Nice Relaxing Sunday but UGGGHH My Back Hurts

Well I wish I could say I had a productive day but I did not.  Don't get me wrong because I got a big thing accomplished but not much else.  After Yoga yesterday my back was killing me and I was out of commission for the rest of the day. On top of that I could not fall asleep until 4:00am ...I know right...that sucked. Needless to say I sleeped until 11:00am. That shot my day.  I did some laundry, went to the grocery store  and worked on the Signature Quilt for Glenna's Baby Shower.    I got everything done for the quilt. Now I just have to mail quilt squares to Glenna's brothers who are in the service, my parents in Oklahoma and Colorado. Once I get them back I will assamble the quilt so it is completed for the shower. Everyone else will sign/leave a message when they are at the shower.  The down side to getting the quilt to where I need it is my back is KILLING me. UGGHHH. 

I created a tutorial for the signature quilt and have posted it as a page here on my blog.  I made a mini signature quilt top as a test and here it is. Well I hope everyone had a great weekend and here to a great week.

Goals for a Rainy Saturday.

Good afternnon.Today is a dreary, rainy Saturday. Oh how nice it would be to just stay in bed and pull the covers over my head.  I am very achy from all the stretching and walking I did yesterday. No walking for me today as the combination of the dampness from the rain and my activity yesterday has left me with the option of yoga or nothing. I believe one exercise activity will be enough for today.(DAMN FIBROMYALGIA)
 My goals for today are: 1) get off the compter 2) Go to Yoga. My Yoga partner(Hubby) had to work today so I have to go by myself. ugh 3) Start sewing on the Signature Quilt for Glenna's Baby Shower. The shower is not until May but I have to start so early because I am going to mail quilt squares to the family members who live out of the area and will not be coming to the shower.  I wish everyone a productive Saturday.

Messenger Book Bag I made...from my own pattern.

Here is the Messenger Book Bag I made for for my classes I am taking. I love it.  It has a zipper pocket on the pack and open pockets on the inside. It holds my 3 ring binder and textbook.  I ♥ it. Did I say that already? I am going to make a make a bigger one for my 17"laptop.

Fibromyalgia Rehabilitaion Program Session 2

So today was a good day. I was up at 6:30 am, started my stretchiung routine as instructed by my Physical Therapist. They felt good but I am still in pain from Wednesday's stretching.  WeIl was trying not to be a whimp so I started walking as well. It really makes a difference when you have to be accountable to a stranger. I walked for 6 minutes..I know "What kind of exercise is that?" but like anyone with chronic pain knows, Baby Steps, Baby Steps, Baby Steps.
The drive was not bad today. I took Laurel Canyon and it was a nice drive and only took me an hour and and 40 minutes.
Today was my first day for individual appointments with the different specialties that we meet with as a group. First I meet with the Neuropsycologist. She dicussed with me my Homework and what I thought about it.  Logging your feeling down on paper really makes you think about what is going on in your head. My other assignment was to do something pleasurable for myself.  Well I did do my assignment: Browsing the local fabric store. Thank goodness I did not see anything I had to have. My assignment for next week is to work on my friendships that have suffered because of my illness.  I also have to work on not feeling guilty for not being well. That's a hard one because I have lots of guilt. The Occupational Therapist was not in today so I will not see here until Wednesday.
The other appointment I had today was Physical Therpy.  I had to wait 30 minutes for next my appointment so I took advantage of the facilities gym and used the Treadmill for 10 minute. I then went over my exercises I knew she would ask me about.  We repeated the stretches from Wednesday and added about 5 more stretches to be used this week on a daily basis. I did a lot of stretching and I can really feel it in my back and legs. Thanks goodness I'm in for the night.  Soma and Mr. Heating Pad are my date for tonight as Charlie is working late. All in all it was a good day. Charlie and  I had lunch at Chili John's and I did some retail therapy on my way back home(Flannel for a animal rag quilt for my grandbaby) Joann's Fabric in Porter Ranch rocks!!(and to top it off...my darling DL brought me dinner)

Interesting Link I Found

As some of you may know , I have been on Medical Leave since January because my memory/cognitive function has gotten so poor that it was affecting my job performance. This posting makes me feel not so alone.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/girl-interrupted-a-life-with-fibromyalgia

Oh Boy What a Day

Good afternoon...I'm so glad the day is almost over. I had a busy day today. Got up late this morning as I am a little sore. I think it's a combination of the stretching exercises and driving my stick shift car on the canyon road yesterday. Any how my left leg is soooo sore and achey.
This is how my day went.. Glenna's mom Gina came over to get a trim and to drop off the Baby Shower invatations. The invatations are so cute and were created by Zach and Glenna. Once Gina left I did some shipping for my E-Bay store, took a shower and headed out the door to the DMV. OMG the line was so long and I was standing in it for 50 minutes...I kept track because my legs were killing me and I had to keep rocking back and forth between them so I could stand the pain. Once I got to the "Start Here" counter I was relieved because then I could at least sit for the next hour. I read the book "Lovely Bones"(Very good by the way) while I waited. Over 2 1/2 hours at the DMV is just ridiculious.
After that I went to the Post Office, the grocery store to pick up a few things and ended up at the quilt shop looking for more baby fabric. Did not see any that I had to have but yesterday I did. I purchased the fabric for the "Signature Quilt" for Glenna's Baby Shower.
I have posted the fabric I choose and will post a square for all to see once I have them made.
I now have homework to do for my Fibromyalgia Classes tomorrow so I will be closing for now. I will be also be seeking relief for my legs and an ice cold Diet Coke for the caffeine.

First Day : Fibromyalgia Rehabilitation Program

Well I have had a very exhausting day. I left the house at 9:15 am and arrived at down at Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills late, 15 minutes later then I should have. I checked in at the main office of The Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Rehabilitation Clinic. Yvonne, the program coordinator quickly gave me a 2" binder, introduced me to the two other women I will be going though the program with and escorted us to the Physical Therapy Department. After a quick rundown of the PT portion of the program, we were given our "homework" for the week. We were then instructed how to do stretching that will help us in the morning and through the day. The stretching exercises are very simular to what I have been doing in Yoga. After 1 hour with the physical therapist we were given a 45 minute lunch. The next specialist we saw was the Occupational Therapist. This is where the 2" binder comes in. It contains logs for me to chart my sleep, fatigue and pain and more "homework",. This portion also lasted 1 hour.
Next we were given a 10 minute break while waiting for the Psychologist. This is where it got tough. When the Psychologist started talking about the the mental toll Fibro has on it's sufferers I started to cry. It was so surreal to hear another person say outloud what I have been feeling for over 5 years. The loss that is felt due to your life being so different, the pain of lost friendships, the feeling that everyone thinks it's all in your head, the depression...well I could go on and on. This portion I believe will be my least favorite. Well there is homework for Psycology as well but it is "Take Time For Yourself" time. I can deal with that.
Friday will be my individual appointments with each specialist.
The program work like this, 3 one hour group appointments every Wednesday for 6 weeks and 3 thirty minute individual appointments every Friday for 6 weeks.
I'm actualy worried that I will not be able to accomplish anything with the Psycologist because I will be crying the whole time. I'm not sure if the crying is relief because someone understands or because I'm scared that I will have to reveal all the bad feelings I have been having because of this stupid disease. Either way I hope I will get some resolution.
Thanks for reading and if ypou have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. ~Debbee~

Fibromyalgia Program Session 1

Good morning! Today is a very exciting day for me. It is my first day of my Fibromyalgia Rehabilitaion Progam at Cedars. I will participate in the program to better help me cope with my symptoms and lead a more productive life. I am currently on leave from work because of this disease. After an adjustment and addition of medications I am feeling a lot better because I have been getting better sleep. Now I start on the journey to be more productive, learn how to manage my pain and how to get moving so I can lose some of the weight all these meds are causing me to gain. I will post an update this evening as to what I thougth of my first day.

Here I GO!!

Hi I am Debbee and this is my first posting on a blog. I spent today plotting out a Signature Quilt for my daughter-in-laws baby shower for my first grandbaby. I cut the pieces I needed but was not happy with the concept...as you'll see I rarely use a pattern. I usually make up things up as I go. I consulted with my darling husband and am now back at square one. Off to the fabric store tomorrow.