WHERE are my medical records?

Well, my Wednesday has NOT been the best. I am hoping that YOURS has been MUCH better :)

For one, I did not even go into work today because my back was just bothering me too much.

Well, relating to said back, on my to do list today, I was supposed to call my local Dr. office back because when I called yesterday they said they didn't have any records on file for me from previous X-Ray's of my pediatric orthopedic specialist.

The background story on this (and I will try to keep it short) is: I saw a specialist (Dr. Phillips) at Nemours Pediatric Orthopedic division for YEARS, probably from when I was 13-21. I adored that physician. He always thoroughly explained things to me, drew on the x-rays showing me the degree of my slippage and curvature. He was wonderful, and I trusted him. I was beyond saddened when I turned 21, and had my last appointment. That was in 2005. I am SUPPOSED to have a check-up once or twice a year, but at least once. I was a bad-bad girl and did not see a back specialist in 2006, 2007, OR 2008. Yes. I know, tsk tsk. I don't know what I was thinking. Anyways, in 2009 I went to one of the doctors Dr. Phillips has recommended me to, and Ryan & I were not big fans of his. He didn't explain my x-rays to me and said "what is REALLY scary about your situation" a few times. YES, we know my back is scary. Now please explain to me if my slippage and curvature are getting worse.

Well, he said next time I came back to bring x-rays from the past, so we could compare.

I didn't go back in 2010.

But I DID make an appointment for NEXT Thursday. At the same doctor. I am giving him one more shot. I have been super stiff as of late, so any doctor visit is better than NO doctor visit, and I am still on the hunt for other specialists I can go to as well for other opinions.

Anyways, back in 2009 Nemours had called me to let me know that Dr. Phillips was no longer with them (he  is working for another amazing hospital now) and they wanted to know if I wanted my records sent permanently somewhere.

I figured with my current adult primary care physician would be best, so I signed the release, they MAILED them in February of 2009 and I thought that was that. I never thought to confirm receipt. I just assumed since no one from Nemours got back with me, that all went well.

That was my mistake and now I am paying for it.

Like I said, I have an appointment NEXT week with a back specialist again and I have no old records to show him. How can he possibly look at x-rays of my back NOW and tell me what my rate of progression is from when I was 14 IF I HAVE NO OLD RECORDS?!


Seriously?! No one has them. I have spoken to Nemours, my current doctor records division, as well as main storage for the entire facility where my current doctor works (as it is a huge division with many different aspects to it)

NO LUCK. They are nowhere to be found.


I have to call Nemours back on Friday to see if they have had any luck at their off site storage but I am almost positive they have to be somewhere with my adult doctors facility since that is where they were sent in 2009.

I can't even begin to express in words how upset I am. I just spent 30 minutes crying in my husbands arms.

Without these old records, I have NO history of my Spondylolisthesis.

Please be in prayer over this situation. It would be much appreciated.


side note: sorry if I rambled and if some things don't flow well or make sense, I just don't have it in me to proof read right now.

UPDATE: I was called the very next day and told that when they had someone go through my files, piece by piece, my missing records were found. THANK YOU JESUS! soso relieved. A prayer answered.

Hello, Tuesday.

I come to you with shorter hair!

:)

I rescued a teensy tiny kitten today, and, of course, documented the rescue on my pet blog.

Also, Bullseye wanted to do a photoshoot last night when I got home... and here's one of the results.

What a cutie patootie he is. And spoiled rotten. As all my furbabies are :)

Weekend Wrap Up

via the asterisk sign 

* went to IHOP for brunch with my husband, father in law, and room mate on Friday

* They then came to church to help me (which basically means they work and I watch due to my back) set up for the couponing class that I coordinated to be held that night

* I attended the couponing class Friday night, there was a turn out of about 50 people which made me happy

* Hubby came BACK to the church @ 9pm and worked to put up all the tables he, his dad, and Ash had set out earlier. He worked by himself for the most part until our Sr. Pastor came to the rescue. I've told my husband a million times already this weekend but THANK YOU!!

* The Hubs picked up Beef's wings after leaving church and we ate hot wings in bed at 10pm at night. Sorry eating healthy. You lost that battle.

* BUT, I did get a work out in at the gym on Saturday morning

* I then watched The Pioneer Woman's new cooking show with my Dad. which made me want more unhealthy food.

* Instead of eating more unhealthy food, I gave the doggies a bath and documented it on the pet blog

*  and then went to the local ball park and watched my friends son play (another friend met up with me there as well) so we had a big group to cheer on my friends son! :)

C's team lost, but still had fun playing

M enjoyed playing in the mud :)

* Afterwards I made a quick grocery run to Publix with the Hubs to grab missing ingredients that I needed to make my very first home made beef stew. (It turned out SOOOO good!) We put the stew meat, potatoes, carrots, green beans, garbonzo beans, stewed tomatoes, peas, and corn in it. It was like deluxe beef stew but OH SO DELISH!

* Went to church Sunday morning

* and then spent some time by the pool with a friend and her kids

* I also made a couponing trip to Walgreens & Publix. @ Walgreens I got 5 General Mills cereal for $8 so pretty much $1.60 a box. Not too shabby! 

* Another friend came by Sunday night to work on my car and we think we have the fender rigged to where the bumper won't be popping off again....key word is THINK. We shall see what the week brings.

* Sunday night I blogged a bit and spent the rest of the night cuddled up with my sweet hubby watching Star Trek (he is working his way through every single episode via Netflix).

** side note: the hubs was out of commission most of the weekend with a horrible migraine. He didn't even make it to church Sunday morning. <3 **

I hope each and every one of you have a very blessed week ahead. Monday is what you make it. :)

Fender Bender....

with no parties involved? THAT I KNOW OF...

As I was driving down the road today I heard something rubbing so I pulled off into a Sam's lot to check it out... and THIS is what I found:

Um. Hello Fender! Shouldn't you be attached and NOT rubbing against the tire that I've spent so much money on?! 

Weeeeeird. I have NO clue how that happened. The background story: my dad drove my car yesterday, said he felt vibrations pulled over to check, saw the fender was out, popped it back, drove home, told me about the issue and not to drive the car until someone looked at it. WELL, a friend of mine that works on cars peeked at it last night before heading to the Bucs (blacked out) game with my Dad. He popped the fender in again, more firmly, and said I should be good to go. Ummmm, not so much. 

I drove to church this morning, and then to my friends to go swimming. After parking at my friends I noticed it was out. I popped it back, swam, and then on the way home, I heard the rubbing again, that's when I pulled over at Sam's. 

I made it home, and am going to have to call around tomorrow to see where I need to take my car to get this fixed. I wish I could say I knew what happened. I have no clue if someone hit me and didn't tell me, or if it's 5 years of me hitting curbs, etc to hard, and it broke loose. Hmph. Either way, no bueno.

Ignore the fact that my car needs washed.... see picture 1? it's obviously missing plastic bolts that hold the fender together... picture two has the bolts still in tact.

I just don't know.

BUT, that was part of my weekend for ya. More later. :)

Blacked out football games?

Okay. I need to vent here a moment about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And keep in mind this vent is coming from me.... not the hugest football fan. I enjoy hanging out with my husband and dad watching games, but it's definitely not something I am passionate about.

Anyways, every single home game of the Buccaneers was blacked out (for local stations) last season. Yup. You read that right. None of the home games were aired on television. Why you ask? Because they couldn't sell out the stadium.

REALLY?! Imagine that. Times are tough. Many are without employment. Many struggle to keep a roof over their shoulders, food on the tables, and bills paid, not to mention the rising gas costs. Unfortunately that does NOT leave a lot of money left around to budget fun costly sporting events. Sure, the tickets may be super cheap right now, but what about the cost of gas, parking, concessions? yeah, it adds up!

 Granted, my family IS a season ticket holder... We have two tickets to each home game. BUT, we sell many of them to "pay ourselves back". We don't technically have that money to spend on season tickets, but we've been holders for so long, my dad doesn't want to lose his seats. We branch out, pay for them, then any we sell, we pay ourselves back. So, we, if anyone, understand the financial burden.

What saddens me and angers me all at the same time is that we, the fans, are getting punished because we can't sell out the games and pack a full stadium. So, because of that, we can't even watch the game on T.V. for free at home! What is wrong with this picture?!

I feel like the ball has really been dropped here. For some, football on Sundays is a way of life... and now, here in central Florida, if it's the Bucs they are looking to watch, they are out of luck. Just doesn't seem fair.

What are your thoughts? Have you had home games blacked out for your local team if they didn't sell out?

Here's a few pics of past games I've went to. Like I said, though we are season ticket holders, we usually have to sell the tickets to "pay ourselves back" BUT I try to go and enjoy at least one game a year. My dad is attending the preseason game tonight against Miami with one of our friends. And guess what? I won't be watching it from home.... because it's blacked out.

Fabulous Friday :)

It's that time again.... Yup, It's FRIDAY! And a Fabulous one at that!

I hope this week has been great for you! I want to share a few of the fabulous things going on in my life, however, first things first, the winner of The Pioneer Woman cooks cookbook. I used the random.org generator with entries #1-#72 and this is what it gave me:

#40

anna said...

I also tweeted.

August 23, 2011 1:30 AM 

SOOO, congratulations Anna!! Please email me @ BrownEyedBell11@yahoo.com with your contact info so I can get this fabulous book in the mail to you!

Now, onto other fabulous things:

The car wash that we had last Saturday for Kidney for Kristy was a success. We raised just over $300 and now the grand total raised is $1068 of $5500! We are not even half way, but are definitely making a dent. 

I was home from work early enough on Tuesday to enjoy watching the new Teen Mom episode. I know, I know, this show is absolutely ridiculous, but I am sucked in. I only watch the seasons that have Catelynn, Maci, Farrah and Amber on it. 

Greek Yogurt is my latest obsession. I am loving Chobani greek yogurt right now. A friend and coworker gave me my 1st taste about two weeks ago and I have been hooked. 

Miss Indie posted a fabulous Super Mario Brothers inspired cake (that she found via pinterest) this week that I adored. 

Saturday is the premiere of The Pioneer Woman's new cooking show on the Food Network. Click HERE to see a 6 minute preview. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

What happened to lead up to this event was not fabulous in any way, but the bond between human and dog IS fabulous. Read my post on 4paws4love yesterday to see a touching story of a Lab that did not want to leave the side of his fallen master, a Navy SEAL that was killed in the August 6th attack in Afghanistan. May he rest in peace. <3

Yesterday my husband and I were able to help one of my room mates friends, someone we'd never met. My roomie texted me around 4pm to see what I was up to, because a friend of hers was stranded on a main road near our house. She had ran out of gas and wasn't going to get paid until tomorrow. She's a school teacher and only gets paid once a month. I can't imagine budgeting for the entire month. Anyways, we came to her rescue and surprised her by putting more gas in her SUV after she got it cranked and into the nearest gas station. She was not expecting us to put as much as we did in her tank and had tears because she'd now be able to make it all the way home AND back to work the next day without fear of being stranded again. Like my husband said "I drive a truck, and I know a few dollars doesn't go far these days". It brought a smile to both of our faces being able to help someone in need. 

 
Tonight there will be a couponing class that I set up at my church. I think helping others learn to save money and be coupon savvy is just fabulous.

OH! OH! This week I learned how to make a button for a blog.... I am definitely a novice, but to have a vague idea of what I am doing is fabulous to me because now I don't constantly have to ask my friend DaisyJo to make them for me.

I made this....

and this....

And with that being said, I plan to start a new link up next Thursday, September 1st. I am going to stop doing Fabulous Friday's and start doing Thankful Thursday's. I love doing fabulous friday's, however I think it is extremely important to remind ourselves of all the things we have to be thankful for, from the small stuff, all the way to the major things. And what better way to do that than a link up? Besides, most stuff I am thankful for anyways is quite fabulous in my eyes. I hope that you will start thinking of some of the things YOU are thankful for, and possibly link up next Thursday. I took over Fabulous Friday's from Laura over at Between The Lines and I enjoyed doing so but I am very much looking forward to having a place I can sing praises to all the stuff I am thankful for :)

PS - I made this too :)

irony of my frugalness

I just had to share this story from LAST Thursday with you. I've been meaning to type it up, and am finally getting around to it!

Most of us are on a budget, right?

I know I can't just freely spend my money without thinking about it. Let's face it, the economy is NOT what it once was. Groceries are continuing to rise, and gas is without a doubt, ridiculous. I remember as a kid it being less than $1 a gallon. Oh what I wouldn't give to fill my car up again when it was $2.

Anyways, that being said, I try to save where ever I can. I watch for sales, use coupons, all of that good stuff. Well, if you are a crafter, you KNOW Michaels & Joann's (not sure about Hobby Lobby, ours hasn't opened yet, but I can only hope) have some pretty awesome coupons every week. HELLO 40% off! I will never understand how people can NOT want to use a 40% off coupon. I've been behind people checking out and when asked if they'd like to receive coupons say NO. My thinking is if I am buying a $40 item, 40% off of that is $16. So I'd pay $24 instead of $40! WOW. I'd much rather use that $16 on a lunch date with my husband, or extra gas money, ya know?

But anyways, back to the story. So, Thursday, after my appointment at the DMV to get my name changed to my married (YAY!) name on my license, I ended up at the dollar store, Michaels, and Target. Now, I did not PLAN to stop by those places, so I did not have my Michaels coupons with me :(. I ended up finding some stencils I needed as I frequently make car wash signs, etc for charity events. I figured the stencils would come in handy since I wouldn't have to continually by adhesive letters that are good for one use. Well, the stencils were $9.99 for 4" stencils. Not bad by any means, BUT all I kept thinking was "this would be $6 if I just had my coupon!". SO, I asked the cashier if they'd accept my coupon from the email on my Blackberry. She said YES! Excited. WELL, BB decided it wanted to run slow as molasses  while I'm waiting, so I gave up. My Mommy always said "Patience is not a virtue you were blessed with Heather Lynn". I was debating if I just wanted to come back the next day, coupon in hand. Of course, mentally I was also debating if it was worth wasting the gas. Then I remembered my wonderful friend Gina had given me a Michael's gift card two weeks ago. She said she just didn't go in there enough to use it and she didn't know how much was left on the card, under $10, but I could have it. SCORE!

So, in the end, my purchase was $9.99, however it rang up $8.99 (no complaints there) and my friends gift card was $5. SO, I ended up paying $4.62. I did BETTER than if I'd had my coupon. I left the store a very satisfied girl. :)

An Earthquake... on the east coast?!

An earthquake hit the east coast yesterday. You don't hear THAT often. But, we heard it, loud and clear yesterday.

I was actually just sitting down to lunch at an outside table in our downtown district. I figured as I killed time, I'd check twitter. That's where I first saw the statuses:

thepioneerwoman: earthquake in NYC?
LauraBarndt: Ummmm... we are having an earthquake over here!
Julieannart: according to my Twitter friends... there was an earthquake in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, & DC just now?

and they went on and on.... and then the facebook updates.

I have a very dear friend in Virginia so my thoughts immediately went to her. We chat through BlackBerry Messenger and I was able to reach out to her quickly and find out she and her family were safe. Thank God!

I still don't know all the details of this earthquake but from what I have heard, read, it was about a 5.8-6.0 in magnitude and was felt all the way north through Toronto, and all the way south to North Carolina.

Dr. Arthur Lerner-Lam, head of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Division of Seismology, said the earthquake occurred in a part of Central Virginia that is known as an area of geologically old faults, created several hundred million years ago when the Appalachian Mountains were forming. The area has frequent small earthquakes; the largest previously recorded was one of magnitude 4.8 in 1875. ---- NY Times Article


Here's a few of the photo's I've come across tonight as I read more about the earthquake that shook Virginia and the Northeast today:

a bride running from a courthouse in lower manhatten

.photo credit.

checking their cells outside an office that was evacuated in Baltimore

.photo credit.

Pennsylvania Ave

.photo credit.

Mother comforting her son

.photo credit.

Traffic Jam

.photo credit.

I can't even imagine the emotions that everyone involved went through today. I've heard some thought it was a terrorist attack at first. My heart breaks imagining the fear that went through their minds. I remember in 2006 when Florida felt a 6.0 earthquake from the Gulf of Mexico. I thought I was going crazy as I'd never been in an earth quake before, so when everything started moving around me, I thought I was having a severe dizzy spell or panic attack. It didn't help that my boyfriend at that time was asleep and missed it all. 

My prayers are with each and everyone involved. From what I've heard there have been no reports of death, or extreme damage. That is a blessing. I know they are still going through after shocks as my friend just told me they had another one about an hour ago. 

I pray that the presence of God will be felt as he is at work in every area of need; providing the people and resources needed for recovery and rebuilding, uplifting every soul. I pray that those involved will be strengthened and rise above the situation with a new found faith and hope. I pray that every one will remember that:

The light of God surrounds you;
The love of God enfolds you;
The power of God protects you;
The presence of God watches over you.
Wherever you are, God is!

XOXO

AMI2011 Recap

Warning: Photo Heavy Post

It's a week late, but I finally got my laptop back and wanted to share some of the photo's from the Anna Maria Island weekend trip that my girlfriends and me went on. This trip is so special to me, as for the past three years my girlfriends and I have went down to AMI the weekend of the anniversary of my mommy's death. It's so refreshing to be able to get away that weekend, and enjoy company of great friends, instead of sitting at home, being reminded of just how much I miss my Momma. I need to say a big THANK YOU to my friends. I truly am blessed. I say that a lot, I know, but it's the truth. I don't deserve the amazing people I have in my life, but I am so blessed to have them.

Now, onto the pics! :)

In AMI, we:

enjoyed sunsets:

took random jumping pics with just the right angle to make it look super high

had group sessions

Crafted... Jes did Gina's hair & Sara made the flower :)

And took other random shots

cute new wallet/cell phone or camera carriers

THAT was AMI2011 my friends. The countdown for 2012 can now begin.

XOXO

* PS - Don't forget THURSDAY is the last day to enter the August Giveaway.

IHeartFaces & PaperMama Pet Photo Challenge(s)

Good Morning Friends :) 

I pray that each and everyone reading this will have not only a great Monday, but a great week ahead.

I entered my furbabies into two photo contests this week. 

This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge - www.iheartfaces.com

Little Chief Honeybee - Making Dreams come true.

Don't you just love how easy it is to help someone sometimes? How many of you know Kaelah from Little Chief Honeybee? If you don't, I highly suggest you make your way on over to her little blog and meet her for yourself. She is one of my favorite bloggers and I have been so happy to sponsor her the last few months. Kaelah not only has some big dreams, she is REACHING for them, and MAKING them happen. Love that!

She is amazingly crafty and sells some awesome homemade items in her online shoppe. She wants to take that one step further and open a mobile boutique. If you don't know exactly what this is, click here to read about some of Kaelah's favorites. She is working her way on making her shasta dream come true.

And I for one would love to see her make her way on down to Central Florida.

Wanna know just how easy it is to help her?!

She entered into the American Eagle Best Shot Contest and made it into 1st place for the finals in all three categories that she entered. Like she said "It's a longshot that AE would ever partner up with a tattooed gal but whatever, it's worth a shot! It'd be fun to try I guess!" And I agree 100%. I for one would LOVE to see a beautifully tattooed girl in an ad. :) That's besides the point though, the cash prize(s) for winning are amazing. If she wins even just one of the three categories (though she went into finals first place in three categories, we are not sure if it's possible to win more than won category) she'd win $3000 to put towards her Honeybean Mobile Boutique. She could potentially start her new business DEBT FREE. How amazing would that be?

It's so so simple to help her out. All you have to do is go to the AE Best Shot Contest and click to vote on her three photo's. If you have a facebook, you can vote. It's OH SO EASY! It's kinda set up a bit funky though. There will be a colored tab at the bottom, each color represents a different category. She is entered into three of them (and she's the FIRST picture in all three):

Most Likely to be a Rockstar = Pink Tab

Coolest Hipster = Navy/Dark Blue Tab

Aspiring Artist = Yellow Tab

Really, you could totally help someone out by taking literally one minute out of your day and clicking to vote three times. I've already voted and I ask that you would take just one moment to vote for Kaelah, help her dreams come true! Maybe even spread the word around the blog world, facebook, twitter, whatever social media you use? Networking does amazing things. Thank you friends. Have a Blessed Sunday.

XOXO