An Apology

I recently wrote about why I deactivated my Facebook account. I listed several reasons, including my feelings when I see a pregnancy announcement. I just re-read that post and realized that I might have hurt someones feelings. I posted an update on that blog post, and I will post it here too.
This is the update-

***UPDATE I want to say that I am always happy for friends when they announce that they are pregnant. I did not make that clear when I first wrote this post. I did not take the time to think about how this could possibly hurt someones feelings and for that, I apologize. People who announce their pregnancy on FB should be able to do so without worrying about people feeling sorry for themselves. I don't take back the "recipes posted on my feed so you can find it later?" statement and the inference that that is annoying. I stand by that one. It is annoying. ; ) But that is not your problem (if you are someone who does that). It's my problem. Plus, I think I posted a green smoothie recipe once, so look who's bloggin'!*****

Ok, now that that is cleared up, here pretty picture of bluebonnets. I found these while I was out on a walk. Gotta love spring in Austin!

A Brand New Me

It arrived on my doorstep in trapezoidal box.

I had forgotten that I ordered it on Amazon (the day after I received my MRI results) so when I saw the box, I was confused at first.



But I quickly recovered the memory of searching online for the right one...

I was nervous that what I ordered might have been damaged during the shipping process. What would I do with another one that was damaged?



Upon first glance, everything looked fine...


I pulled it out of the box for further inspection.



My new spine was intact! Hooray!



In all seriousness, I purchased this model spine to help Dale and myself visualize and better understand my spine problems. My recent MRI showed three slipped discs in my cervical spine (neck), one narrowed disc in my cervical spine, no curvature in my cervical spine, and an asymmetric left facet overgrowth (between the last cervical vertebra and first thoracic vertebra) that is most likely pressing on a nerve root.
Three slipped discs in my neck? There are only 6 discs in the neck, so half of mine are messed up. That's just great. I guess I could be positive and say that half of the discs in my neck are terrific!

Everyone's spine degenerates with age. The difference with my spine and a normal spine is that mine started to degenerate in my early twenties instead of in my sixties.
I'm wondering what my spine will look like in 10 years? It's a little scary to think about. There is no cure for this early degeneration. Surgery might relieve the pain, but it might also cause more pain. I am going to ask my doctor for a referral to a few different specialists to see if something else is going on...some kind of autoimmune disorder or perhaps a voodoo curse?


That is all

Parking Lot Carnival

I've seen the little fly by night carnivals pop up in parking lots all over the place. This one was in Kerrville, TX. Dale and I were out that way visiting a friend. While the three of us were having lunch, we noticed the pop up carnival across the street.  After lunch, we decided to walk over to the "carnival" to check it out.



I knew I was not going to risk my neck on one of those rides. Every single ride they had was one that spins. Some spun fast, some slow. All were shady.  The ferris wheel was on the back of a flatbed, for the love of Pete! How safe can that be? These rides are assembled and disassembled from town to town, over and over again. Listen, it's not that I don't want to pay to be sick, it's just that I prefer to initiate my vertigo on something more permanent. I'm looking for something that you didn't lose a bolt somewhere between Waco and Mesquite. Ya feel me?



But Danny? Danny is a risk taker. With a belly full of sliced ham and mashed potatoes, he walked right up to the ticket booth and purchased a ride on The Orbiter.


The Carney operating the ride took a bite out of his Whataburger, pointed his pudgy fingers black with grease in the general direction of the ride and told Danny he could pick any seat he wanted.
He was, after all,  the only one getting on the ride. Danny went for the golden glitter seat and the Carney said "Except that one, you can't sit there. Safety bar is messed up."
See, that would have been more than enough to make me walk away and never look back. Danny, however, put himself into the purple seat, pulled the safety bar down, and went on with the show.


He spun around and around and around and around.

And around.

When the ride was finished, we walked around a bit to check out the rest of the carnival.

Remember the Himalaya? When I was a kid, the carney would blast Guns and Roses and ask you to "SCREEEEEAAAAM"  in response to our screaming he would say "I CAN'T HEAR YOU" and we would scream louder. Then, he would go backwards and repeat the same routine. I remember hitting this ride right after I had a soft serve ice cream cone. The ice cream never had a chance. It ended up next to the trash can just past the Himilaya's exit ramp.

Now that I am an adult with neck problems, I don't see myself getting on any of these rides. I'm over the "spin until you puke scene".

That is all.

Deactivate *with update

***UPDATE I want to say that I am always happy for friends when they announce that they are pregnant. I did not make that clear when I first wrote this post. I did not take the time to think about how this could possibly hurt someones feelings and for that, I apologize. People who announce their pregnancy on FB should be able to do so without worrying about people feeling sorry for themselves. I don't take back the "recipes posted on my feed so you can find it later?" statement and the inference that that is annoying. I stand by that one. It is annoying. ; ) But that is not your problem (if you are someone who does that). It's my problem. Plus, I think I posted a green smoothie recipe once, so look who's bloggin'!*****


I've deactivated my Facebook account. I'm going to give myself some time away and, if I like how it feels, I'm going to delete the entire thing all together.

Reasons for doing so are many. Mostly, it's a huge time suck. I don't blog as much or read as much because I'm always checking FB. And what am I checking it for? To see how many likes my latest selfie accrued? To see who didn't wish me a happy birthday? To see the recipes posted on my feed so you can find it later?

It's all just so much nonsense....most of the time.

But then my sister will post a picture of her kids and I am filled with happiness. Someone will share good news about getting a promotion, moving to a new city, or getting engaged, or whatever. That makes me happy.

But sometimes, when seeing pregnancy posts, I'm faced with "Oh, so and so is pregnant. Jeeze....I never thought I would NEVER have a kid."

I know it could still happen, but I don't think it would be the smartest thing possible. Bringing a baby into my chronic pain world.

Back to the time suck...I really miss reading books all the time instead of my feed. I miss reading blogs. I miss writing letters to my friends. The older I get, the faster time seems to slip. I want to slow it waaaaay down. Facebook seems to speed it up.