We Need To Talk!

And not about oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with almonds, but I made these yesterday and I needed a picture for this post.

This post is about my health.  I haven't talked about what's really going on for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I don't want people to say, "oh here she goes again talking about her illness."  Second of all, it's so important for me to be positive and have positive energy around me, that I have chosen to not discuss in detail all that is going on with anyone.  Not even my mother. I've chosen to immerse myself in positive activities and focus on getting better.

I have shared with you a few of the challenges I've had in the past month, which included a bout with the flu.  In all honesty, it's a lot more serious.  The new treatment has not taken hold yet, and my body is breaking down as a result.  In the past month, my right arm has only been functioning at about 30%.  My fingers still work, which allow me to type and sew.  The problems are in my upper right arm.  The pain started a couple months ago, and has gotten progressively worse.  I had X-rays taken of both my left leg and my right arm this week to see if there are any fractures.  Apparently, fractures can just develop out of the blue with this illness. I haven't been able to walk without major pain and a limp in over a month.  As a matter of fact, I can't really move these days unless I take pain medicine.  I haven't even been able to comb my hair in weeks.  It all sounds pretty bleak, but I know it will turn around as soon as the treatment starts working.  If this treatment doesn't work, we will move to something else.

The way I know how to deal with this is to keep it moving, pain or not, and continue doing the things that make me happy.  What makes me happy?  My dolls, sewing and baking.  I just bought a new KitchenAid stand mixer on-line at Walmart.  So yesterday I baked the cookies in the picture.  The day before I made popovers for the first time.  It now takes me a little longer to do the doll stories.  I can't even begin to tell you how painful it was putting Rod and Danielle in those intimate poses.

So why am I telling you this now?  Because a few days ago, someone asked me why I stopped reading their blog.  I explained to the person that I haven't stopped reading blogs, but I've had to cut back on the amount of time I spend doing it.  I explained in a previous post that I now read blogs 2 - 3 days a week.  During that time I play catch up.  I use feedly.com which allows for very quick blog reading.  So trust that I am reading all of your blog posts.  I may not be commenting as often as I used to, but I am doing the best I can under the circumstances.  Unfortunately, the person who questioned me, wasn't happy with my response and let me know they were less than pleased that I wasn't commenting on their blog on a regular basis.  Really???   So I'm sharing my truth in case there are other people out there feeling like this person.

As blog writers, most of us do this for fun.  There are some people that make a living doing this, but the majority of us have full lives outside of our blogs.  Commenters come and they go.  I've never taken that personally, and neither should any of you.  If you are only doing a blog to see how many followers and comments you get, you are doing it for the wrong reason, in my opinion, unless of course you are making money doing it.  I would never have the balls to go ask someone why they aren't commenting on my blog.  Who does that?  

I will leave on a positive note.  I still have three of the puppies in my possession and they are a delightful bunch and they keep me smiling.  The brown one is due to go check out his pending new home today.  I've decided to keep the other two for now.  While I was making the cookies yesterday, a great marketing strategy popped in my head and I immediately went to my computer and ordered new business cards.  I plan to market my baking services to my fellow realtors.   We are always looking for treats for open houses and meetings.  Wish me luck!  Feel free to send prayers and positive thoughts my way for a speedy recovery.