I'm not sure if it is from the new attention (and interest!!) I am suddenly getting from an old friend, whom I will call "The W", or the lack of my heart medication for the last two days.
Either way, I am feeling happier than I have in a very long while.
For those of you who don't speak Spanish that reads:
"I almost died on Cinco de Mayo"
WelI, I don't suppose, really, but I did have a wicked allergic reaction/drug interaction to my new blood pressure meds. But I guess that I should have said "Facebook saved my life"
I had noticed a few days ago that my lips would tingle for an hour or so after I took my heart pill. I had also developed a little tickle in my throat that I attributed to sinus drainage. I didn't think it was anything related to my meds, especially my heart pill. It was one of two medicines I had been taking for months so I really didn't think anything of it. But when the symptoms worsened yesterday, I became a little alarmed. My face was all tingly, my lips were swelling and I was developing hives. There was a lump growing in my throat. My next door neighbor was over using my wifi and kept asking if I was okay.
I posted my symptoms on Facebook. Instantly my phone went off. It was D/H's High School Girlfried, who, as luck would have it, just happens to be an ER nurse! What are the odds?!
She told me what I needed to take (Benadryl and Pepcid) and what to watch for.
Though she told me that it wouldn't, the Benadryl made me very drowsy. I laid down on the couch and woke up 4 hours later. My phone was lit up like a Christmas tree! I had several notifications, several missed calls and several worried text messages. (Thank you all for your concern!)
So, I sit here waiting for the doctor's office to open, my heart beating out of my chest because I have not taken any more of any of my blood pressure meds.
I hope the rest of Cinco de Mayo ends up better than it started
Okay, so I am calling it that because I threw everything in a skillet to see what happened.
Experiments with food = sue me
Here is what I used
A pound of ground turkey, browned with onions and garlic
1 cup Carrots, sliced
1 cup Sweet Whole Kernel Corn (I used canned, drained and rinsed)
Diced Tomatos (I used one 14.9oz can)
1 cup frozen Edamame
1 bottle of Marketside Sesame Ginger Dressing (add to taste)
Another dish that needs to simmer at least 25 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
That is when I made the rice.
No need to heat the Sesame Ginger dressing, it warms up when you add it to the hot food.
Add the dressing to taste, and serve over rice.
It kinda reminded me of those frozen Chinese dinners that comes in what looks like a little Chinese carry out box that you microwave with the plastic still on it. I forget the brand.
And just like the curried dish from earlier this week, I have a TON of it left.
Today is a beautiful day, full of endless possibilities!
I have done my "regular" Saturday "chores": vacuum, cat box (ugghh), my 3 loads of laundry (whites, casual colors, work darks), wipe down the counters, run the dishwasher. I'm done by 8 or 9 o'clock.
I don't have to go to the ball park today, thanks to the craziness that is Talledega race weekend. Yes, I live close enough to Talledega that the craziness spills over into my town. One of my fellow divorcees lives just a bit up the interstate, between here and there. Plans are being made as we speak to vacate the premises with the young children to put a buffer between them and all the madness.
I do need to wash my car. It hasn't been washed in a long time. I haven't washed a car myself in 17 years. I know it won't be washed nearly as good today as it has in those 17 years, but I will do my best. I've gotta wait for the sun to go down some now, because I don't want to get burned.
I didn't have to buy coffee today, thanks to the nice folks in National Accounts cleaning out their storage closet and marking some thing "Free To A Good Home"
I usually prefer the taste of coffee from an industrial quality machine to anything a home machine will do, but this one is pretty close to the mark. It makes just one cup from that little filter pod right there. Now, where to find the filter pods. I know that I can buy them from the office. I just missed the Keurig machine, where those pods are available at Walmart.
So now that I have had my coffee, and gotten my chores done, what to do with the rest of the day?
Talledega is only 45 minutes from my home along the same stretch of I-20. Twice a year for 3 whole days, life is unbearable. But the tourist money is good, so I guess I shouldn't complain.
"Welcome Race Fans" banners and flags will be everywhere.
The RV's and the Winnebegos and other motor coaches pulling trialers with grills and hot tubs started arriving yesterday. This evening, traffic may very well be at a standstill.The locals (and that stretches all the way out to folks in Birmingham) make use of backroads to get around and avoid the traffic.
Grocery stores will be packed, as tourists buy those last minute race snacks. One won't be able to get into a local restaruant, like Cracker Barrell and Waffle House. Oh, and guess what: my county STILL doesn't sell beer on Sundays, Praise Jesus. Heathens. Shop for it on Saturday night like the rest of us Baptists.
I don't have Miracle League this weekend (we do schedule around it) so I will be in hibernation.
In honor of the upcoming nights in Talledega, I present this clip from Talledega Nights, featuring my brother, Dooder. Look for him on the left side of your screen. He is the fella sitting next to Michael Clark Duncan (Lord rest his soul) on the platform.
Yes, we know he looks like Dale Earnhardt. That irony was not lost on the film makers either.
Today, my prayers go out to those on the Gulf coast, who are facing severe flooding.
I am particularly concerned with my friend CM. She and her five children are currently trapped in their flooded home. She posted pics yesterday of the flood waters. I'm sure she wouldn't mind me sharing this one.
Yep. That is her car under water in her carport. So she is waiting patiently for the water to recede and the power to come back on. She tells me the neighbors "swam over" to check on them yesterday, a noble, if not heroic gesture, given that the water is full of (gulp) snakes.
CM is also a recent divorcee just like me. She too was the victim of a lying cheater, who is currently still with his homely mistress. But her lying cheater had a pretty spiffy job...hence the flooded Beemer in the photo above. I admire her for the courage to face the situation, especially raising all the children by herself.
But she is positive and focused and takes one day at a time. She has removed all the negative influences in her life, including weeding out her Facebook. She is rolling with the punches, and has landed a few herself. She is one of the friends I consider the "cream of the crop," and as you know,the cream always rises to the top. She gave me the best advice of anyone during these past five months: Stay Positive. Continue to Give Back. You will Reap exactly what you have Sown.
I am reminded of how we all weather the storms in life. Be it an actual storm like the ones Monday and Tuesday, or the metaphysical storms of doubt, dishonesty, divorce. But having troubles is not the surprise everyone makes it out to be. It is actually the norm. We are to expect trouble:
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”John 16:33
When the storms in life come, anchor yourself to the Lord. He will help you weather the storm.
Confession time: I'm a 50-something Alabama girl,with big city ideas just lucky enough to be raised in a small town. Why "Just Joy"? When I was a kid, people always tried to call me Joyce and I'd respond "No, it's JUST JOY." I've been known as that ever since! (Just Joy for over 40 years now...take that fake "just joy's") Mother of 3: my oldest daughter "Julz",my boy, "Tigger", and my baby-girl, "Kit-Kat". I'm a blue-eyed, Baptist, baton-twirler who still enjoys a good "dress up vacation" and occassionally comes home with a crown souvenir.
My heart bleeds orange & blue ~War Eagle! I work for a coffee company. I've wanted to be a writer since I was about 10 years old, but looks like this is as close as I'm ever going to get. This is my point of view, regardless of how slanted it may be. My motto for life I stole from Gene Simmons: "Any day above ground is a good day."
~~~~~~~~~ REMEMBER:
"As long as you know me, there will be JOY in your life."~~~~~En-JOY
