the A/C run for a few minutes. It is never a good idea to try driving when you are hot because you could get overheated, which can cause you to feel dizzy and faint. The heat can do some terrible things to our bodies and minds, so it is best to do everything we can to stay as cool as possible.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope what I have shared was helpful for you. If you have any other suggestions regarding staying cool with these drastic temperatures, please share. Also, if you have experienced the evil MS hug, is there anything you do that helps? I am looking forward to reading your comments and I will respond as soon as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Sunday thoughts

Posted on by
1

Full disclosure and I am sorry in advance. I know I am mentioned the following statement multiple times over the years, but it still stands to be true, and I feel is worth repeating. Although life can be complicated and exhausting at times, life is short. No matter what we go through or how overwhelmed we feel, we should never give up and must do what brings us the most joy. We do not need to explain ourselves to anyone because this is our life. Other people may not agree with how we live our life or any of the decisions we make, but no one needs to understand why we made certain decisions. As long as we are not causing harm to anyone else, it should not matter how we are living our lives. 

Over the past several years and the first days of knowing what COVID was, and the damning effects it inflicted, many have been stressed and scared. These feelings are normal because COVID has killed so many. I am sure everyone has heard another strain that is more contagious making its way through the world. The new strain BA.5 has caused illness in people that have been vaccinated and boosted, which has been upsetting. However, we all must keep our vaccinations current because, without them, the chances of survival decrease significantly. It does seem as though anytime we think we have seen the last of COVID, something new appears.

I do understand that many people were hesitant about the COVID vaccine when we were first introduced to it, and many refused to get the vaccine because it was so new. We are all entitled to our opinions, but if we look at how many unvaccinated people have died when they got COVID to the number of vaccinated people that had a breakthrough infection and survived, it seems like an easy and logical decision. Scientists have stated that those who get the newest strain of COVID that are vaccinated have experienced less severe symptoms and heal faster than those who are unvaccinated. Recently, a friend of mine got sick with COVID. She has an underlying condition and was double vaccinated and had the booster, she has made a full recovery but might not have if she was not vaccinated. I think the decision to be vaccinated or not is a gamble with our lives and I am not a gambler!

Another issue everyone around the world is experiencing is the unbearable heat! Yesterday I had to go out to do a few things, which I normally do not have to do. The heat was so awful that walking from my front door to the truck caused more dizziness and irritation. Do you wonder why the heat is so out of control? Is there any doubt that global warming is real? The healthiest people in the world cannot tolerate this heat, so for anyone who battles with health issues, it can feel like their life is being sucked out of them. Extreme temperatures have always caused me additional problems with my Multiple Sclerosis, but the extreme heat is making things 100 times more intense. I told my husband yesterday that I am not leaving the house during the day anymore until at least November. I did look ahead at what the weather was going to be like next week and it looks as though more miserable days with heat are coming!

What are some of the most important things in your life? Do you think anyone should have to explain why they love who they love? Does it seem like there is too much hatred filling this world? I am unable to understand hate and I do not think I ever will understand it because, in my opinion, we are all human and deserve to be treated fairly and with compassion. We will never know what someone else is going through in life unless we try. Sometimes a person will have an unpleasant attitude because they are struggling with something in their life, but it is possible they just need someone to understand and offer them love. Do you ever think that being kind to another person might have a HUGE impact on their life and make a difference? I do without a doubt!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you are having a good weekend and staying safe. I am looking forward to reading your comments and hope that you have enjoyed this post. I will respond to all comments as quickly as I can. It is a little sad the weekend is becoming to an end soon and we will be getting ready for another long week, but if we view each week as an opportunity, it might make it a little easier😊! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Finally Friday!

Posted on by
2

Happy Friday, y’all! I hope you had a great week and you are looking forward to the weekend. This week has felt super long which included good, bad, and awful days. I already explained how things went on Monday with my doctor’s appointment and how incredibly rude they were to force me to reschedule when I was three minutes from their office. Yes, I am still a little sour about this because gas prices are insane and the traffic on the interstate is miserable, which they are fully aware of. Besides my frustrations with the doctor’s office, people have been ridiculously demanding and rude. I do not understand it, but I guess they never learned that you get more flies with honey than vinegar😊!

As we end this week, we need to not hold onto anything negative that occurred during the week. Something I have learned is, that we need to not dwell on things we cannot change and anything we have no control over we need to let go and move on. Why overthink something we have no control over and cannot change? I would like to share a quote with y’all today that I found interesting and incredibly true. No matter how many bad things may happen in life, many good things can unfold from the challenges and experiences we endure. We should always keep our eyes wide open and be accepting because this will help us deal with everything with dignity and grace!

Most of us are fully vaccinated, which is great, but we still need to be cautious. Many that have been fully vaccinated with two vaccines and a booster are becoming ill because of a new COVID strain. The good news is those that who are fully vaccinated are not getting gravely ill but still may get sick. The vaccines do not last a lifetime and unfortunately, we may need to continue getting vaccines to stay safe. As y’all know, I have a weak immune system, so my husband and I are going this weekend to get the 2nd booster. Honestly, I am not excited about this because the 1st booster had me sick for the entire weekend, but I would rather be sick for a few days than lose my life.

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you enjoyed what I have shared with you and I look forward to reading your comments. I will respond to all of your comments as quickly as I can. I hope you have a wonderful day and an incredible, and safe weekend! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Pick-Me-Up-Thursday

Posted on by
1

Happy Friday eve y’all! How has your week been? This has been an interesting week. Monday had a mixture of good and awful things happen. My day started earlier than normal because of the doctor’s appointment I was “supposed” to have that was rescheduled because I was a few minutes late. Seriously, the nerve of the Nurse Practitioner to force me to reschedule when after I had driven an hour and a half, and was three minutes away, especially when I am NEVER late and she always has me wait no less than 20 minutes. Yes, I am still a little infuriated about this!

Monday ended on a positive side because I was able to watch my mother get married via Zoom to a man that makes her extremely happy and I think is a good man! Although I was not able to be at her wedding in person, they made it possible to have me present and able to watch their special day! They had a beautiful ceremony and I think will live happily ever after! I even tried to convince her husband to smash the cake in her face, although I knew she would not have appreciated it but still thought it would have been hilarious.

Do you have any plans for the weekend? My husband and I are going to get our second COVID booster as our last one was too long ago and there is another new strain of COVID out that from what scientists say is the most contagious. This is terrifying to me because we have made it through all these years without getting COVID.

We have almost made it through the week and have the weekend to look forward to! There is only one day left until we get to enjoy the short weekend, but this is the time to let go of anything negative that occurred this week. I do not plan on letting go of my anger toward the Nurse Practitioner yet, but everything else negative that happened this week I will! I am hoping the quote I am sharing with y’all today will be a reminder to look forward to the positive things in everything that happens daily! We all experience struggles throughout our lives and often these struggles happen every week, but the truth is there are always good things that happen as well!

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you have enjoyed this post and appreciated the meaning of the quote I shared. I am looking forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. I hope you have a wonder day and please remember to always treat others with kindness as we never know what someone is going through in life. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positives vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Blessing OR A Curse?

Posted on by
4

Is it a blessing or a curse to be an emotional kind of person? I used to believe it was a blessing because this allows you to empathize with others, but over the last several years I am starting to think it is more of a curse. Anyone that can turn on the news and see what has occurred in the world, and not break down into tears, I envy them. So many times, even during the past month, I am unable to not do this. There have been SO many tragedies and lives destroyed throughout the world, and many were in the country I was born and raised in, which I find extremely appalling. Honestly, how seeing what has gone on in the United States, how can anyone still say they are “proud” to be an American?

I do not know any of the people who have gone through tragic times, but my heart still breaks for them. I cannot imagine what the parents have gone through and continue to go through after losing a child or the families that lost a loved one in the Uvalde school shooting. It was my last year in high school when Columbine occurred and even as a 17-year-old girl, it was horrifying. I will never forget that many thought it would be funny to pull the fire alarm to make everyone run outside, but I refused to do so after the first few because I knew what could happen as it did a week before they were pulling these immature pranks.

When I kept hearing the interviews with people who lost someone due to COVID-19, I would cry along with them. I will never understand what they went through saying “goodbye” to a loved one on a computer screen. Of course, I did not get to say “goodbye” to my late grandfather, but I was able to go to his funeral (which truthfully did not bring any peace for me as it was such a painful loss). It is hard enough losing someone we love, but not being able to say our goodbyes or have a proper funeral would be awful. Many people thought COVID ruined their lives because they were not able to do the fun things they always did before, had to wear a mask or get the vaccine or isolate at home, but the loss of a loved one or becoming ill due to COVID would be devastating.

I have seen some horrible images of Ukraine and interviews with people from the country. I might not find the way things are in the United States upstanding or positive, but at least, for the most part, we do not have to fear bombs and the military killing us daily. Of course, there have had far too many shootings in the United States, but the gunmen were typically deranged and mentally ill people with no morals or love for human life, which I guess can describe the individual responsible for attacking Ukraine.

I mentioned to y’all that my mother got married on Monday evening. Of course, I was not able to attend in person, but my husband and I watched the wedding via Zoom. It was a beautiful wedding and they looked very happy. I wish her and her new husband nothing but the best in life. I do think it is true that love can be unexpected at times and that good things come to those who wait!

I also told y’all I had a follow-up appointment with my pain management doctor. I am NEVER late for anything, but because of the insane stop and go traffic on the interstate, I was running 10 minutes late. I was three minutes from the office when the office called to tell me the Nurse Practitioner had to leave, and I was going to have to reschedule. I cannot explain how incredibly angry I was about this because every other time when I had an appointment, I was at least 15 minutes early and was forced to wait for the Nurse Practitioner for at least 30 minutes. I had just driven an hour and a half, left work early, and had to turn around and go back home! All I can say about this now is, I am glad the appointment was rescheduled in two weeks because I need that time to cool down and best believe, they better not have me waiting 30 minutes when I get there!

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you are having a good week and staying safe. The good news about today is, we are halfway to the weekend, so we are closer to the weekend than we were yesterday😊! I am looking forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Not just any kind of Monday

Posted on by
4

Most of us dread Monday morning, but today is a VERY special day! I do not have the words to explain how happy I am that my mother is getting married tonight. After kissing many toads, she has finally found her prince charming and soul mate in this life. Love is not an easy thing to find and hold on to, but she is happily marrying a man that is kind, loyal, understanding, easy to talk to, giving, loving, loves her unconditionally, and everything else that is wonderful. In all my years, I have never seen her this happy and it is refreshing. Not everyone finds love in their lifetime, but she finally has and I could not be happier for the two of them!

Unfortunately, I am not going to be at this wedding in person as she lives in another state which is over which is over 1,100 miles away. However, we are doing the next best thing and I will be at this wedding via Zoom. I know it does not seem like an ordinary way to watch your mother get married and I can admit it is far from ordinary, but due to COVID still lingering and my weak immune system getting on an airplane was not safe. I am thankful for the man she is marrying, which I have known for over two decades. It is funny how life and love work out, but things like this always work out for the best for everyone!

This afternoon I have a follow-up appointment with my pain management doctor. These appointments always go the same way and are relatively pointless, but I jump through all their hoops and follow what they require. The worst thing about these appointments is driving there because there is WAY too much road construction and too many people cannot drive. Overall, I know my appointment will go well as the Nurse Practitioner listens to what I say and knows I will not be willing to try anything different. Why change something when it works?

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and look forward to hearing from you. Considering I am leaving work early for my doctor’s appointment and I have my mother’s wedding tonight, it might take me longer to respond to comments, but I will as soon as possible. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and your week begins great. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Five Year Blogging Anniversary

Posted on by
11

Five years ago, I decided to join the blogging world😊. I have never regretted my decision as it has provided me with an amazing opportunity that I will be forever thankful for. I have always enjoyed writing, so blogging has helped me to broaden my abilities and deepened my skills. This experience has given me a chance to make friends all around the world, which has been extremely interesting. The friends I have made in other countries have been a phenomenal adventure for me and I want to thank everyone who returns to visit my site, and for sharing your wonderful posts!

Over the five years, I have been doing my blog, I have received 17 awards😊, which were surprising and very much appreciated. The awards that I received were: Awesome Blogger, Entertainment Blogger, Chronically Hopeful Blogger, Disability Blogger, Sunshine Blogger, Mystery Blogger, Liebster Award, and Blogger Recognition Award. I did receive multiples for some of these awards! I never in a million years expected any of these awards, but they did allow me to nominate other bloggers for the awards. I enjoyed choosing some of my fellow astonishing blogger friends for these.

I feel like writing is a fantastic outlet for emotions, which may be positive or negative. There are NO rules and should NEVER be a fear of being judged because we are all entitled to feel the way we do. Of course, we do not all have to always agree on everything but should always remain respectful. One thing I think is extremely important is to build others up, instead of tearing them down. We are all living in this huge world together and may not meet face to face, but we need to not ridicule or degrade another person. This is crucial whether it is online or in person because everyone has feelings.

Unfortunately, in the United States, bullying has become more common. We hear about these issues happening in schools, between ordinary people and in the government, and anywhere else where humans are. The outcome of bullying is never positive and leads to terrible things that should never have occurred in the first place. Why do so many people think it is acceptable, to taunt, harass, belittle, demean, and terrorize others? Why do so many feel like it is well within their right to harm another person? Why have there been an appalling number of mass shootings in the United States? Why can everyone not treat others kindly and with respect? It will never make sense to me because treating others unkind is completely unacceptable!

I started this post talking about my five years of blogging and then started writing about something completely unrelated. One of the many reasons I enjoy writing is because we can write about whatever we want. I hope I have been able to help some of you with the over 1,100 posts I have done so far. It has been one of my goals to help at least one person who is going through a difficult time in life. We all experience struggles in life and even though we might feel alone, there is always someone out there that can relate and offer their assistance!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you are having a good weekend and enjoyed this post. I appreciate all your support over the years and hope to continue sharing enjoyable posts with y’all. I am looking forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Let It Go Friday

Posted on by
1

Finally, happy Friday! How was your week? I cannot speak for everyone, but I am so glad it is Friday and we have the weekend ahead of us. I think I have been waiting for today since Monday morning😊! Of course, I always look forward to the weekends, but this week was exceptionally long and slightly painful. There were many twists and turns this week with the unique personalities of people. Yes, many were amazing and brightened my day, but some that would not be happy if you handed them the sun, moon, and stars!

As we are at the end of the week and about to begin the weekend, we need to find a way to let go of any negative emotions caused during the week. Our weekends are already so short, we must be able to enjoy them as much as possible. I love the quote I am sharing with you today and hope you will enjoy it as well. It seems crazy to talk about how short life is when the week feels incredibly long, but life truly is too short to have any regrets. We definitely should not wake up or go to bed with any regrets because we never know what tomorrow or even the next few minutes have in store for us.

Do you have anything planned for the weekend? I am sure no one will be surprised, but I do not have too much planned for the weekend. I prefer to not make too many plans as the weekends are the only time I do not have to do anything. I do not like fighting, but tomorrow one of my favorite UFC ladies is fighting. I think Michelle Waterson is absolutely adorable and seems to have a great personality, plus she has a smile that can make anyone else smile with her. I also did learn there is another writing competition that is going on in September. I am considering trying this again, but must think of something to write about.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed the quote and what I have written. I hope you have a wonderful, restful, and safe weekend. I am looking forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

People are full of surprises

Posted on by
4

Happy Friday eve y’all! How has your week been? I know we are all looking forward to the weekend. This week has not felt as long as last week was, but it most definitely was not short. It has rained where I live almost every day, even if it was a short rain shower. With each rain shower we get, they are always followed by a short, but loud thunderstorm. I have mentioned this before, but the rain intensifies my pain dramatically. I do try not to allow the extreme pain to affect me too terribly, but sometimes it is impossible!

 I tend to prefer interacting with animals more rather than with human beings because they do not disappoint, love unconditionally, do not hold a grudge (most of the time that is), and provide tremendous amounts of joy 😊. Unfortunately, for most of my day, I have to interact with humans. The good thing is, people are full of surprises and can actually provide some happiness to our days! As y’all already know, I work from home, but over the past few weeks, I have been able to get to know one of my co-workers 😊s. This person and I have a lot in common and I appreciate how kind she is. The reason I am choosing the quote I did today is to remind everyone the only person that is responsible for anything in our life is us. Even when we do come across one of the awful people there are in this world, we can decide to not associate with that person.

Immense levels of fatigue and frustration made it hard for me to do my normal posts during the weekend. I should have learned to plan around the heat better because my reactions to high temperatures never change. It has been incredibly challenging to do much of anything after a long day at work and by the time I feed the cats and clean their litter box, I feel like I have not slept in weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to plan my blogging better and catch up over the weekend!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you have an amazing day and you remember how special you are. I am looking forward to reading your comments, which I do hope you enjoyed the quote and everything else I wrote. I will respond to all comments as soon as I can. Please remember that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa