Praise GOD from Whom All BLESSINGS Flow!!!

I really am doing great, and it's wonderful to be able to say that. Some days I don't have any abnormal movements at all, and on others I have only tolerable ones. I have been on cloud nine now for a couple of weeks, and it looks like I'm here to stay.

I have noticed that as I become more active and expend more muscle effort that the medicine wears off sooner in the evenings. The Movement Disorder doctor said to call him back in two weeks, and he would discuss raising the daytime dose maybe a half pill at that time. Sounds good to me. He just doesn't want me to zombie out on the Primidone, and I don't want that, either. He mentioned physical therapy to help with the slow walking, but that just does not seem necessary to me. I know how to be safe, and as I feel better I am naturally increasing my physical activity. I'm so used to listening to what my body is telling me that I can judge pretty well when it's time to quit.

My house certainly appreciates the extra attention I have been able to give it lately! There's plenty more to do, though. I have about two years of clutter to wade through. When you feel as bad as I have and as unsteady as I have it's just easier and safer to ignore a lot. Hubby has kept us in good meals and clean clothes, but the "stuff" has piled up.

We celebrated our 44th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. I wrote a long post about it on our Yesterday's Memories blog, so I won't repeat that here. The fantastic thing is that even though I was exhausted at night from all we did during the day the last two days, I feel fine today. My muscles are definitely adjusting to more activity.

So I leave this post with a positive outlook and a heart full of thanksgiving!! Whooopppieeeeeeeeee!!!

Had a New EEG Test Yesterday

I had my second EEG test yesterday, but my reactions to it were considerably different from the one I had two years ago. Back then, my Neurologist was trying to decide if I had Parkinson's or not. My only symptom at that time was a very labored, slow walk, that he called Bradykinesia. I did not have any problems with the EEG test at all.

Things have changed a good bit since then. Now I have lots of tremors, jerks, and facial tics, that only get worse if I am in a stressful situation, or cannot get my mind "somewhere else". I have discovered that when I am deeply concentrating on something, such as writing here on the computer, that the movements are quieted down considerably.

But put me in a situation that is the least stressful, or in one where I am just sitting with nothing actively going on, and I turn into the hurky jerky girl. Church is the usual place that happens. The only way to stop it that I have found is to go into a meditative state, finding some minute crack or spot on the wall to give my total attention to. It spaces me out, I don't hear the sermon, but at least I am not bothering all the people who sit behind us.

And now I know that it happens during EEG tests, too. With nothing to occupy my concentration, following her directions to do fast open mouth breathing for 3 minutes to make me hyperventilate, and some very uncomfortable series of strobe lights that made me feel even more stressed, there just wasn't any way to stop the jerks. The harder I tried to be still, as she had asked, the more I moved. She finally gave up and said at least it would let the doctors see what my brain was doing while my body was doing its own thing. She did tell me to open my mouth and stop pressing my lips together, so my mouth trembled and pulled to the left the whole time, too.

It took 45 minutes to complete the test, and I was exhausted the rest of the day.

The funny part was my hair!! They do not use the scull cap method, so each of these electrodes was stuck to my scalp with something like KY jelly. And there were lots of electrodes - maybe in the 20's? When she was through and told me to look in the mirror, I looked like something from a Monty Python movie. I smoothed my hair down as best I could, but would have loved to have walked out just as I was, so hubby could get a kick out of it. If he had been the only one in the waiting room I would have, but it was a very busy place.

We were set to drive some distance to a family funeral after the test, so I had anticipated the hair goo and planned to stop at any franchise hair salon along the way and get my hair washed. So that was easily enough taken care of. I am glad I knew to expect that, as it could have been a real problem if we had been running short on time. I didn't appreciate having to pay $12 just to get it washed and blown dry with no styling, but there wasn't anything else to do. I had also brought a complete change of clothes and shoes, so I would not have to take the test in good clothes.

We did get into a situation of some very expensive parking at UAB, though, that just added to the very expensive day. We parked in the closest parking deck to the Sparks Clinic at UAB, but they would not validate his ticket, since we had not used the "right" deck. Of course, they had not told me that I should park in any particular one when they called to tell me the appointment time. So, instead of costing $4.50 to park, it cost us $15.00!!! We were not at all happy about that!! UAB will be hearing from me about that today!!

When we did get to Cleveland, the little town in north Alabama where the funeral was going to be, we ate at a very nice looking local restaurant. Not surprisingly, considering the way the rest of the day had been, their prices were high. So, we took the lunch special of the day. The vegetables were great, but the meat was lousy. The waitress seemed genuinely shocked when hubby complained about it.

I really was worn out by the time the graveside funeral was over, so we begged off on eating at the church with the family and headed straight home. This was my sister in law's side of the family, so I really didn't know that many people there anyway, and I am not comfortable in unfamiliar social situations. I have always been that way, but it's gotten worse now that I jerk and twitch so much.

So we had a full day, one that I am glad to have over with. I have an appointment with Dr. Watt's team in May, with an MRI to be schedules before then, so I will have to wait that long to find out the results of the EEG. Should be very revealing, since I displayed the full range of all my jerks, tics, smirks, and shakes while the brain's electrical activity was being graphed.

I am optimistic that all these tests are going to show more than they did two years ago, and that they will be able to decide what is wrong with me with more certainty. Of course, I know there is no such thing medically in life as a certainty, but I can rely on God to get me through it all. Patience, Rosemary, Patience.

Odd Physical Therapy Today

I went to PT this morning, and they did start me on some exercises, all for my arms. The first few were fairly easy, but then she had me pushing down with what seemed like more resistance than the others were set for. I stopped at the first set of ten on that one, instead of doing two sets of ten the way I had done all the others.

Then I moved to the pulley rope, which I've done before with other therapy, and it's always fairly easy, unless you just can't raise your arms. I had no trouble with that at all. Problems came when I stood up from that one, though.

I woke up this morning trembling more than usual, and getting into the cold car this morning just made it worse. And then I did all this new exercising on top of that. I guess everything just worked together to bring major big time tremors in my legs and arms, all at the same time. I was frozen in place, unable to move, because I was just not in control at the moment. The Aide immediately pulled a chair over for me, and I didn't do any more exercises. They hovered over me for awhile, with me assuring them that I was OK, that it would ease off on its own, that there wasn't anything they could do, and I really was OK.

After I convinced them that I was not going to fall, they moved me to the room where they do the ultrasound and heat therapy with the TENS machine, and everything went as usual. About half way through all that, the tremors settled down to just the usual quiver in my right arm and leg.

The only thing I can think of is that using the machine that was apparently set with too much resistance for me to handle just used up the dopamine I had available for a little while. It will be interesting to see if I can find anything to agree or disagree with my hypothesis.

It's been a shaky afternoon, and I just gave in to my chocolate craving - that's my way to deal with stress, as any chocoholic will tell you. And my neck is sore, but not painful, from the exercise. But at least I'm walking around about like usual - maybe a little shakier, but not much.

She told me I have 3 more visits before I have to see the Orthopedist again, so I need to make that appointment. I should have done it today, but I'm in one of those procrastinating moods today, and I just didn't feel like doing it. These moods don't make any sense, but I get into them every once in awhile. Things that happen like this morning seem to bring this apathy on, like everything is just too much trouble. It's stupid, I know, but it's just the way I get at times. I'll snap out of it, just as the shakes finally stopped. Just takes a little time.

Tomorrow is Date Day, and it will be a better day. I'm sure of it!

Drug Interaction Still Causing Problems

I went to the Gastroenterologist Wednesday afternoon, and he did X-rays of my abdomen to determine if I was as constipated as he thought I would be, based on my symptoms. He was surprised to find that nothing in my colon was hard or compacted. After examining me, he has come to the conclusion that my problem is caused by spasms of the digestive tract, rather than weak muscles, as he had been telling me it was. So, now he thinks my trouble is exactly the opposite of what he had thought previously!! He prescribed Triavil, which relaxes the colon muscles, and he said I should feel much better by Monday.

I've learned my lesson though, so I specifically asked him if he was sure I could take this med with my Parkinson's meds. He said he did not think this would be a problem, but to ask my pharmacist. Full of hope that he had found a way to stop my very uncomfortable situation, I called our drugstore on the way home to be sure he had it in stock. But, when hubby came back from the drugstore, he didn't bring in the prescription bag. He said the pharmacist said his computer all but crashed when he put in the medicine, it produced such a strong warning that this was a dangerous combination with my other PD meds!!

At first I handled the news stoically, but later on that evening I went through a rough time of being very depressed, with lots of crying. I called my doctor's nurse first thing Thursday morning to let her know I couldn't take it, and to remind her that he would see Selegiline listed in the interaction information, rather than Zelepar, which is just a dissolving form of Selegiline. I think that must be why he didn't realize I couldn't take it.

Anyhow, I haven't heard back from him yet, so DH and I decided it was time to take matters in our own hands. We went enzyme, herb, and spice shopping, as I have been doing some research on my own about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and I found some things that should help, without causing problems.

Yesterday, I started taking Turmeric, St. John's Wort, and Acidophilus capsules. DH's Oncologist has had him on Turmeric ever since he had colon cancer, and his doctor had already suggested I use it. We had our usual Date Day today, and I continued to belch a lot all day, but did not have any nausea at all, or my usual sensation as if my food was sitting at the top of my throat all day. I'm encouraged that I will find a way to calm my system down and get things back to closer to normal, whether my Gastro can find a medicine I can take or not.

I'm still very wobbly, though, so I used the cane just about everywhere we went today, and I'm using it in the house tonight, too. It may be that it's just going to take awhile to recover from the really bad state I was in Sunday, plus I may still have some of the Cortisol in my system. I'll have to see if I can find something about how long it stays in the system after getting an injection. Or, it may be that the St. John's Wort, added to my other PD meds, is giving me an overdose of Levadopa.

That's what makes figuring this all out so difficult, as too much PD meds makes for jerky movements, called Dyskinesia. If you've seen Michael J. Fox jerking around, you've seen it. When PWP have been on meds for a long time their systems process the Levadopa in a very unpredictable way, and you see these wild jerking movements. But early on, if the meds aren't strong enough, you see tremors. It's hard for me to tell if my wobbliness is tremor or jerking, so I can't tell, based on that, if I'm getting too little or too much Levadopa. My hands are only shaking ever so slightly, which makes me think I'm not getting too much. My Neuro will know when he sees me.

By then I should have heard from my Gastro doctor, and I'll know if the herbs are going to do any good or cause any problems. I will be doing more research, too, to be sure there are no contraindications of these OTC with my prescriptions.

CPAP Goes Bye Bye

We turned the Cpap machine back in to the Durable Equipment Company yesterday. I struggled for 6 weeks, trying to adjust to different masks, but I never could find anything that worked properly on my face, with my Acne Rosacea skin problems, and giving me the ability to sleep on my side comfortably.

So, I saw the Sleep Disorder doctor yesterday, and he agreed that I was just not a good candidate for the Cpap option for controlling my mild Apnea. He agreed that I probably needed to control the apnea I have, even though it's mild, because I still have insomnia, and it's affecting my thinking skills and leaving me exhausted every day. If it weren't for the Parkinson's, I don't think he would have ever put me on a machine to begin with, as I have an apnea score of 10. That's probably as low as it goes, from what I understand. That means 10 episodes of apnea an hour. But if I were to get a full night's sleep, that means as many as 80 times a night I would momentarily stop breathing. My brain can't afford that amount of disruption, as part of it is already working on 20% efficiency - the part that makes dopamine.

So, we've moved on to another possibility, and that's to get an oral dental appliance. I've been doing the research online, and this looks like a good alternative for me. I won't have deal with skin irritation, as there is no headgear, and since it doesn't depend on any kind of forced air, there won't be any leaks. It still means getting used to something foreign, in this case a mouthpiece specially molded to my teeth by the dentist. This contraption is designed to pull my bottom jaw forward as I sleep, much like the way a medic does when they give CPR. That opens the airway, and should prevent the apnea. The tension on the jaw is done gradually, so the body has time to adjust, at least that's the way it's supposed to work.

I have an appointment today with my own dentist, to see if he could do the work or not. His office said he could, but I'm not so sure about that. This sounds awfully specialized to me. But I trust him to tell me if he can or can't do it. If he can't, the Sleep Disorder doctor will send me to an oral surgeon to get one. I will need to have another sleep study after I've been on the appliance long enough to pull my jaw forward, but that's no big deal.

The other area of concern is that this is probably not going to be covered by my insurance, the way the cpap was. I will be talking to them today, to see if that can be worked out. I did find a very detailed explanation of what needed to be done to get an insurance company to accept the procedure as insurable. I'll be using what I learned there to help me fight for coverage, if necessary.

I am very thankful that we are financially able to consider something like this, insured or not. I read what had to be done to get Medicare to pay for an oral dental appliance, and it involved paying for before and after sleep studies, plus paying for the mouthpiece itself, and then trying to get Medicare to reimburse. That's an awfully expensive proposition. At least my insurance will pay for the Sleep Studies, if nothing else.

The biggest drawback, at this point in time, is that there is no guarantee that I can adjust to the feel of this thing in my mouth, any better than I did the cpap mask on my face. And this can't be turned back in for a refund, the way the cpap machine could. We did get stuck with the mask part, though. We're stuck with the expense of the dental appliance, like it or not. It's not like you could turn THAT back in for a refund! LOL

DH and I feel like it's a reasonable use of our money, though, so that's not going to stop me from trying this procedure. I'm not a quitter, and I intend to keep trying, until we find some way to improve the quality of my life.

My Uplifting Valentine's Presents

This last week has really been a strange one, on several counts. I wouldn't normally go this long without a post, but I tried to get a little too fancy with my Drive Partitioning software, and couldn't get the computer to boot at all! It took me several days to figure out how to fix it, and several more to get everything back the way it belonged. Luckily, I'm good about backing up my data, so I didn't lose any of that.

In between working on the computer, DH and I have had quite a time with Daddy. He's been getting more and more wobbly, and less and less able to follow our transfer directions. So, we've had several episodes of it taking every bit of strength the two of us had to get him from one place to another. The last straw was Monday or Tuesday (I've lost track HA!) when we had the usual bowel problem. Thank goodness I had decided to move the commode into the bedroom, instead of trying to take him in the bathroom. By the time that ordeal was finished, he just about finished all three of us before we got him cleaned up and back in his wheelchair. The Hospice nurse came not long after that, and she could tell how exhausted we all were. This time, when I asked for lifting help, she agreed that it was time.

So, what did I get for Valentine's Day???? A brand spanking new Hoyer Lift!!! Frances, our paid care giver, DH, and I learned how to use it this morning, and we were able to move Daddy from the bed all the way into the living room to his recliner, without any trouble at all. He's more comfortable, and we're MUCH happier. And our backs and nerves appreciate it, too!!

I've been pleased with how well the Zelepar has been helping me deal with all this physical and emotional strain. I did have a bout of hysterical crying this weekend, though, because Daddy's foot looked worse to me, and I felt so guilty that I had let it get that way. My head knew I'd done my best, but my emotions sure didn't. The Podiatrist was here today, and he's very pleased with how it's progressing, so that's a big relief. Hey, that's another Valentine's Day present for me!!

And, today, for the first time in years, the pressure sore on Daddy's bottom is all but healed! Present number THREE!!

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. For the first time in quite some time, I really think we're going to be able to keep Daddy out of a Nursing Home. The lift, the gel seat cushion, our Estate Sale sheepskin finds, and the rippling mattress have made all the difference in the world in Daddy's quality of life. I thank God for his tender mercies.

We Have BOOTIES!!

Finally, a good two weeks or more after I first asked for them, the nurse brought the sheepskin looking booties today. If I had gotten them when I asked, his heel would not have looked so bad, and may not have even blistered at all. She also brought the seat cushion for his chair. His bottom is also getting worse, so this will help considerably.

We spent the whole morning trying to achieve a bowel movement. I've been giving Daddy 2 stool softeners with each meal, plus a Senna laxative tablet each night. He hadn't been since last Wednesday, so this morning we went all out to get some results. Prune juice for breakfast, plus another laxative tablet. It's quite an involved process to get him in the bathroom now, but DH helped me this morning. Daddy still couldn't go. So, I used a suppository. We waited, but still nothing.

By the time we had him ready to move to his chair in the living room, everything decided to start working. So, we went through the routine to get him back in the bathroom, take care of that, and then put him on the bed, so I could get him really clean and put ointment back on his sores. Then, we got him back up and into his chair. By the time we did all that, the nurse came. His chair is a recliner, which he would not use before. But we had so much trouble keeping him comfortable in his chair or the wheelchair Saturday, that we thought it was worth a try. By propping his calves up with two pillows, we finally got his legs high enough for his heels to hang without touching anything. And he's comfortable. He immediately fell asleep, bless his heart.

He's not the only one who's worn out! DH had to take over and sit with him while we were waiting for him to finish in the bathroom, because my stomach started churning and cramping. I not only had diarrhea, but I came very close to throwing up. I think it was just from my nerves, but this would never have happened before I had Parkinson's. It makes me so very nervous to work with him, because I'm so slow at everything I do. I'm afraid he's going to fall while I'm trying to get his pants down. In fact, I'm afraid he's going to fall every time I do anything with him. Really, I'm just afraid, period. Even though I know exactly what I want to do, I have no confidence that I will be able to actually do it, anymore.

DH and I have eaten lunch, but we've left Daddy sleeping for now, as he's exhausted. DH is asleep sitting on the sofa, and I'm blogging and resting. We're all three worn out from the morning's doings. LOL

This nurse says the other nurse will bring the air mattress when she comes later in the week, which should help his bottom a good bit.

I managed to control my temper while the nurse was here, as I didn't see that anything useful would come from letting her know just how mad at her I was. My DH knew I was mad, but I don't think she ever realized it. I hope not, as we have to work with her.

But if we have another situation develop like this one, I doubt if I will be so restrained.

Hallucinations

Daddy has been hallucinating for the last several days off and on. At times he doesn't realize he is at home, and starts wanting to know when we're going home. Although he is blind, I've noticed him looking around at things with this wide eyed expression on his face. He's obviously seeing things that aren't there. And, he's talking about them, too! Normally, Daddy is a very quiet person, but he's been chatting away about these children playing in the living room and the trucks in the bedroom. No amount of reassuring him that it's not real will convince him of it. Up until yesterday, the hallucinations seemed harmless enough, but were a definite sign that something had made a down turn.

Yesterday morning was the worst I've had yet with Daddy. Thank goodness my DH got to the house just about the time I was going to get him up. I found him lying astraddle of the bed, with legs partway off, having made an unsuccessful attempt to get himself out of bed. His bottom was much too close to the edge of the mattress to have him sit up, so we had to try to maneuver him back in the bed. All the while, he's loudly protesting that the trucks are coming into the bedroom, and he's struggling against us, trying to get up. We finally managed to get him seated at the foot of the mattress with enough spare room to be reasonably safe.

The question was, now that we had him there, how were we going to get him up, when he was exhausted. Thank goodness I've had prior experiences I could fall back on! We ended up taking the arm off the wheelchair and making a difficult sideways transfer of about 12 inches!! He's just a dead weight and doesn't help at all. By the time we got him in the chair, I was already worn out. Thank goodness I had taken my Zelepar earlier, before he got up!!

By the hardest, we managed to get him partially dressed, but there was no way to pull up his pants or change him out of his night Depends into fresh ones. With one more gigantic effort, we managed to lift him up enough to get the wet Depends off and a dry one under him, partially taped up on the sides. That was just going to have to do for then. DH rolled him into the kitchen, with his trousers down at his ankles, and I covered him up the best I could.

His kitchen table is too low to let the arms of the wheelchair go under it, so he tried to eat breakfast farther away from the table than he's used to. He was still hallucinating and talking about the hole in his bedroom wall where the trucks had come through. He ate very little, but he did let me feed him a few bites. Luckily, we have the Rhoho cushion that Mama had after she broke her hip. Sitting on that is like sitting on air, and it's designed to prevent pressure sores. So we stood him up one last time for the day, and managed to get it under him. We ended up leaving him in the wheelchair all day, for safety's sake.

DH stayed longer than usual last night, so he could help me get Daddy to bed. It was not easy, but it was nowhere near as bad as getting him out had been.

Frances came today, and thank goodness Daddy was lucid this morning! Since I knew what to expect today, she and I changed the Depends and got him partially dressed before we ever let him get up. That made things a lot simpler. We stuck around and helped with him until she had him ready for breakfast. Then we got out of there for our Date Day. We both really needed to be away from all that nervous tension for awhile.

He's still really weak tonight, but he's beginning to understand a little of what is expected of him when he needs to make a transfer. That helps a lot.

So I write this tonight, not knowing who I will deal with tomorrow - my Daddy, or the fellow with all the trucks and children. I'll find out in the morning, won't I?

Ahhh To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Thank goodness for Ambien. I called my Neurologist's nurse yesterday and explained the situation with Daddy. She called in the prescription, and I had a good night's sleep last night, for the first time in a week. Whew!! That felt good.

It will take me a few days to get over being so tired, I expect, but getting a good night's sleep will make a world of difference in what I can accomplish without being totally exhausted. Maybe I can even get back to practicing my Tai Chi in Daddy's living room. After going to all that trouble to learn it again, I sure don't want to forget it. And it's good for my balance and stamina, too.

I've been reading some articles lately that say Pilates is good for PWP (people with Parkinson's), so that may be the next thing I look into. I haven't been able to figure out from what I've read if these were specially modified Pilates classes or not. Of course, it would make a big difference if they were. Speaking of PWP, I've also found that Parkinson's folks call themselves Parkies. Ain't that cute? So I'm a PWP and a Parkie now.

One of the Hospice people tried unsuccessfully several times yesterday afternoon to call us from her cell phone. We live in the middle of nowhere, as far as cell coverage is concerned. "Can you hear me now" just won't work out here. In fact, we had Verizon, and dropped it, because we couldn't get it to work at all LOL. She never did come, and we never did get to talk to her, either.

I'm considering ordering DSL for here, so I don't have to depend on my cell phone while I'm on the computer. Plus, for some reason, the program our church uses for editing our website just won't let me FTP from here on dialup. It works fine at the house on DSL. I'm the church webmaster, and that has to be updated weekly.

As you may be able to tell, I'm in a pretty good mood today. It's been over a week since he fell, and we've developed somewhat of a routine. Now that I know I will be able to sleep, I feel like we can handle whatever comes, between the two of us. We've had plenty of care giving experience, and we have Hospice for support. Our daughters and church family will help where they can, and we have our faith in God to hold us in the good and the bad times. What more could we ask.

Your prayers and kind thoughts are always appreciated, too. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much!

Took Daddy to the Doctor

We did take Daddy to the doctor yesterday afternoon. We borrowed a wheelchair from one of our church friends, and we have a very nice ramp left from when Mama needed it, so that made getting him there less of a hassle. The worst part was the long wait at the doctor's office. We had a 2:00 appointment, but didn't see him until after 3:00, and that's normal. If he weren't so conveniently close to the house, we wouldn't put up with it.

Anyway, he started talking about MRI's and tests on carotids, and I told him that we wouldn't be doing any of that, because we wouldn't be following through with any of the results. That took him aback for a second, and then he stopped and thought about who his patient was, and agreed with me. I told him my concern was if Daddy might be developing pneumonia, which could be dealt with, and could he get us some help from Home Health or Hospice. I told him that the stress and extra work of the last few days had exhausted my Parkinson's meds ability to cope with my symptoms, and that my legs were very wobbly. He agreed that Daddy should qualify for some kind of help, and he would get his office lady on it. He gave Daddy an antibiotic shot and a prescription for more antibiotics, and that was it. He agreed with me that it appeared that he had suffered a small stroke, but was reluctant to start him on Cumadin or any other blood thinner, because of his age (he's 101).

So, it was a long day, and a tiring one, as only waiting in a doctor's office can be tiring, but I think we accomplished what I had hoped we would. This doctor will get him on Hospice if it's possible, and that will be the help we need to keep him in his own home. The one thing Daddy dreads is ending up in the hospital or a nursing home, and it's important to me that I help him have the Quality of Life that he wants, even if it shortens it a little. As long as he has lived, I don't think that's a bad thing. With the extra help, and all the help that my DH is giving, we'll make it through this. We've known it was coming, as it was inevitable, but it's still harder to deal with than we had planned, thanks to the Parkinson's leaving me with so little stamina.

Struggling through Sunday

There's something about Sunday that just exhausts me. It starts with the special Sunday breakfast with Daddy. That takes more standing on my feet than the normal one does, but it's part of his routine, and I don't want to change that. Another thing that contributes to my problems on Sunday is the shoes. They don't give me any support. By the time I've walked from the car to the SS room, I'm completely exhausted. I do get awfully nervous teaching, although it was better yesterday. D will be teaching full time, starting Sept. 1, so I won't have that to stress me out any more, except for substituting when she's sick. That's for the best, I'm sure.

I sit at home all day long, so I don't know why sitting in church should tire me out, but it seems to. The pews just aren't as comfortable, I guess. Anyway, I end up taking a nap every Sunday afternoon, just worn out. I didn't even feel like driving DH to Deacon's Meeting yesterday, so he took me to Daddy's and then came to get me and took me home before he went back for church last night.

My legs, shoulders, and neck were hurting by nine o'clock last night and I had the beginnings of a headache, so DH set up the vibrating pillow and I took 2 of his Tylenol arthritis pills and went to sleep for the night. I feel better this morning.