~ 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,

~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ August 11, 2015 ~ "PAIN IN THE BUTT" or "SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED" ~

~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ August 11, 2015 ~ "PAIN IN THE BUTT" or "SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED"  ~ Today (as most every day), I'm ticked off about being in so much pain ALL the time. I know that I frequently grumble and complain, (and more than just on Tuesday's) about the chronic pain that I have been suffering with for almost 8 years. 

I decided that I would vent loudly and vocally one last time and then try to limit my caterwauling to a bare minimum from now on!

Last Thursday I had one of the worst pain days I've had in a really long time. I'm sure it was a combination of a number of factors that tipped the scales, but before I get into that, let me briefly explain for those who may not know, my pathetic medical history of the past 8 years.

Prior to the day the pain started in my neck, I had been seeing a chiropractor a couple of times a week for a few months because of severe back pain. During my first visit with her, x-rays showed that my neck is a mirror image of what it should be and that there was a lot of old damage, deterioration, degeneration etc to several of the vertebrae in my neck. She asked if I had been in a bad car accident and she said, "I imagine that you must suffer from pretty bad migraines as well."

Of course, she was right about the migraines, which I have had since I was a very young child. However, I have never been in a bad car accident. The night of my first chiropractic appointment, I phoned my mom to ask about any car accidents I may not recall.

I knew that I had been physically abused by my biological father when I was a baby, I just didn't know the full extent of the abuse. That night my mom explained to me that when I was three months old, my biological father had broken two vertebrae in my neck, and that I spent the next several months in a body cast from my chin to my waist.

Over the years I have come to wish that I HAD been in a serious car accident! It really surprised me how each new doctor or specialist I saw was SO interested in the physical abuse, and wanted to delve deeper and have me "talk about it."

My biological father shot himself when I was 18 or 19 years old and even if he had been around for me to get angry with and blame, I have forgiven him. I don't remember the abuse, and I wasn't going to let finding out about it now define me or my life up until that point. 

As I said, I wish I could say that I was in a car accident, because I only mention the abuse as part of my medical history and it holds as much emotional baggage as a random accident would.

After months and months of incessant back pain, I walked out of the chiropractor's office that first day in significantly less pain and standing a whole lot taller and straighter, not having to be hunched over in pain any more!

The chiropractor also noted my scoliosis, which is a slight curve to the left in my thoracic spine. Does anyone remember the book "Deene" by Judy Blume? The main character of that book had scoliosis and ironically, not long after I read the book, I was diagnosed. Fortunately, my scoliosis is relatively mild and apparently, I was old enough, at 13 years old, to not being likely to grow much more and therefore, I didn't need to wear a brace or have a rod inserted in my spine.  

Because of these pre-existing conditions, the chiropractor said she would avoid my neck and the area of my back that was curved and we continued with biweekly appointments.

My last appointment with her was on September 28, 2007, during which she DID work on my whole back AND my neck.

I woke up in the middle of the night, four days later, on October 2, 2007, with a sharp, stabbing, burning pain at the back of my head, base of my skullI. What I could only describe as a really weird migraine. I called the chiropractor and she said she didn't want to see me again until my migraine was gone.

Well, that was almost 8 years ago and the pain has never stopped. I have had over ten MRI's, MRV's and MRA's, seen many doctors and every specialist and/or therapist you can imagine. I've seen neurologists, including the Chief Neurosurgeon in Ottawa, a rheumatologist, Cranial Sacral Massage Therapist, Essodynamics, Rolfing, Physiotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, many other I can't recall and even a carpal tunnel specialists (don't ask, he couldn't figure out why I was referred to him either)!

And aside from the MRI's showing progressive degeneration and deterioration, oh, and the discovery of a small aneurism in my brain, absolutely nothing can be done to help even relieve some of the pain.

I mentioned earlier that I also suffer from migraines. I'm not sure if the pain in my neck exacerbates my migraines or if my migraines exacerbate my neck pain. Regardless, it is not a good day when I have to try to cope with both at the same time.

My migraines are also affected by the full moon, the weather and any change in the barometric pressure. I am actually more accurate than the weather channel, as I can predict when we are going to get rain, thunder and lightening storms, just bad weather in general. I can actually even tell the difference between rain showers and lightening storms. I'm sure if you asked any migraine sufferer, they could probably tell you the same thing.

So, to sum it up, I suffer from a 24/7 shooting, stabbing and burning pain in one exact spot at the back of my neck; I also suffer from debilitating, wickedly massive migraines, about 3-5 a week. Throw in the occasional severe back spasms, oh, and I almost forgot, I'm going through peri-menopause and have far too frequent and such severe hot flashes that could boil water.

Let's just say that if I happen to have my period during a storm on a night that there is a full moon, I am completely up the creek without a paddle!! 

Hey, you know what? I kinda feel better already! (Despite the fact that my migraine has gone from bad to worse to really, really bad). I had intended on writing about just how much MY being in so much pain ALL the time so completely and utterly affected every single member of my family.

I started this post by saying that I was ticked off about being in so much pain all the time. I think in reality, I'm ticked off at myself. At not being able to cope with my pain (despite doing everything I was taught through the Chronic Pain Program) and I'm ticked off at my inability to prevent the pain from controlling my life.

However, just going over (again, I know, for some of you) the facts and history of how I got to be in is place, almost eight years later, to where I am right now, has kinda made me feel a little bit better. It has made me realize that I have done every single, little, itty, bitty thing and then some, that anyone could possibly do and more to try to help myself. Including a four week outpatient program at the Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Centre. I'm not exaggerating either. You name the treatment or medication and guaranteed, I have seen them or tried it.

I have long accepted the fact that I will be spending the rest of my life in some sort of chronic pain. Which, given my lifelong battle with severe migraines, is really nothing new to me. Sure, this pain in the back of my neck is 100 times worse, but ya know what? I'll just keep taking each day as it comes, minute by minute or even breath by breath, if I have to. I know, the typical saying is "day by day." For those of us suffering any kind of chronic pain or illness, "breath by breath" is often a more realistic comment.

In my mind, I have always said 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 years, 7 years, now almost 8 years as "OMG, are you kidding me?? I'm still in so much pain after all this time"?? 

In writing this today, I just realized that perhaps I should be saying "OMG, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 years, 7 years, now almost 8 years?? WOW, girl, you're still here! You're still getting up pretty much each morning, you even manage to get dressed some of the time, WAY TO GO YOU!!!"

Thanks so much for listening to me vent. Now it's my turn to listen and your turn to grumble. What's been bothering or upsetting you lately? What has you ticked off today??

#TickedOffTuesday #TickedOff, #ARRGHH, #GRRRR, #Upset, #Angry, #Orcanut, #PainInTheButt, #SickAndTired, #ChronicPain, #CopingWithPain, #Caterwauling, #BadPainDay, #BreathByBreath, #BackPainSpasms, #Migraines,  #BadWeather, #Menopause, #HotFlashes, #NeckPain, #Deterioration, #Degeneration, #PhysicalAbuse, #Suicide, #Forgiveness, #Scoliosis, #MRI, #DoctorsTherapistsNeurologists, #UpTheCreekWithoutAPaddle, #WayToGoMe!

~ FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ July 31, 2015 ~ HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ~

~ FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ July 31, 2015 ~ HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ~ I almost cannot believe that in two days, my husband and I will be celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary! As I mentioned about my parents in my previous Flashback Friday post, sometimes it seems like we just got married and other times it seems like I can't remember a time without my husband. 

I guess that's more that fair, considering that we have our own fairytale, storybook romance to tell. On paper and in print, it doesn't seem to amount to much. But believe me, the fact that we dated for almost four years when I was in high school, spent 14 years apart, got back together and have now been married for 12 years, ours most certainly is more than just a simply fairytale story.

We honestly believe that we are the right people for each other, that we were "meant to be" and that we both had to go through what we went through those 14 years apart in order to be who we are to each other today.

The past almost 8 years, having to live with my severe, debilitating, chronic pain and migraines, that has more than consumed our lives, has not been easy. I sure that a lesser love would have crumbled long before now. 

Despite the extra weight of added pressures, responsibilities and stress borne on not only solely my husband's shoulders, but the effects on my kids and even myself (if I can set the guilt aside long enough to recognize that I'm a victim in all of this too), you would be amazed and impressed at the strength of our love and commitment. (I know there are many days that I look at my husband in wonder at how he is managing to cope with all of this). 

The few times that I've asked, his response has always been something as simple as "I love you" or "I married you in sickness and in health".

I have no idea what to get this wonderful man for our anniversary. Here is a list of traditional wedding anniversary gifts that I found:

1st ~ paper

2nd ~ cotton

3rd ~ leather

4th ~ fruit/flowers

5th ~ wood

6th ~ candy/iron

7th ~ wool/copper

8th ~ pottery/bronze

9th ~ willow/pottery

10th ~ tin/aluminum 

11th ~ steel

12th ~ silk/linen

13th ~ lace

14th ~ animals * historically, this was ivory, but elephants are endangered now

15th ~ crystal

20th ~ china

25th ~ silver

30th ~ pearl

35th ~ coral

40th ~ ruby

45th ~ sapphire 

50th ~ gold

60th ~ diamond

I have married the most amazing, incredible man, and I'm assuming that as much as I wouldn't want a toaster or ironing board, hubby probably wouldn't want a tie either, even though it fits perfectly with the traditional gift for a 12th anniversary, of silk or linen. The best gift I can offer my husband is the undying, unconditional, unfathomable depth of my love, respect and admiration.

I LOVE YOU SWEETHEART, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

#FlashbackFriday, #Flashback, #MemoryLane, #Memories, #RememberWhen, #Orcanut, #HappyAnniversary, #WeddingAnniversary, #Fairytale, #Storybook, #Romance, #MeantToBe, #ChronicPain, #Migraines, #Pressures, #Responsibilities, #Stress, #Guilt, #Commitment, #Victim, #Strength, #ILoveYou, #InSicknessAndInHealth, #SilkLinen, #Undying, #Unconditional, #Unfathomable, #Love, #Respect, #Admiration

~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015 ~ "ERRORS IN BOOKS" ~

~ TICKED OFF TUESDAY ~ TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2015 ~ "ERRORS IN BOOKS" ~ As you may know, I am quite an avid reader. (See my Wednesday, May 27, 2015 ~ QOT...D ~ post, "FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ BOOK EDITION" ~ at my relatively new blog site, Orca Cove, http://www.orcacove.blogspot.ca.

So, it's no secret that I love to read. I believe I have also mentioned that my 7+ year long chronic pain issues have severely hindered my ability to read for any length of time. Having said that, any time that I am able to spend reading is not only very valuable but very precious to me as well.

Therefore, it really irks me when I come across blatant errors in books. A novel I just finished reading, had one such blatant error.  Please don’t get me wrong, I know there are typos, misprints, and common errors that are if not expected, then at least understood in any given novel. (Although I do still wonder what the editors are being paid for, if not to catch things like that). Anyway, this error is so glaringly obvious, that it baffles my mind as to how it got missed.

The book I read was called "Hate List" by Jennifer Brown and is about a girl, Valerie, trying to come to grips with life after her boyfriend Nick shot several students, a teacher, and Valerie herself, before turning the gun on himself. At the end of chapter two, we are told that Valerie is going to catch the bus to school to avoid driving with her mother, who has been harping on her to "get over it' and get on with her life. 

BUT. . . and here's the error, the beginning of chapter three, in essence, the very next paragraph, has Valerie driving to school with her mother. There is no time lapse; this isn't about some future event. Valerie is still on her way to school for the first time since the shooting. 

I've also read books where characters names have changed midstream, characters who have died are suddenly back in the script, and not as ghosts. How do these types of errors happen?? How do they slip past not only the author, but editors, and publishers as well??

It just seems to me that if someone like me, an avid reader, yes, but one who knows nothing of the book publishing world, can catch what are glaringly obvious errors, how do they possibly get by the so called "professionals"??

I know this may seem somewhat petty so some, but in my position, where every word, every sentence, every paragraph of a book is a struggle to get through, it is more than just a minor annoyance.  My pain is in my head. Literally "in my head" as it is located at the base of my skull, in the back of my head and exacerbating my constant migraines, makes any cognitive function that much more difficult. Especially something that requires my concentration and focus. Like following a story line in a book, movie or television show.

I have to try to find a way through the pain to focus and concentrate on every word written or said ~ and yes, watching television or a movie with me is almost torture for my family as I often have to rewind to catch something that I have missed.

Anyway, all in all, I think it was an ok book, and I have finished it and a few others and have moved on to one by a favourite author, Linwood Barclay entitled "No Safe House" and am much looking forward to the next book on my Summer Reading List, the fourth book in the "Shiver" series by Maggie Stiefvater called "Sinner."

So, that's what I am "ticked off" about this week. How about you?

#TickedOffTuesday #TickedOff, #Upset, #Angry, #PetPeeve, #Errors, #ErrorsInBooks, #Books, #Reading, #ChronicPain, #Migraines, #Time, #Novels, #TypoMisprint, #Edit, #Editors, #Publishers, #HateList, #JenniferBrown, #SchoolShooting, #Concentration, #Focus, #MovieTV, #FavouriteAuthor, #LinwoodBarclay, #NoSafeHouse, #SummerReadingList, #MaggieStiefvater #Shiver, #Sinner

~ FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ JUNE 12, 2015 ~ ANY CLOSER AND THEY WOULD HAVE BITTEN YOU!! ~

FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ June 12, 2015 ~ ANY CLOSER AND THEY WOULD HAVE BITTEN YOU ~ I know I said that I would be posting about my best dream and worst nightmare today, but I already had this written up for this weeks post and figured that the dreams could wait ~ but just for a week, I promise!! 

On with this weeks FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ I am not sure if I mentioned that my parents and nephew were visiting last week from Nova Scotia, but they left last Saturday morning. I missed them even as they drove out of the driveway!! The visits are never often nor long enough.

As is usually inevitable, something is always forgotten (unlike the wonderful purple slippers that my mom intentionally left behind for me). So I wasn't all that surprised when I noticed a bite guard in its container sitting on our bathroom counter.

I should mention that I recently got a bite guard of my own from the dentist. Because of my horrendous migraines and chronic pain, I am CONSTANTLY clenching my teeth. For some reason, I think it helps with my long-fought battle against the pain. It doesn't.  In fact, in all these years of clenching my teeth all day long and sometimes grinding them in my sleep, the only thing that has been accomplished, has been the weaken and loosening of my teeth.

Needless to say, I have become very dependant upon my bite guard, to the point that I jokingly call it my pacifier. And in fact, I just misplaced my bite guard last Friday (don't ask, I have no idea how one accidentally misplaces a bite guard ~ and no, the pun is not lost on me at the reference to "dentally" in the word "accidentally")! So I know how awful and desperate it is to go without it for a day, let alone the couple of days it would take to send to Nova Scotia.

I immediately sent a picture of the opened bite guard case and a text to my Mom and my nephew asking whose it was, so I would know where to mail it. (My parents live in one part of Nova Scotia and my nephew in another). My nephew replied to my text, saying that it didn't belong to him or to either of my parents.

I was baffled. If it wasn't theirs, whose could it be? I knew neither of my kids wore one. Then I remembered that my husband had recently been to the dentist, so I phoned him, asking if he had gotten a bite guard at his last appointment.

When I told him about finding the bite guard on the bathroom counter and it not belonging to anyone else, my husband laughed and said "Umm, sweetheart, it is your bite guard!" 

Until that moment, I had completely forgotten that I did in fact have a bite guard, purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart, that I had kept for emergencies. Somehow, over the course of the week, it must have gotten moved or placed in a different spot on the counter in the bathroom. I didn't notice it at all until I saw it on the bathroom counter, after my parents left.

I'm sure my parents and my nephew had quite the laugh when I had to text them back and claim ownership of the bite guard! They already know that my short-term-memory is awful due to the constant, chronic pain that I am in, but even I didn't think it was THAT bad!!

However, this wouldn't be much of a "flashback" post if I only talked about something that just happened last week. So, in keeping with the theme, I would like to point out that several years ago, I'm sure we laughed a whole lot harder and a whole lot longer when my mom misplaced her partial plate! 

For as long as I can remember, my mom has had a partial plate (two back molars, one on each side on the bottom of her mouth). We would often see them soaking in their solution on the bathroom counter or sometimes just in a glass of water on her bedside table.

Knowing how important my mom's partial plate is, when she "lost" it many years ago, we all scoured the house looking for it. Of course we looked in all the "obvious" places, the stand beside her bed, the bathroom counter, the floors in each of those rooms, the pockets of her bathrobe, etc. We didn't have any pets at the time, so that wasn't a concern, but we just couldn't find it anywhere!

A couple of hours later, when my mom finally discovered her partial plate, in of all places, HER MOUTH, I innocently said to her, "Geesh Mom, if they had been any closer, they would have bitten you!" I was just a little to young at the time to fully understand how funny (and accurate) my comment was, as I was simply repeating a phrase that I felt would fit in that situation.

Anyway, losing my precious bite guard last week reminded me of this event and I felt it a perfect "flashback" to share for this weeks post.

#Flashback, #FlashbackFriday, #MemoryLane, #Memories, #RememberWhen, #Orcanut, #Family, #FamilyVisits, #Parents, #NovaScotia, #LeftBehind, #PurpleSlippers, #BiteGuard, #Dentist, #Migraines, #ChronicPain, #ClenchingTeeth, #GrindingTeeth, #Pacifier, #Bathroom, #ShoppersDrugMart, #Laughing, #Funny, #PartialPlate, #TeethPulled, #WhatDidIWeForget, #WhatDoYouMeanItsMine, #IYouTheyForgotSomething, #AnyCloserAndItWouldHaveBittenYou

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,