Let's Have Coffee & Catchup: Westerns, Vertigo, Osteoarthritis, & More

My favorite mug: Daughter of the King mug from The Daily Grace Co.

    Someone recently asked me if everything was ok, because I hadn't posted on the blog yet this year. I was grateful for that little reminder for two reasons: 1) Because it meant that someone actually reads the blog regularly enough to notice when it's quiet for a bit (Thank you!), and 2) Because while I was vaguely aware that I hadn't posted yet this year, I didn't actually realize that we were already in the second month! My goodness does time fly! So let's have a coffee and catchup, shall we? 

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    January was a pretty rough month. I was sick with either gallbladder trouble or vertigo for most of it. On top of those illnesses, I had burned my eye Christmas night and it took quite a while to fully heal. January was also full of appointments, as I continued my quest for relief from the chronic pain I have suffered from for about 6 years now. I had constant pain (24/7) in my neck and shoulders for years, but then recently I started having debilitating migraines. This caused me to really push for relief and a diagnosis.

    I went to one doctor after another, and lastly a neurologist. All they wanted to do was treat the symptom, rather than find the cause. Prescribing pills with nasty side effects and even nerve-blocking injections in my neck. I decided to put off taking the meds and treatments, and to look for other ways to treat the pain and migraines before injecting myself with poison. That led me to looking into chiropractic and acupuncture treatments. I went to a chiropractor at the suggestion of friends and I can honestly say, my life changed due to that decision.

  At only the second appointment, my chiropractor found one of the problems through looking at my X-rays and gave me a diagnosis. I now know one thing that I'm up against and how to best treat the issue. It's not something that can be cured, but I can do things to bring some relief and to slow the progression. While it isn't exactly what I was hoping for, at least I know what it is now. Finally I can go back to all those doctors who treated me like I was crazy, like the pain was all in my head, and show them that they were indeed wrong! I now have validation for all the pain I've dealt with over the years. 

   Pretty interesting beginning to 2019, eh? 

   It wasn't all illness and pain though. January saw a renewed passion in me to work on my book. I hope to finish it this year. It's a passion project of mine, but I had set it aside the later part of last year, what with illnesses and stress. Now I'm back at it and I'm excited to see it unfold and progress. On top of working on the book, I've also been keeping the content going over on Modern Jo March. Book reviews, interviews, new features have been steadily shared through out this past month, which is one reason for my silence here. I have to learn to balance the two blogs more! Actually, I think I'm still learning to find balance in life as a whole. 

   Other new tidbits:
  - A friend of mine, Linda Ellen, is releasing a new book this Valentine's Day. It's a book I have had the pleasure of being in on from its inception, as a beta reader. I love being able to watch an author bring a story to life and this one was such a fun one! So I am gearing up for its release, making sure my reviews are ready to post and what not. (A Bride for Sam releases Feb. 14th!) 

  - I started drinking coffee a month before my 27th birthday. It has also been an incredible relief for my migraines, go figure!

  - I've been reading a lot of great books lately, so make sure to pop over to Modern Jo March and see all of them! I just finished rereading Louis L'Amour's The Lonesome Gods, it's one of my top favorite books and I always thoroughly enjoy reading it. 

  - I got my hair cut! Every now and then I get tired of long, thick hair, so I get it chopped off and thinned. It feels really good and easy to manage. 

  - I've decided to wear less makeup. It got to the point where I felt like I had to wear it and agonized over getting it right and what not, so I've decided to stop. I want to be more natural and so far, I like it!

  - I'm turning 27 this month...…. still letting that sink in. 

Well, now that the coffee is all gone and we're all caught up, I promise to post more on WJIC! I have at least one new poem to share and a few other posts that will be published over the next couple of weeks.

Until then, have a good week!