Labor Day Weekend

Yes, obviously this is a delayed post...at least I am getting it in before September is over!

TimaSue and Mark visited me on Labor Day weekend. We had a blast. T-Bone Tom's for BBQ, I gave them a NASA tour (TimaSue was a trooper seeing it all for the second time), went to Galveston for some beach time and ice cream on the Strand, Doctor Who, movies, church, chillin', shopping...definitely a great weekend! Can't wait to see them in a few weeks for their baby shower! They were my first official vistors in my house!

Post T-Bone Tom's...stuffed with fried pickles, pulled pork, and Shiner...well not Tima, that wouldn't be good for Baby Boy Miller :)

Getting ready to head to NASA for their tour (they were very proud of their purple badges...)


Playing flight controllers (the ADCO on-console that day gave up his seat for a photo op, thanks Jon!)


Yum! Ice cream at La King's after an afternoon on the beach.


Just about to head to the airport. FUN weekend!

More finished books...

Added to the finished pile:

The Good Earth- Pearl S. Buck
Good writing, story of a farmer's life in China...had a very "solid" feel...a bit on the depressing side, because of how matter of fact/truthful it was. Glad I read it.

Born to Run- Christopher McDougall
Excellent book! Not convinced of the merits of barefoot running, but it did get me to add chia seeds to my diet and to contemplate short short distances of barefoot running in the grass...once I start running again that is :)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society- Mary Ann Shaffer
This was a fantastically awesome book that will probably end up on my "all time favorites". It's set in post WWII London and it's about a writer who corresponds with a town on one of the Channel islands. The entire story is told through the letters they exchange. I feel like I know every single character in the book personally. Very well done.

Currently reading Wuthering Heights...nope I have never read it...it took a bit to get into it, but as one of the characters in the Potato Peel Pie book said "when Cathy's fingers touched the window, I was hooked"...exact same thing happened for me (and yes, it was the Potato Peel Pie book that made me want to read Wuthering Heights...I love when books inspire you to read other books! :) )

A Soliloquy on All Things Medical

Haven't felt like blogging in awhile, but I had a couple of doctors appointments this week, so for those of you who want the latest, read on...

I've been having a LOT of problems with my autoimmune disease the past couple of weeks and it worsened this week. So when I went in to see the back orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday, he said that we had to wait for my disease to settle down before doing anything. He told me not to be a hero though (snort- seriously I am like the biggest whiner ever!)...if my back is still hurting me in a week, just give him a call and they will schedule the epidural. And my back is still hurting. It is, however, MUCH MUCH better than it was, a fact that I am so grateful for. I can walk for about 30 minutes before I start becoming uncomfortable, as long as I walk a moderate pace (which to me feels SLOOOOW). I can stand without much shifting around for about 20 minutes...and with lots of shifting for about 40 minutes. Sitting isn't too bad either, when my SI joints are behaving (my disease can cause inflammation in the SI joints, which seems to be happening every other day or so). So all in all, I am much improved from almost two months ago! Yay!

I saw my rheumatologist today and unfortunately we are adding another medication to my daily routine. I'm already on one immunosuppressive drug and a super strong anti-inflammatory and we're now adding another immunosuppressive drug (seriously, put me in a plastic bubble!). Plus, they hooked me up to an IV and pumped me full of steriods this afternoon to help try and calm things down.

I hate being on more medications.

BUT, I am very thankful that I am not taking these medications for their originally intended use:
one med is a chemotherapy drug (I take a very very low dose) and the other is used for organ transplant receipients. See what I mean? Me <- THANKFUL!!!!

So here's to some prayer and Western medicine...do your thing!

Latest living room picture

Here you go Mom (you really need to get Facebook :) )

Things still to go on the walls...