It's Been a GREAT Day...

Quote for the Day:

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

~Herm Albright

Today turned from a stressful day to a GREAT day for me!  

If you know me or have been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I've been dealing with lower right back pain for about 1.5 years now caused by significant arthritis in my spine.  The worst of it is in my lumbar spine, but I do have areas in my neck and thoracic spine, too.

Today I finally got my sacro-iliac joint injected!  It's been a long time coming...you know how the medical system is...referral...wait...appointment....more tests...wait...referral...wait...appointment...get scheduled for treatment...wait...etc., etc., etc.
Don't get me wrong, we are very blessed to have good medical insurance and care, but sometimes it just seems to take FOREVER to get to the final treatment!  

I was very nervous about having this injection because the only thing I've had injected until now were my heels to treat plantar fasciatis...and trust me...that was HORRIBLE!!!  I did get my primary care physician to order an oral Valium for me to take prior to today's injection, but quite frankly, after going through it, if I have to have it done again, I doubt I'll need pre-medication...it went that smoothly and was minimally painful.  Really, the only "pain" was the injection of the local anesthetic at the site...it felt like a "sting".  

The injection into the joint was done under fluoroscopy and the whole procedure took about 3 minutes from start to finish!  

I had almost instantaneous relief of about 80% of my pain.  I should enjoy even further pain relief over the next 24 hours as the steroid he injected starts to go to work.  :)  I was discharged with the instructions to "take it easy" the rest of the day.    Hmmmm...I hope that going out to brunch at IHOP and then a shopping trip to Goodwill fell into the definition of "take it easy"!  LOL

Prior to the injection, the shopping trip would have ended with me being in pretty bad pain, and may have even been brought to an abrupt end due to the pain.  But today, I had no pain or problems while shopping/walking!  

And to brighten my day even more, the Thrifting Gods were smiling on me today!  :)  It is difficult for me to find nice clothes at a thrift store because of my size.  If I find 2 things I feel lucky!  But today, not only did I find FIVE pieces of clothing...I also found neat quilty things!  How cool is that???

Now, remember...these items have not been washed, yet, so they are wrinkled from being in the bag...

First up is a Liz Claiborne shirt that still has the original tags on it...

A short-sleeved top from Chaps with crocheted lace neckline...

A nice CJBanks shirt...

A pretty, colorful sweater by American Sweater Co. and it's even made in America!!!  :)  Love that!

I also found this pair of Tommy Hilfiger capris!  :)

Then in the housewares section, I found not ONE...but TWO puzzles about quilts!!!  :D

A couple of years ago, for Christmas, my DS & DDIL, Paul & Trinity, gave me this framed puzzle for my sewing room.  

If I ever get these new ones put together, I can add them, too!  :)

I also found this "picture" for my quilting room.  (I look for pictures with quilts in them to hang in my quilting room, since I have more wall space in that room.)  This "picture" is about 12" square and is made from pieces of wood.  

As you can see, Lady had to check out what I had brought home!  LOL  The colors are very 80's...green and peach...but I might paint over the peach with another color...or I may leave it...don't know, yet.


Andy got some great things for resaling, too.  :)  


All in all...this day turned from stressful to blessedful!  (Okay...I just made up that word...but it rhymes, doesn't it?)


Loretta

She's One "Happy Baby"...

Quote for the Day:

“A thunderstorm is God's way of saying you spend 

too much time in front of the computer”

~author unknown

I had the good fortune of getting a new computer this past week!  I am so happy with it for several reasons...first one being that the old computer was 7 years old and limped along SLOWLY!  (Picture an old man with a cane walking VERY VERY slowly.  Yep.  That's what using my old computer was like!)   This new one FLIES!  In fact, sometimes I have trouble keeping up with it!  LOL

 

The other thing I like about this new computer is that it is an "all-in-one" so there is no tower.  All of the "innards" (highly professional term there, doncha know) are in the back of the monitor.  Do you know how much real estate this clears up on the desk?  There is only 1 cord attached to the computer...the power cord.  Everything else is WIRELESS!  YAY!   

 

Oh...and the monitor is 23" and has touch technology!  Am I screaming hot or what?  You know you want it!  LOL

 

 

All of this...thanks to my daughter who works at Dell and let me use her employee discount...coupled with the President's Day sale...and I'm now a technologically, up-to-date Happy Camper!

 

Yes, Folks...this is where all the "brilliance" happens...my desk...for all the world to see!

 

I still need to hook up the new wireless printer that was "free" with the purchase of the new computer, so that will take up the free space in front of the window to the right of the computer.  

 

I am still "learning" Windows 7 since my old 'puter had XP.  Windows 7 is actually pretty easy to "use"...it's just trying to find things once you've downloaded them...  

It's a learning curve...but slowly I'm getting it!  :)  

 

As for decluttering...I've already given the tower to my daughter-in-law.  She's gonna see if she can get it up and running better either for her use or for little Andrew to use.  (Yes, Folks, kids that young are learning to use computers!)

Here is the old monitor and printer that I will be getting rid of...

 

 

And, yes...even though she is old, I will be keeping the dog!  LOL  She loves to lay near me, where ever I might be.  She's like my shadow...only smaller!  :)

 

And then there is this bulletin board that I've decided I don't need anymore.  It sat on top of the old computer tower in the corner.  It really was not handy to use, so basically, it was useless because it was too hard to reach/use.   

 

So since I haven't used it in over a year, it's time to "release it into the wild".  I'll put it on the yard sale this summer.  :)

BTW...did you notice the picture above the desk?  

 

 

I got it at a Goodwill in Georgia about 2 years ago for $8.48...already matted and framed!  It is a print titled "Christmas Angels" by John Malnic.  Even though it's a "Christmas" print, I leave it up all year because it is a beautiful piece of art.

The brass lamp with glass shade on top of the desk to the right of the picture was also a Goodwill find...$2.50, I believe.  The silver (and VERY HEAVY) picture frame to the left of the hanging picture was also a Goodwill find...$1.00.   I have a picture of my grandchildren in it.  :)

 

Yes, my home is decorated with many, many thrift store, yard sale and auction finds!   You would be amazed at what you can find used in good shape for a fraction of it's original cost if you just keep your eyes opened.  Saving $$$ is always a good thing!  :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Please leave a comment to let me know you were here and tell me what you have "released into the wild" recently.

Loretta

More Goodwill Finds...

Quote for the Day:

"Frugality without creativity is deprivation." 

~Amy Dacyczyn

Yesterday I had my routine 6 month dental appointment before work.  When it was over I still had about 1/2 hour before I had to head over to the hospital for work, so since I was in the area I decided to drop into the Goodwill for a quick run-through.

It was my lucky day!  :)


I found these two stretch bracelets in the "junk jewelry" bin on the counter...59 cents each!  They are both quite beautiful in person and the beads alone are worth WAY more than that!    The silver beads on the silver and black bracelet just sparkle and the beads on the earth tone bracelet have the most amazing, beautiful designs and detail!  :)

You are going to have to trust me that they are both very beautiful in person.  I am using Picassa photo editor until I get my new computer (should be arriving today) and I can't get the photos edited right.  I lightened these photos to show the details better but the edit didn't "save".  Let's just say that I HATE HATE HATE Picassa photo editor!  :(

The white background I used to photograph the bracelets was my second find of the day at Goodwill...a HUGE, vintage, perfect-condition linen table cloth!  I didn't have a tablecloth big enough to cover my dining room table when all the leaves were in it....but now I do!  *big smile*  And it only set me back $3!  Now that kind of price I can handle!  :)

This picture only shows 1/4 of it!  And of course it is wrinkled from being in the bag after purchase...but you get the idea!   

I love it when I can find neat things like this for CHEAP!   I heart thrifting!  :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  Please come and visit again soon!

Loretta