~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ August 25, 2015 ~ "THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS" ~

~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ August 25, 2015 ~ "THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS"  ~ It's been a couple of weeks since I opened this file and I almost laughed when I saw what my last post was about. My mom used to tell me all the time that "the road to hell was paved with good intentions", and today's post more or less proves that. So much for "venting one LAST time and keeping the grumbling to a minimum!!" 

I am SOOOOO annoyed with my health problems right now (AGAIN)!! We have had several weeks of horrible weather, super hot days, thunder and lightening storms, hot humid, muggy, dry, icky ~ I could go on and on. But what it amounts to, is a terribly miserable me. The heat is compounding my hot flashes, the storms are exacerbating my migraines, which along with the pre-menopausal symptoms, limit how much I am able to participate and be active with my son. He has only a little over a week left of his summer vacation and he and I haven't hardly done anything together!! Even my daughter, whom I'm not sure is ready to admit that we ALWAYS need our mom's, is going through life without me.

And the final straw, I let down a very close friend the other day by dozing off in the middle of a text exchange, during which she really needed if not my advice and support, at least my presence. 

I've been going through yet another "crash" phase, which are coming far more frequently lately and I've been flaking out and "sleeping" all the time. I say "sleeping" lightly because if you could listen to the amount of moaning, groaning and whimpering that I do, I'm not sure just how much actual sleep I'm getting!

The only thing that I have to look forward to is the severe bouts of insomnia that always follow my crash phases.

I haven't been able to loom anything, which sucks the most because I feel that all desire, inspiration and motivation has simply vanished.

As you can imagine, there isn't much that I am able to do in the run of a day. Therefore, I really cherish the moments that I can steal away that bring me pleasure and joy. Spending quality time with my family is one, looming and crafts (but mostly looming) is another.

In the past several weeks the ONLY crafty I've done was make a couple of "Broken Disc Mosaics." (See my most recent Instagram post, "Any 'Ol Craft Will Do" @orcanut).

I really resent that I haven't even been able to keep up,with my blog articles of Flashback Friday, Ticked-Off Tuesday, and Wacky Wednesday. 

TickedOffTuesday, TickedOff, ARRGHH, UGH, GRRRRR, Orcanut, RoadToHellIsPavedWithGoodIntentions, Venting, ChronicPain, Migraines, Storms, Rain, Thunder, Lightening, Menopause, HotFlashes, Miserable, Family, FamilyTime, Weekends, Son, Daughter, SummerVacation, INeedMyMom, DisappointedAFriend, NotBeingThere, CloseFriend, Crash, Insomnia, RainbowLoom, CraftsHobbies,

~ WACKY WEDNESDAY ~ July 1, 2015 ~ (Previously entitled QOT...W) ~ "The Animal Kingdom" ~

~ WACKY WEDNESDAY ~ July 1, 2015 ~ (Previously entitled QOT...W) ~ "The Animal Kingdom" ~ Ok, so it's 2:15am, I'm heading outside for my last smoke before trying to go back to bed (which I've been trying to do literally ALL day because I'm in the middle of yet another pretty rough pain day AND massive migraine).

I've got my book, "The Essence", 2nd in "The Pledge" series by a new favourite author, Kimberly Derting. (I just finished reading the first two books in her "The Taking" series and loved them)! I also plan on reading her other series, "The Body Finder" too, as soon as I'm done this series.

I've got my cushion, smoke and lighter. As I sit down on the stoop of the back door, out of the corner of my eye, I catch a slight movement half way up the dining room window that overlooks our back deck.

At first I thought it was just another moth, of which there are many because of the outside light that I've turned on so that I can see to read. At least it's late (early?) enough that the mosquitoes aren't out in droves, looking to cart me away.

I think that I somehow knew that what I could see in my peripheral vision was far too big to be a moth, but terrified that it might be a spider, I couldn't look directly at it to confirm what it was.

Finally, my fear got the better of me. Not wanting to sit there and wonder "when" this huge, maybe-spider might leap on top of my head, I turned my head and squinted my eyes shut tight. (I really, really didn't want it to turn out to be a spider)!! 

I slowly opened one eye (of course, I picked my right eye, which was furthest away from the window) and couldn't see a gosh darn thing. I am absolutely terrified of spiders (see my "Flashback Friday" post dated November 28, 2014, entitled "Spiders ~ A Tale of Terror), so I took my time squeezing my eyes shut tight again. 

I ever so slowly pried open my left eye, and hiding half of my face with my book, (I know from experience that if aimed properly, a good book CAN squash a spider, I'm just hoping that if I have to throw the book, it doesn't break the window!). I almost peed my pants in relief to see a frog/toad clinging to our window.

Many times we have often found teeny, tiny frogs/toads on our back door, which is made of glass. They were not much bigger than the pads of my thumbs. This frog however, was as big as my fist!

I didn't get much reading on that trip outside. I kept glancing over as the frog/toad creeped slowly up the window.

The next time that I went outside, around 3:30am (of course I was too worked up thinking it might have been a spider that I couldn't fall asleep even if I tried), the frog/toad was gone.

I have absolutely no idea how they get up to our back door and windows. (Yeah, I know, frogs can hop, DUH). But I am still curious as to how they make it all the way up the stairs and in this case, up over 3 feet of siding before reaching the window.

I'm pretty sure I was at least a little more comfortable when I knew where the frog/toad was than not knowing!

#WackyWednesday, #Quirky, #Odd, #Interesting, #Bizarre, #Weird, #Wonderful, #Strange, #WhatTheWhat, #AnimalKingdom, #Smoke, #Bed, #Insomnia, #ChronicPain, #Migraine, #Books, #Reading, #KimberlyDerting, #ThePledge, #TheTaking, #TheBodyFinder, #Animals, #Moth, #Spider, #Frog, #Toad, #WhereDidItGo, #Terrified

QOT...W ~ June 10, 2015 ~ I HAD A DREAM ~

QOT...W ~ June 10, 2015 ~ I HAD A DREAM ~ when my parents were visiting from Nova Scotia last week, they brought me a Buckwheat Hull pillow that they had purchased for me from The Cumberland Perfect Sleep Company, which is located in beautiful Joggins, Nova Scotia. The company practically guarantees a better nights sleep, reduced migraines and  snoring, and a much more comfortable sleep.

My Dad has one of these pillows and my Mom swears that he is waking up less through the night and more importantly, sawing far fewer cords of wood!!

Knowing that I have been suffering with severe chronic neck pain for over seven years and debilitating migraines for as long as even she can remember, my Mom felt that it would be worth it to at least TRY the pillow (and believe me, after more than 7 years of battling this horrible chronic pain, I would try ANYTHING to maybe take some of the pain away)!! ~ I would probably even grind up the roots of dandelion stems with the wings of 4 bumble bees, 7 rose petals, leaves from oak, maple and elm trees, oyster shells and cornflakes, roll it up in seaweed and smoke it if you told me it MIGHT help!!

I may have mentioned that I have been on a merry-go-round of insomnia for days and days on end, (seriously, I was awake for over 76 hours straight a few weeks ago) and then I would "crash" for a couple of days before the insomnia struck again. 

Unfortunately, despite the lack of sleep, me "crashing" consisted of only being able to stay asleep for a couple of hours at a time, if that, then I'd be awake for an hour or two, and crash again for a couple of hours. Lather, rinse, repeat.

To give you some idea, here is a glimpse of what a typical day looks like for me:

~ up at 7:00am to get my son off to school

~ depending on my level of pain, I may or may not lay down and try to rest for an hour or two after he leaves and/or for an hour or so before he comes home from school at 3:45pm

~ After school, I would get Matthew a snack, play, snuggle and watch tv or a movie, do a craft or watch Matthew on the 4 wheeler 

~ by the time my husband gets home from work around 5:30pm, I am usually so spent and worn out, (simply from battling the pain) that I go and crash, usually telling myself that I will only lay down for an hour or so.

* I really wish I was more like my Mom. She can tell herself that she is going to lay down for 20 minutes and like magic, she hops back up, refreshed and wide awake exactly 20 minutes later. I have never been able to do that, no matter how hard I tried!

~ The past several months, if not the past year, has seen me laying down around 5:30pm, crashing until 8:30-9:00pm, getting up to take my meds, and crashing again until midnight or 1:00am.

~ I would then make lunches for my husband and son (and daughter if she needed one), lay back down and toss and turn until it was time to get up at 7:00am and start all over again.

That seems to have been my consistent cycle for the past several months so I was very much looking forward to trying the buckwheat hull pillow!

That first night, last Tuesday, June 2nd, I laid down around 8:00pm and slept for the first time in longer than I can remember, until 4:00am ~ that's a normal, regular eight whole hours!!! Hubby wasn't even upset that he had to make his own lunch since I didn't wake up to make the lunches!

And not only that, but I dreamt!! I most certainly cannot remember the last time that I was able to sleep deeply enough to reach REM sleep, during which, as most people know, is when we dream.

For years now, if I do manage to get to sleep, I whimper, moan and groan and clench and grind my teeth in my sleep. An indication that even in my sleep I can't entirely escape the pain. I haven't been sleeping quite as well as I did that first night with the buckwheat hull pillow (and no fault of the pillow ~ I have just been experiencing an incredible and horrendous run of pain and migraines). HOWEVER. . .when I am able to sleep, I AM DREAMING AGAIN!!! 

And talk about vivid dreams!! I have always dreamt in colour and in great detail and I'm sure that the recent full moon is playing some part in the vivacity and clarity of my dreams lately.

I have always loved to dream, even keeping track of my dreams by jotting them down in barely legible handwriting while I'm still half asleep. My Mom even got me a book on interpreting dreams.

Which brings me to my QOT...W ~ DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS? ARE THEY IN COLOUR? DO YOU HAVE RECURRING DREAMS? WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DREAM? WHAT IS YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE? 

I will start by answering my own questions. I have had several recurring dreams, going back to when I was really young. I have only for the past week been able to sleep deeply enough to dream and although I don't remember all of my dreams, I can usually remember most of them, if I have dreamt at all. Often though, like most people experience, the more awake I become, the quicker my dream fades from my memory. 

Did you know that you can train yourself to remember your dreams? It's not really all that hard, but it does take some work and you have to keep at it for the first little while until it becomes like second nature. The easiest way is to keep a notebook and pen on your bedside table along with a dim flashlight or lantern. Don't worry about your handwriting, just jot down as quickly as you can, whatever you can remember about your dream. Don't worry, if you have enough little details, the rest will usually fill in for you as you remember more and more about your dream.

As for my favourite and worst dreams, I've decided that I should save those for my FLASHBACK FRIDAY post, not only to have something to write about this week, but because once again, Ramblin' Rose has made an appearance and this post is quite long enough!

I am very much looking forward to hearing all about your dreams. And please, let me know if you would like for me to try to interpret your dream for you. I am neither a psychic nor a medium, and this is all for fun. Sometimes it just takes that one word or short explanation to make things fall into place and to perhaps have a better understanding of what our dreams may be trying to tell us.

SWEET DREAMS EVERYONE and God Bless!!

#QOTW, #QOTD, #Orcanut, #Dreams, #Parents, #Family, #Visiting, #BuckwheatHull, #Pillows, #BuckwheatHullPillows, #CumberlandPerfectSleepCompany, #JogginsNovaScotia, #GoodNightsSleep, #Migraines, #Snoring, #ChronicPain, #Insomnia, #LatherRinseRepeat, #InterpretYourDreams #DoYouRememberYourDreams, #FavouriteDream, #WorstNightmare, #Psychic, #Medium, #REMSleep #UnderstandingYourDreams, #DreamingInColour, #VividRealisticDreams, #RecurringDreams,