I can't think of a title!

I finally decided it was time to update my blog, before all 3 of my followers forget who I am.

Not a whole lot going on in my world. Though, I guess almost having a computer crash is pretty high up on a the list of monumental happenings. The computer was doing crazy things last Wednesday, but I just figured it was being tempermental. But, it was more than that because it refused to do nothing more than stubbornly show a black screen constantly, with the exception of a feeble, white line halfway right down the middle. Very weird & VERY frustrating!!! I really thought the computer was toast. My uncle came to the rescue, being the computer savvy person that he is and kindly took a look at it. He finally figured out that it was probably a Windows update gone wrong. Sometimes they do that, and the trouble did happen right after the May 26th update. But, thanks to him & also a well-timed idea from my sister, the computer came back from the dead!! So, now I'm a happy camper. :o)

I'm finally beginning to get better from the car accident. It has been a long, slow healing process with setbacks & hours of pain. Seems like my life the past 2 months has existed mainly of doctors visits, Aspercreme, icepacks and long, hot baths!

By the way, I do NOT recommend cupping!! My doctor did it only once to me, and that was one times too many. Not only did it hurt, but it left bright, purple dots all over my back for days that made me look like a polka-dotted butterfly. I can laugh at it now!

In a way, I feel like life has been passing me by lately, and I've been left behind. Or at least been put on hold for awhile. There are so many things I haven't been able to do the last couple of months that I hardly feel like my normal self. But, in between the doctor visits & bouts of pain, I have enjoyed relaxing in the sun, and had many wonderful hours of solitude. I also feel much closer to God now, and have spent many wonderful moments of prayer with Him. This pause in the journey of my life has given me a chance to contemplate...to be still before God.

My doctor said I could go back to my job(s) and I have mixed feelings about that. In once sense, I am more than ready to resume my normal, albeit rather hectic life....... because it gives me a sense of purpose. I don't mind too much the house-cleaning jobs. But, on the other hand it is going to be hard to get back in the swing of things as a caregiver. With this current caregiving company, sometimes you never know where or when you'll be sent to work. And I find that rather hard sometimes, not knowing what to expect. I have encountered some pretty tough clients & situations!! 8-[I'm coming to the conclusion, that I like and crave, as I grow older.......stability. I really dislike being on call.
So, I'm having mixed emotions here & praying that God will give me guidance on what to do next with my life. Because I sure do need it!

Christe Eleison

I recently discovered this song, and I really love it. One of those songs you could listen to endlessly.....

Human Pincushion

It's just so gorgeous today! I was just outside sitting in the sunshine, soaking up the warmth in a lawn chair. I was listening to the New Moon soundtrack CD, which has some very lovely, and very haunting sounding songs on it. I just love beautiful music! I think relaxing in the sun while listening to good music is very enjoyable. Today, it would have been nearly perfect if the traffic hadn't been so noisy & constant. I think the the ratio of noisy, old clunker cars/trucks is much higher than the quiet ones. It makes me feel very grumpy......

Today I had acupuncture for the first time! I was rather nervous about it before I went, but really.......it was very unpainful. The needles get poked into your skin so quickly, you hardly feel anything. I had it done on my neck & back today. The whole session only took about 20 minutes, and I felt very relaxed....almost to the point of falling asleep. My doctor is Chinese, and let me tell you there was definitely a language barrier thing going on there. I probably only understood about 60% of what she was saying, and had to guess the rest! But, she's very nice, and does her work well. Next week, she wants to do cupping on me, which to my limited knowledge of Chinese medicine, is simply getting the blood to congest at the site of an injury, so the acupuncture will be more effective. I guess it's supposed to really be beneficial. So, time will tell. It sounds weird.

The deep tissue neck massage afterwards wasn't too pleasant. I could only hope that she knew what she was doing, because it was hurting me like crazy!! It's amazing how deeply my muscles were injured from the accident, and how it takes them so long to heal properly.

I'm still rather apprehensive about driving. For awhile I didn't even want to drive, and couldn't have cared less if I ever did again. It sounds wimpy, but the accident really did a number on me, and the way I view driving now. I no longer trust other drivers. Not that I did entirely before...... but, now I'm more watchful. I get very nervous & my stomach tightens up, when a car comes up fast behind me at a stoplight. Slowly, but surely...I'm getting back my confidence, though. I'm determined not to let fear get the upper hand. As it says in 2 Timothy 1:7, " God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind". So, I'm claiming that Bible verse as mine!! I've always loved driving, and I'm hopeful that I'll get that love back again some day.

A new look at cabbage.

You know, purple cabbage is quite intriguing.......once you cut it open. The photographer in me simply had to take a picture, even during the midst of soup making.....

Beauty for ashes.

I am very blessed to be alive!! Most of you know I was in a car accident last week, and that I'm very sore & bruised.... but what you don't know is how amazing it is that my grandma & I weren't more seriously hurt. We could have been. If I had taken my little cappuccino colored Honda Accord that day, I do believe we would have been toast. Very seriously injured toast.
Fortunately, out of the kindess of my sister's heart ( and God's grace) I took Angie's nice, sturdy Toyota RAV to town to take Gram to her doctor's appointment.

I almost feel too traumatized to go into a lot of details about the accident, but I guess it might be rather therapeutic, so here goes...........

It all started with a SUV stopping suddenly in front of me, just off the freeway on a rather busy road through town. This is often where back-ups occur & you better be on your feet and look out for brake lights in front of you, or else! Well, I did see brake lights that day, and much to my great relief, I was able came to a full stop behind the stopped car. I didn't even have time to be grateful that I did, because only seconds after.... I heard the sound of a car racing up very fast behind me. Within seconds I felt & heard a tremendous crash, as a half ton pick-up truck slammed into the back of us. I know he didn't even brake before he hit, because I never heard the squeal of tires if he had tried to stop.

I can honestly say that I have no idea what happened after that. I was in such a daze. All I know is that it seemed like we were getting hit over & over, and I thought it would never end. I was sobbing, and wondering what to do. I found out later, that we had been pushed into the next 2 cars in front of us, causing more impacts. The force of the first, initial impact knocked off my shoes, sunglasses and most of the hairpins out of my head.

Almost immediately, I felt severe burning in my chest, and neck pain. Later I found out that the burning feeling was caused by the seatbelt pulling on me. Our airbags didn't deploy, for whatever reason. This could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at it. I've heard the stories of air bag injuries.......

I'm not going to bore you with too much more, but I can tell you that it was very surreal hearing the approaching ambulance, knowing they were coming for me & grandma. You know how you always see or hear them, and wonder about who was hurt, well.... this time it was for me!
Getting strapped onto the back board was a blur for me. The sun was so bright that I could barely keep my eyes open as the paramedics worked on me. In my mind's eye, I can still see their concerned faces staring down at me as I lay on the board. If it hadn't been such a scary experience, I could have enjoyed having all those cute medics around me..........

At the hospital,they had to cut my shirt off to examine me. It was one of my favorite shirts, too. Sniff, sniff!! I was at the ER for almost 4 hours, and halfway into that time, it dawned on my tired & dazed brain that my family hadn't yet come. Evidently no one had thought to call them!

After all the ex-rays and the CAT scan were through, they found nothing other than a whiplash, and some severe bruising on my thighs, legs and chest. Thank God!! My grandma also had a whiplash & bruises, but she seems to be doing amazingly well in spite of it all. I give all praise and glory to God for keeping us from worse injuries!!

I still can't look at the pictures of Angie's wrecked car. They say the impact pushed the back of the car nearly into the back seat, and the front is also very damaged. Needless to say, it's a total loss! I'm so sorry for my sister! She loved her beautful car & misses it greatly.

I'm believing God has a reason for all that happened, and will in some way, bring good out it!

In the meantime......I'M IN PAIN!!!! :-(