Allergies

It is one of the two times during a year that I suffer with allergies. Early Spring and Fall. Yesterday I came home from work early and spent the rest of the day in bed. It knocked me for a loop. My throat and head is where most of the discomfort was located.

Today I am much better but I just did a little cleaning and now feel terrible. It is like doing something active with a cold. It just makes you feel horrible all over. We picked up some Claritin-D but I am sure it will take a few days for that to get into my system.

I have to make a run to Sam's or BJ's where we can get the Claritin for about 1/2 the price of the local drug store. If you suffer from allergies, what works best for you? I so dislike being ill when the nice weather finally comes.

Good and Bad

Every morning I have a routine. I get up, turn on my computer, check eBay first and then head over to Facebook. I don't post often (maybe once a week) but I do enjoy reading about friends and family. The stuff that people post is usually pretty entertaining. I have a couple high school acquaintances that always have such hysterical things to say.

I also enjoy staying in touch with the people who are more than acquaintances, these are the people with whom I have very much in common. My high school acquaintances that have turned into true friends. People who have a love of God and are not afraid to share it. There is one friend who has a daughter ready to go to college and she is looking into medical assistant school. Then I have another friend who is at the opposite point in her life. She has just announced that she is having a baby. Of course all of these items are the good of facebook.

The negative side of facebook is reading comment and comment from people whom I have nothing in common with and never will and they just clog up my wall. Have you ever tried to delete some people. It can become quite viscous. If they catch you, you better watch out because you will get a hate filled tongue lashing via facebook.

The bottom line is the good outweighs the bad and I have developed some very meaningful relationships.

Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest - Blog Tour

Another review by 14 year-old Cal.

Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest is a gripping tale of Sir Rowan, a former Knight of the Prince and an accomplished tournament knight, when his whole world is turned upside down when he is kidnapped while going to the biggest tournament in Cameria. Will he survive to find out what the dark knight has for Cameria, and most importantly, for Arrethtrae. As the Dark Knight prepares for his greatest plan every, will Rowan turn back to the Prince and help with the fight, or will he give in and return to what he calls his normal life. I really liked this twist that Chuck Black put on this book, but I didn’t like it as much as some of his other books. This is still an amazing book and I would definitely suggest that you would read it if you want a lot of action and an exciting twists. I almost cried at one point in the story. THIS IS ALSO A MUST READ BOOK.

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

Romance

The church has a beautiful red propane stove for sale. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. The chimney is even red. I would purchase it in a heartbeat if it were an electric fireplace but I have no use for a propane stove.

I would put the unit in our bedroom. How romantic it would be to cuddle up on a cold winter night and watch the flames flicker. I will never have a TV in the bedroom again, but a fireplace is a different story.

Coupon Shopping

I am going to try a new approached to coupon shopping. I am going to make a special trip just to use them. I have tried to incorporate coupons into my normal shopping trip and it just doesn't work. By the end of the trip I am so frazzled that I stop looking for coupons. It doesn't help that a lot of our shopping is done spur of the moment and just for a few things.

We just don't have room to store a lot of food so most of my shopping is for what I need for that meal. By the time I get ready to use a coupon I find it expired yesterday.

Another (Couple) Scares

I was sitting in office at work when Cal came running in holding his mouth. Of course, my heart dropped. "What is wrong" I said with tremendous panic in my voice. "I just got hit in the mouth and my teeth really hurt and they are broken". Cal responded with more panic than I had in my voice, which caused my panic to increase to blood pumping stage.

"What happened?" I borderline screamed at him. He was playing football on the school playground and someone elbowed him. I feel badly for Cal because he is at the right height that he is constantly going to get an elbow to the face (see further down).

I looked in his mouth and sure enough they did look broken. The problem is it was on a tooth that was not effected by the last incident. After taking a closer look it was actually the splint that was in his mouth holding everything together. He must have been elbowed pretty hard to break that splint.

We rushed him to the dentist and he took a look. Sure enough the splint on the back side of this teeth was broken exposing the screening that is part of the splint and he chipped off the cement. This must have been the material that Cal noticed and assumed it was part of this tooth. The dentist was pretty confident that there was no additional damage, and also stated that we were very lucky to have left that splint in place (we had talked about taking it out because it makes his teeth look dirty and like they are full of nasty food). If the splint would not have been there it is a safe bet that he would be missing four teeth at this point. The three previously damaged and an additional one.

Right now that injury seems to be healing and then yesterday he was playing basketball and took another elbow to the mouth. This time it just cut the inside of his mouth and his lip. The cut is pretty bad and because the braces rub it is going to take a long time to heal.

We have been thinking about getting all his teeth pulled and then he can just take them out when he is doing anything active.

Busy Weekend

We have one of the busiest weekends ahead of us. Do we have American Idols Tickets or even more exciting would be Dancing With The Stars Tickets? Nope, we have an Apologetics conference at our church. It really does sound like it is going to be interesting. I am hoping to get some tips on how to defend my religious beliefs. Sometimes I have a hard time with that. I know what I believe but sometimes find it hard to express that to a doubter.

After the conference we have Zac Brown Band Tickets or maybe you would believe me if I said Britney Spears Tickets, again if you know me you know that I am only kidding. We are going to a Christian Book Warehouse Sale. To me that is almost as much fun as having Cirque Du Soleil Tickets. I love the warehouse sales and look forward to them each and every time. The bonus this time, is that we have set aside a few extra dollars and we can actually make some purchases. I am hoping to pick up some things for Cal for Easter. That is usually easier said than done because he will be with us and loves the treasure hunt feel of the sale even more than we do.

After the sale we are heading to Maine for a nice seafood dinner. We have not done that in quite some time and the boys are dying for good fresh seafood. Sunday the conference continues and then Monday is back to work. It will be like we never had a weekend.

Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor - Blog Tour

This post was graciously provided by 14 year-old Cal.

Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor is an amazing story. It starts out in the lair of Lucius as he talks with two of his commanders, Luskan and Malco, about the battles that have taken place, the one at Moorue and the one at Drox’s lair. After the conversation was over, Lucius ordered Luskan to summon another one of Lucius’s commanders to him, Paython. We then turn to the city of Burkfield to the life of two friends, Tav and Twitch. Tav is waiting for the day when he would be knighted as a Knight of the Prince and Twitch just tries to be as good of a knight but just can't do it.

This story kept me glued to the pages with every unexpected detail, right down to the very last page. Normally, a book takes me awhile to get me interested, but this one got my attention immediately and I read it in two sittings. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who has read any of books in this series. I read Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue after I read this one and there is no comparison. As good as Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue was, Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor won by a landslide and I wished the book was actually longer so I could learn more about the adventures Sir Quinlan will have. THIS IS A MUST READ BOOK.

I received this book free for review from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. Thank you so much!

Because she is my friend.

I have finally figured out the reason why I am so opposed to getting my hair cut. I have blogged for years about my extreme dislike and have often wondered why I behave that way.

My friend at work solved the mystery, I don't like to be touched, much like Clovis in the Apple Dumpling Gang. Now I have never kicked anyone in the shins but I will avoid personal contact as much as possible. My family was never a huggy kissy kind of family. We might give each other a greeting or goodbye hug when we know we have not, or will not, see each other for quite some time. I cannot even remember the last time I hugged by brother or sister.

In my immediate family, I am obviously much more comfortable. Cal gets hugs, kisses, and physical affection on a regular basis. Being the typical teen that he is, he cannot stand the public display of affection that Dante and I might show each other.

This extreme (yes it is extreme) dislike of being touched has come to light since I started working, on a regular basis, outside the home. Now I have always had a part-time random job at Cal's different schools but, once or twice a week doesn't really count. I am very uncomfortable to have people put their hands on me during a conversation. If someone stands too close to me while we are talking, I will take that step back to get my arm's length personal space.

My friend at work had a habit of tapping my arm whenever she started a conversation. I put up with it for many months and then in a very nice way told her that it drove me crazy when she did that. She laughed and then started pointing out my quirk to me in regards to others. Of course I cannot tell everyone but most of the ladies that I work with seemed to pick up on it long before I realized I was being so public with my body language.

So now I have a reputation of being the no touch lady. They all get a big laugh when a member will come in to talk to me and rubs my arm or my back because they all know that my skin is crawling and I can't say a thing.

I certainly don't remember being this way when I was a teen. I remember being a very touchy person, but then again maybe I am remembering it wrong.

God has a great sense of humor

It is April 1st in New England and only God can pull an April Fool's joke like this.

There are about six inches of fresh snow on the ground with more coming.

CAL will have yet another snow day. I am actually very happy about this one because he is still not feeling 100% and he could use the extra time off. He had several tests today that he was not prepared for because he missed five school days with this nasty flu.