Getting to know California again

 It's been 25 years since we left California (I thought it was longer. Had to get the calculator out.) It's changed here quite a bit and since being here only a bit over a month now, one of the things I had forgotten (or didn't really notice before) was the bugs!

Vegas was the only place we lived that we didn't have a huge bug problem (if you don't count the grasshopper invasion). 

Grasshopper invasion    <<<< Click that

Our first month here in California I've noticed a ton of bugs (okay, a few) that I really wouldn't be disappointed if we weren't being reacquainted with.

First and foremost, mosquitoes.

Ick.

So I'm sharing this link that I've save for a while in my email so I can find it again. (sometimes I go thru and delete emails thinking I won't ever look at it again and then I go look for it so I can look at it again).

Mosquito Repelling Plants

Here we go again!

May 2018, this is the truck that sat outside our home in Savannah getting loaded up to travel to Las Vegas. We waited 6 months for the house to sell and were excited to finally be on our way. Mary and I, along with the three dogs were getting on a plane on May 9th. Bill had gotten a job promotion and this was our chance to move back west. Who could refuse one more move when your husband gets a promotion? 

Fast forward to March, 2020.

We started looking at a neighborhood with a beautiful one story home located just over the hills in a little town called Pahrump. Yes. Weird little name. Weird little town. Not much there. But quiet. Not like the bustling Vegas streets. A planned community with a golf course, a restaurant and pretty tree-lined streets.

We put an offer on the Pahrump house and spent a week getting the town home ready to list, packing up most everything into the garage so we could have an open house.

About two weeks into March, we all know what happened. COVID19 and the stay at home orders. Everything closed down and Bill started working from home. The news made it all very scary, so we were glad to be at home. The dogs really loved Bill being home all the time! They got used to it real fast!

Of course, house showings stopped. Our Open House was both Saturday and Sunday the week of the 21st. Our realtor set up virtual showings and worked hard to get our place noticed, but we just sat here. Waiting. But we were just moving to Pahrump and the owners of the home we put an offer in on were very gracious and were willing to wait, too. What choice did they have?

Then.

Boom.

Bill gets a phone call and finds out that Gulfstream is closing the Las Vegas facility. 

What the major fuck?

Here we go again.

In 2003 Bill worked for United Airlines. We left California in 1995 for Indiana when UAL built a shiny new maintenance facility. It was our first big move and it put an end to Bill's 100 mile daily commute to work. 

We thought this would be our home. 

After a few years we built a home. 

About 9 months later we had to move. The facility got shut down because of a bickering war between UAL and the City of Indianapolis. We landed in North Florida in a really little town called Lake City. About 7 years in we bought a house.

They closed the facility in Lake City.

Gulfstream snatched Bill up right away when he applied and moving to Savannah was more appealing than having to move to someplace cold with United. 

In 2013 we built a house.

2018 moving again. But this was a good move! We were excited! And off we went.

And here we are again. Garage is packed up. We're waiting to move. Back to Northern California, where we started 32 years ago. 

Things are opening up here in Las Vegas and we had two showings this last weekend. Our realtor said both parties were very interested. As of this Monday morning, we are waiting to see if either will make an offer as Bill heads to Lincoln to work this week and look for homes.

So, here we are.

We have promised the dogs there would be no planes involved in the move. For Bailey, of course, this will be her first move since she became a part of the family. 

So, send us some good vibes! We need and offer so we can get going. Waiting is horrible. We also need some homes to go on the market in Lincoln! They've been selling like crazy the last couple of weeks leaving few to choose from.

Down the Rabbit Hole

After the results we got from our functional doctor (I will always refer to that as I do not want you to think we are getting any help from any traditional doctor) we set off to see how we can help Mary with her adrenal glands as they seemed to be in such distress. Any help would be good for those little things, so off I was online looking for information.

As with everything else in this world today, I don't trust everything I hear and read, so in my research, if I find something that resonates with what I'm thinking I look for multiple opinions. I read through them all, note the similarities, throw out the absurdities, and form my questions to ask the doctor when we see him.

One of the things I was researching was cortisol (That's a link. Learn what it is if you want) and it's job with the adrenals. It raised many questions, so I started looking further.

At the same time I was watching a health symposium online, listening to many doctors and patients discussing autoimmune disorders. This term, autoimmune disease, was thrown at us a couple of times by traditional doctors as they threw their hands in the air and proclaimed they 'could do nothing because it's probably an autoimmune issue or it's all in your head'.

Because we are supposed to 'trust' our (so-called) doctors and that what they tell us is the truth and nothing but the truth, the term 'autoimmune' did not stay in the front of my brain to look into it further.

SUCH a long story in such a short time, but the gist of it is that while listening to this symposium, suddenly I heard a doctor list off all of Mary's symptoms. Not one of the symptoms, but ALL of the symptoms that she has been having for years.

• Insomnia
• Temperature dysregulation
• Hormonal dysfunction
• Vertigo and dizziness
• Chronic sinus infections
• Adrenal Fatigue
• Multiple chemical sensitivities
• Mold toxicity
• Brain Fog (memory and concentration problems)
• Migraine Headaches
• Joint Pain
• Carpal tunnel
• Anxiety
• Asthma
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Severe Allergies

These were all the things PLUS so many more that this doctor's wife had lived with. What started it?

LYME DISEASE

It came back to me that Mary and I had been talking not too long ago about when she had found a tick on her side and Bill had removed it. We never thought another thing about it. That was about eight years ago. She didn't have a rash after that, as far as any of us can remember, but guess what? You don't have to have one. It is not always an occurrence.

Heavy Metal Toxicity can also exhibit many of the same things and there was an incident at a school in Georgia with mercury. The school was evacuated. The classroom closed. We had to take the clothes she was wearing to be destroyed. Yeah.

I called our functional doctor and made an appointment to see him so we could ask some questions.

When we told the nurse why we were there and I stated we wanted to know if we could get Mary tested for Lyme Disease, we got the standard, 'Was there a rash?' After 3 lengthy explanations to 3 people, including the doctor, he finally did his thing and, lo and behold, what he found lined up with Lyme Disease.

Now for more reading and searching. The common denominator in most everything I read, (except traditional medicine, which only wants to treat Lyme Disease with massive doses of antibiotics) is a compromised immune system. While we are following our functional doctor's advice, we are working on healing and boosting Mary's immune system.

Although we are following the doctor's advice as it pertains to Lyme Disease, we are not considering it a label and throwing our hands in the air declaring the this IS it. We going where the path leads us and any treatment for this label is beneficial to whatever else we find. Basically, Mary needs a healthy body and she does not have one.


It is NOT just that I did not know WHAT processed food was while I was raising the girls. It's all we knew. It's all anyone knew. We were told it was GOOD for us. (Trust us! We know what's good for you.)  It took me too long to figure it out for myself. It takes some research and really deep digging sometimes to find the truth about anything.

Our  traditional 'physicians' certainly aren't helping.

If you don't think so, consider the S.A.D.--- Standard American Diet = Standard American Disease

(won't step completely on my soap box. most people don't want to hear it)


Some links if you're interested:

https://healthsecret.com/blog/2019/06/19/do-digestive-enzymes-really-help/

https://draxe.com/how-to-boost-your-immune-system/

https://drjaydavidson.com/health-blog/

Adrenal Glands: They can use some love these days

Today I’m talking a bit about adrenal glands and the importance of what they do in your body.

But first:

I am not a doctor. I cannot diagnose or recommend any treatment for any illness or disease. My knowledge is from research and interaction with my physician. You must do your own research and consult your own physician. I will include links to websites I’ve used and provide notations as to where I have gathered my information.

I do not claim that essential oils can cure you of illness. Young Living Essential Oils can assist in supporting your body so it can do what it is made to do. They are not a cure.

With that said, have you ever thought about adrenal glands? I hadn’t until it was a glaring factor in the health of my daughter. Did I learn about it from our conventional physician? No.

It wasn’t until we moved here to Las Vegas and I found a functional medical practitioner.

‘Functional Medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century.’                                  http://bit.ly/2x3yo48

(You know, I was going to write here something about both kinds of medicine so as not to offend anyone, but... it's my blog! Make your own decisions. These are ours.)

The adrenal glands have a multi-functional role in the endocrine system. The two very different parts of these glands, the medulla and cortex, regulate and maintain many of your internal processes- from metabolism to the fight-or-flight response.                                           http://bit.ly/2N5zs1Y

Do I understand all this? No. That is why I consult a functional physician. What I DO know, is that my daughter is having so many issues. These issues have been getting worse. There are so many and we are finding out that the adrenal glands and their condition may be what is causing the problems. Most traditional doctors only treat a patient who is in adrenal failure. (as far as I can tell so far)

We don’t want it to come to that.

We started looking at functional medicine a couple of years ago, after Mary’s car accident. She has always had problems with allergies, but after the accident everything got worse. We started with her regular physician who just kept giving her every kind of allergy medicine, both prescription and over-the-counter. Nothing gave her any relief. (We found out later that she is allergic to the binding agents and dyes that they use in those products.)

We finally urged (insisted) that he refer us to an allergist. There we found she was allergic to SO much, it was ridiculous. I’d never seen a doctor actually afraid to leave the room because he was worried about an anaphylactic response to the scratch test he’d performed.

We ran the gambit of tests and doctors to no avail. No one knew why. No one had an opinion. Except the ENT. He ‘blamed’ us. (Want his name? He’s in Georgia. I would not recommend him. Message me)

Don’t get me wrong. There is room for both types of medicine! If I break a bone, have a heart attack, whatever, I’m heading to the emergency room. But why not try and get to the bottom of things instead of just taking a handful of pills? You have to engage in your health and the choices you are given. (I won’t go into the profit of traditional health care)

We have not reached any conclusions yet. We are focusing on bettering her health. We cannot FIX what is going on with a pill. We are working on diet and nutrition. We are supplementing our diets. We are using essential oils and supplements that we trust.

Key word: Trust.

If you want to learn what we are doing, jump over to my FaceBook page  (@SavannahOils2) and message me.

Let’s talk.

So Thankful for digital photography; I hate you.

What?
Really?
Well, it's true!
Back in the film days of photography, I wasn't too good at taking pictures and I didn't take too many. The cost of developing pictures was not in the budget much of the time. The pictures I do have from that time are precious, though, blurred, no real composition, just snaps of this and that.

The arrival of children changed my picture taking, but still, with film, I don't have as many pictures as I actually thought I had.

Then, here comes digital photography!

I still get my pictures printed. With the entrance of digital photography in my life came scrapbooking, too!

Oh, Lord.

I have SO many pictures.

Do you?

I had to come up with a way to really organize them so I knew what I had. I don't want them just sitting in boxes. My first few attempts were confusing, actually, and I had to do things differently until I figured out what worked best for me. (Especially, when I'd find I had printed events multiple times because I didn't realize I had already printed them.)

That's the key; what works for me. You need to figure out what works best for you.

First up is the process. From beginning to end; well, maybe not the end, but you'll see.

Here are the things I do with pictures.

1.Take the picture (or 100 pictures)

2. Edit the picture (or 100 pictures); this includes culling the bad pictures. You know, the accidental shot of you shoes on the pavement as you pull your phone out of your pocket. Yup. Those. Or picking one or two of the 100 shots of the dog playing because they're just so cute.

I have had a few different editing apps and programs over the years and struggled so much with most of them. These days I pretty much edit all my photos right on my iPhone. I also use the Pic-Tap-Go app. It's easy. It's awesome. I don't have to remember how to use it when I pull it up, because I forget that type of stuff so easily now.

This app is available for both Apple and Android phones.

3. Organizing and tagging photos/occasions.
     This is a multi-faceted step for me, because I really don't trust digital storage completely, so I have my photos online, on my photo organization program, and folders that I save on external hard drives. Yes, plural. One for archiving and one EHD to use when I'm actually working on photos. (Back it up! Back it up!)

I have an Excel spreadsheet that lists all my pictures by year.

I name the picture or group of pictures using the date first. 1.25.19 Anna & Bailey on the Porch is how I named the above photo. There will never be the same date again, so it is perfect to label them with the date and a description. 

On the back of the card I jot down what is going on in the pictures! 

4. Get the pictures in Albums. (Been really lax on that for quite a while! Getting back to it and it makes me happy!)

How you organize and display your pictures is all in what makes you happy! It can be a rather daunting task if you've never organized your 15 GB of pictures you have on your phone, but a few minutes at a time of reviewing and deleted some of those will get you on the right track.

I admit, I have a hard time deleting photos. Much harder to throw a printed one away, but I do more than I used to. (This is where the archive EHD comes in handy. If I just can't let it go forever, I can leave a copy of it there and delete it (them) off my phone or computer.)

These are the photo folders on my computer. They are all dated and named with what I gave them when I labeled the photo. If there are multiple photos, the folder is named and all the pix (sometimes 2, sometimes 50) from that event go in the folder. I don't use all the pictures and do go through and delete more as I choose what I want to print.

I use the Historian program by Forever, originally purchased from Creative Memories. There are many photo organization programs, but I've had this, well, forever, and it still works the best for me. You can also edit on this program. I can also mark each photo with it's print status; Not to print; Print; and Already Printed.

I upload my pictures into this program and label them the exact way that I did individually and the computer folders. The added benefit of this program is that I can tag them multiple ways; name, event, place. It also has facial recognition. I can look for all pictures with the tag 'Bailey' and I can see all the pictures of Bailey. (And there is a lot!)

 This is a screen shot of all the categories I have set up. It is primarily by year and, because we move a lot, by state.

This screen shot shows a single picture. You can see I've named the picture and also the highlighted tag on the left has the same name. I could also tag this with Bailey and Mary and it will come up in those categories.

Printed photos are in these boxes by year. I used to have them separated by people, travel and occasions, but that proved to be more confusing when working on my albums.

Here are printed pictures with my index cards separating things. I know it looks like a lot of work, but it has made it so much easier for me to find what I want. The cards are also there with details on the back ready to use on my scrapbook page. I'm not able to put the lid on this box, but they will be moved to a box that will close when I either empty one or order another one. 

In short, you can have as many or as few pictures as you want, but if you can't find them to view, scrapbook or share, what good are they?

I don't stress too much about editing every single picture. I use pictures that are a little blurry, where composition could be improved upon, and, every now and then, I've been know to use that 'head cut off' picture that happens more often than I'd like to admit.

Organize your photos the way it works best for you, even though you will find that you may have to switch up that process from time to time to really know what works best for you!

If you have a huge collection, start with your current photos and work your way backward. It doesn't have to be overwhelming if you take baby steps.

Thanks for looking in on me! I know it was a long post. I haven't written in so very long....