Big Sur

Our 1 year wedding anniversary was on June 14th. We went out to dinner at the Crow's Nest which is where we first met in person. We had a yummy dinner and Emiliano even wore a shirt with buttons, just for me.


Our real celebration was treating ourselves to a vacation in Big Sur. June 17th -19th we went camping at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park campground. Emiliano had never been there so I took him on a tour of all the best places. We stopped many times along the way to check out the view from the road. He loved it!


Then after setting up camp we went for a walk in the nearby Big Sur River. The Water was so clear and refreshing. Later we made a yummy dinner over the fire and slept with a thousand stars above us.


The next morning, we made breakfast and went for a drive south to look for the famous sand dollar beach. We made numerous stops along the way to enjoy the scenery. One of the stops was at Julia Pfeifer Beach. We walked out a quarter mile to a lookout where you can see a waterfall that spills off the cliffs onto the sandy beach. That was so beautiful. By the time we finally got to Sand Dollar I was really tired. We had lunch in the back of the truck and walked out to get a good view of the beach and check to see if it would be surfable. It was foggy and windy and I was getting progressively slower so we headed back.







We decided instead to spend the afternoon at Pfeiffer Beach because it was clear and sunny and warm. The beach was much closer and I was able to rest on the beach while Emiliano went and explored sand dunes (he found an awesome knife in the sand) , rocks, and tried to collect grains of the purple sand for me. My brain is getting so foggy I didn't even realize that I had been to this beach before until I saw my feet in purple sand and then I remembered building sand castles with Hosanna and the crew.



For dinner we decided to treat ourselves to very overpriced burgers and fries and Nepenthe. Seriously, $7.75 for fries? You've got to be kidding. But the view is amazing. Even so, I recommend that you treat yourself if you have never been there. It's a one of a kind place. After that it was back to camp for showers and hanging out by the fire.



The next morning we packed up and headed into town looking for brunch and decided to indulge at the River Inn restaurant. We had amazing food out side on the patio. Then Emiliano ordered a morning beer and we headed down to the river where they have chairs in the river for you to sit in while you enjoy your drinks. Awesome! We had planned to stop and hang out at the beach at Andrew Molera, but it was SUPER windy there and the weekend crew was rolling in so we called it quits for this trip and decided we would just go back later this summer. We're hoping to take a group of people with us and maybe get two or three sites for everyone.

It was a perfect way to celebrate being married for one year.

Help save CA State Parks

Hopefully you have already heard about the proposed closing of California State Parks. There will be a vote this Tuesday and we need to make our voices loud and clear to take a stand against this. Here are a few things you can do to help keep our parks open: Make a tax deductable donation, spend your summer vacation in a state park and pay the fees, shop at the park stores, ask your friends to help join in and show their support for parks, call or your legisalators and the governor, go to the raley on Monday night at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz or check you local area for one, go to the meeting in Sacramento on Tuesday and speak out, or click on this link for a pre-written email and just fill in the blanks with your info.

We only have a few days, please take action now. Thanks for you help with this it's really important to me.


/http://ga3.org/campaign/budget_may09

List of proposed park closures
http://www.calparks.org/takeaction/closurelist.html

Video
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/state&id=6836054

National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

Today is National Firbromyalgia Awareness Day!

Fibromyalgia affects nearly 10 million people in the United States and about 3-6% of the world population, most of them are women. Today I'm asking you to take a few minutes to educate yourself about this condition, and support everyone you know who experiences the symptoms of FMS.

I have been doing a lot of research and I have come to a really good place with all of this. I am learning to listen to my body and not ignore the messages it is sending me. I am taking really good care of myself by eating well, drinking a lot of water, taking my supplements, and getting up and moving as much as possible. Lately I have been stretching/doing yoga, going on walks, gardening, playing pool, making tons of jewelry, cooking, and I even survived a zumba class. I still have good days and less good days, but I'm beginning to feel that I can manage this and get back in the game. I only wish I could drive longer distances so that I could go visit all my friends.

Thanks so much to everyone who has called, emailed, asked how I am, visited, helped out around the house, made food, and invited me to hang out. It really helps to have good friends around to enjoy life with. Please check out the links below to learn more about fibromyalgia.

General info about FMS and National Fibro Day

http://www.fmaware.org/

Interesting info with details and science facts

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/2005/04/fibromyalgia-and-sleep.htm

Info on how to best support people with Fibromyalgia

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/sleep-disorders/2007/10/fibromyalgia-better-friend.htm

HAPPY SPRING!

A not so good day

On the 28th I finally had my visit with the rheumatologist. He asked me lots of questions, reviewed my medical history and my long list of test results, and poked me all over while asking me to stretch and turn this way and that. After a while he said, that I didn't have the right symptoms to have Lyme disease and that I was presenting like a classic case of fibromyalgia. He ordered a few more tests to check for random things like vitamin D level, and Hepatitis C, etc. He said he didn't expect anything from these tests either, but he wanted to rule out long shots. He advised me to take a sleeping pill and work with my doctor to find a suitable course of treatment. Being a person who does not completely believe in western medicine I have not picked up the sleeping pill prescription. I will find something at the health food store that will do the trick I'm sure. I only wish I had that certain something Wednesday night.

I haven't been sleeping very well this past week. I have been having crazy tension dreams and tossing and turning in pain. I think Emiliano is getting tired of me constantly wanting to switch sides of the bed with him in the middle of the night. Wednesday night was especially difficult because my entire back hurt and I just could not find a comfortable position. After Emiliano went to work and I had the whole bed to myself I was finally able to arrange a series of pillows to support all the hurty places and I slept until 11:45.

After I got up I still didn't feel rested and I hurt all over. I spent much of the day sitting around wondering what I did to cause this particular episode of pain. Was I sore from the long walk Ambrosia and I took on Wednesday? Was it the sugar and wheat in the cookies Emiliano brought home from the Pacific Cookie Company? or maybe a reaction to the giant plate of french fries I ate on Monday at the pool hall? I haven't been remembering to take my supplements regularly, maybe it's that. Or perhaps I simply did too much this week. I suppose I will never know. But when you feel so tired that a trip to the grocery store takes it out of you for the rest of the day you have to wonder if there was something you did that you can avoid later because you don't want every step to hurt.

I slept a lot better last night and I feel okay today. I have a friend coming over to bead with me and I think today will be a better day.

General Updates

Health: I still don't have an official diagnosis. I have been to an acupuncturist, a body worker, a counselor, an allergist, and have received a steroid injection in my neck. I have found out that I can give a lot of blood at once, am hella allergic to grass, and a bit allergic to pineapple and peanuts. What a bummer, I really like pineapple. I am in a little less pain then before, except for the injection site which I think might be bruised a bit. I'm also all hopped up on steroids again and and have been extra productive because I can't sit still for long. I hope this wears off soon. It's a little weird. In general, I'm still taking it easy and looking forward to my visit with the rheumatologist on the 28th.

Work: I am currently not working as my doctor and I want me to rest and figure out what is going on before I try to find new work. I have been spending my free time getting crafty.

Life: I had a long and very relaxing road trip with friends and family earlier this month. I started out in Lake County with my Gramma, then off to Sacramento to Visit Hosanna, and then my in-laws, and made a stop in Sunnyvale on the way back down to see Ambrosia. It was a lot of being in the car and I was so thankful to have wonderful drivers to help me get around.
Now, that I'm back home I will be working on my craft projects, and getting the garden going.

Not so relaxing facial

Hosanna and I went to the spa yesterday.  We had good massages and then a long soak in a hot bath followed by not so good facials.  While we were lying on the tables I could feel Hosanna thinking about all the chemicals in the products being aggressively rubbed into her face.  I wondered why she wanted to have a facial considering her dislike for conventional beauty products.  Then I was jolted out of my relaxation by a mud mask that stung and felt like it was burning my skin.  The girl removed it and tried another product which burned a little less.  She followed it up with an under eye cream that also made me wonder if my skin would be peeling soon.  We noticed their huge display of Dermalogica products while we were there and today we did some research about them.  We looked them up through the Environmental Working Group's data base called Skin Deep and discovered that lots of the products contained banned ingredients as well as ingredients known to cause cancer.    Then I looked up some of the "natural" beauty products I buy at the Health Food Stores and was shocked to see that even the healthier alternatives I use are very dangerous.  Hosie showed me a video which I would love for you all to watch, especially my girl friends and friends with babies.  It is very interesting.  Take a look at these two website to learn more.

Skin Deep product data base

Interesting video

Nor Cal Travel

This past Monday night my mom picked me up and we drove all the way up to Lake County to visit with my gramma. She had eye surgery and we went to help take care of her. I don't know how much help I was with all my aches and pains, but I think she enjoyed having us there. My mom left on Thursday and I stayed until today. It was really nice just hanging out with my gramma. Things in lake county are so much slower and I was able to get some much needed rest and recovery. I was also able to watch more TV in one week then I usually do in many, many months.

I was picked up today by Gabriel, Hosanna's brother and we drove to Sacramento. Being in the car was very uncomfortable and I have been in pain all day. I even decided to take half a vicodin because the Advil just didn't work. Today is Hosie's birthday and to celebrate we will be going to the spa tomorrow for massages, facials, and a hot soak in the tubs. She and I both need this this and are looking forward to it very much. I can't wait!

I had an appointment with the rheumatologist for the 13th and I got a call saying that he needed to reschedule. The next available appointment isn't until the 28th. UUGGGH. I was really looking forward to that appointment so that I could get this all figured out and know how to best take care of myself. At least I have an appointment with the allergist soon.