I Need Help!

My last two posts show no line breaks. This does not happen on every post, just periodically...anyone know how to rectify this problem?

When Will I Learn?

Last night I stayed on the computer until about midnight. I feel like I don't have enough time to complete my projects. I didn't know it would take that long or I would've stopped sooner. I went to bed and read for about 20 minutes to relax. I woke about 5:30 am and had to pee...back to bed...relax, relax, need to relax...can't! :( Dwain got up about 6:00am. I turned on my light to read a bit, hoping it would relax me...no luck. Finally up at 6:30 am. My head and body hurt from the lack of sleep. Once I ate breakfast and took my medicine, I felt better.

Went to the Chiropractor, grocery store and the Vet for Lucy's dog food. When I arrived home, I took the shortest path to my door and banged the top of my head ... didn't duck low enough. Once I put the cold items in the fridge or freezer I laid down. I had 45 minutes before selling wood, I couldn't sleep. So frustrating.

I KNOW not to stay up late;
I KNOW concentrating on relaxing, does not work for me;
I KNOW that I can't ignore the sensation of needing to pee; and
I KNOW to duck lower.

WHEN WILL I LEARN?

Advice from the Moon

Advice from the Moon

Live life to the fullest

Be someone to look up to

Don't be phased by difficulties

Take time to reflect

Enjoy a little space

Honor the cycles of nature

Light up the Night!

Ilan Shamer

This advice was given to my husband Dwain and I as part of a "Thank You" packet for volunteering at Wallowa Lake State Park. It's printed beautifully and I'll frame it.

I believe it gives us things to think about.

Live life to the fullest. This is tough for a Fibromyalgia patient. By the time you are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, you realize life as you know it, is never going to be the same. We need to learn and accept our limitations, learn how to read our body. Then do what we want to do. Yes, we may not be climbing mountains, but we can instruct someone on how to climb mountains. We must adjust to what our new "can do" is. Soon after I was diagnosed and realized that I would not be able to lead my life as usual, I said to Dwain, "how are we going to do the things we do, like go hiking?" Dwain said, "We can go on a hike. We hike 'til you get tired. Then we rest 'til you are ready to go on." I needed to adjust my thinking. We may not hike the entire hike and we will rest when we need to. You learn to be happy with that. Besides, while resting, you enjoy the views rather than walk past them.

Be someone to look up to. If you lead life to YOUR fullest, others will look up to you. You can learn alot by watching someone you admire. Be that someone, choose how you want to live your life.

Don't be phased by difficulties. Difficulties being our limitations. It's easier said than done, but when we are faced with a difficult situation, we must let it go and not dwell on it. The more we dwell, the more stress. Stress is not our friend...who wants to hurt more?

Take time to reflect. Reflect how your Fibromyalgia is taking its toll. Assess what you need to do to make your life healthier and happier. Reflect on the positive things Fibromyalgia has given you. Positive? What is positive about Fibro? For me, it was continuing to take hikes and enjoying the view. I'm taking more time to enjoy my life. If I did not have Fibromyalgia pain and Chronic Fatigue, my life might be perfect.

Enjoy a little space. Do you enjoy "ME" time through out your day? I wish I had more "ME" time. I rarely receive assistance from my husband on household duties. So there is always something to do. To have "ME" time I must put off household chores. It's hard to relax when you know you have work to do. We need time in our day to totally relax..we need to strive for that time.

Honor the cycles of nature. Here are a few thoughts thinking about nature in different contexts.

We have pain reaction to Mother Nature's seasons, either summer or winter. Remember to dress appopriately and/or have the AC ready. We have increased pain when our monthly cycle arrives. We need to have our chores complete so you can take that time for relaxation.

Light up the night! Share your smile, the twinkle in your eyes...stay positive. :D

My message is to be positive. Advocating for yourself. Assess your limitations and adjust to make your life more complete.

I want to share a photo of my little Lucy in her cute sweatshirt. Lucy is 6 months old. She gives us alot of love and entertainment. I'm sure she lowers our blood pressure!

The park hosts and staff fell in love with Lucy too.

I had a long day of cleaning park sites. Only one more day and we will have two days off. We are both ready to leave the park. We call the feeling "hitch itch" which is a reference to hitching up our fifth wheel and movin' on. Today we had a potluck with the other hosts and staff. It was staff's way of thanking us for our volunteerism. We will have another pot luck in a few days with just the park hosts. Our final goodbye to each other. Dwain plans to cook a pot roast in the dutch oven. I'm making a lemon pie.

Once we leave the park we will go to Heather's in Wallowa. Dwain will go hunting with Matt and our grandsons for several days. I will be spending time with Heather. I'm hoping for a few relaxful days.

Cold Sores --- Yuck!

I must have said something negative because I have cold sores galore!

They started appearing Saturday afternoon on my left, lower lip. A batch has even moved just down from my lip. I've never had them spread down before. This morning I noticed that another batch has started on my right, lower lip. I may be using a straw to drink my meals. :P

It's been some time since I've had a cold sore so I've been fortunate. They appear about a week after a stressful period, which I had last week.

I take Lysine, 500 mg, one a day as maintenance. I increase to three times a day when I have a cold sore. I use a Lysine topical cream to keep the sore moist. After they start healing, they can crack and bleed.

I understand that cold sores are common for Fibromyalgia sufferers.

Are You Interested?

Are you interested in traveling or living in an RV? How about taking better photos with your camera:

My husband, Dwain and I are full-time RVers. We both contribute to our blog entitled danddrvtips.blogspot.com. Periodically we post tips we have learned through trial and error. We enjoy sharing our successes and our failures produce interesting conclusions. Having Fibromyalgia has created issues while full-timing. I don't feel as alone on the road when I can blog and check in with my Fibromyalgia friends on Facebook, The Real Fibromyalgia Support Group.

Dwain has a blog entitled dwainspix.blogspot.com. Being a photographer, he writes how to use your camera and shares what he has learned. We volunteer in Oregon State Parks. He has lead hiking groups interested in learning more about their cameras and taking photos.

If you have an interest, take a look!

Frustration and Anxiety

I'm starting to feel like I'm behind on to many things. It's pretty bad when you feel accomplished because you've washed the dirty dishes!


I sleep well at night, I have the help of Trazodone. :D I have NOT rested during the day for three days. Intellectually I know I can't function without resting often. However, sometimes, you can't rest. This statement is not accurate...I can always rest, however, I try to do it all. I STILL need to learn to delegate. :(


Volunteering in a State Park provides getting to know other hosts. This time of year, there are 10 hosts working the park. A couple left this morning so we had a potluck last night. The weather threatened rain. We have a pop-up canopy with four sides that can enclose a picnic table. Dwain decided EVERYONE could come to our yard for the potluck. I hurried trying to prepare for company and anxiety kicked in. Dinner was scheduled for 6 pm. Two couples showed up at 4:30 pm. Here I am trying to get ready and wanting to sit down to visit with them. Once they were here, the other hosts came over. They were all here by 5 pm. My heart is beating fast. I can't think straight, darn cognitive issues. I'm feeling tired and defeated. Dwain was fixing chili with corn bread in the dutch oven. I mixed up the corn bread. Then he told me he wanted the recipe doubled. I could feel myself crumbling, wanting to cry. I did mix another batch of corn bread. A change of plans always upset my apple cart then anxiety blows me up. I'm so conscience of how it makes me feel and I fight to be calm. It's a struggle.

Do You Have A Pattern?

I have patterns in my day. I realized early that if I associate something with what I want to accomplish, I remember to do it. :D Here are some of my examples:

Almost 40 years ago, I went on birth control pills. The doctor explained the importance of not missing a pill, keeping them in order. I placed the pill packet next to my tooth brush...bush my teeth, take a pill. I needed that pattern in order to remember to take my pill.

When I shower, I wash myself in an order. After getting out of the shower, I have a routine before dressing. If I don't follow my order or if I get interrupted, I will forget something. I know no one wants me to forget to wash any parts!

If distracted while baking, I will miss an ingredient. A good example is a few years ago during Thanksgiving, I forgot sugar in the pumpkin pie. The taste was awful...no one ate pie. :( I must concentrate!

When Seth and Heather were babies, Heather needed to come off formula and drink 2% milk. I put her bottles on the left side of the fridge and Seth's on the right. When I carried them, Heather was on the left, Seth on the right. I needed an association to remember whose bottle was whose. From that time on, if I needed to keep anything separated, I used the analogy of their position in utero. Many years later, I used the same analogy when my grandsons were born. Although not twins, I place my first born grandson on the right and second born on the left, just as my first born.

To an outsider without Fibromyalgia, these patterns may appear that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. On the contrary, those with Fibromyalgia Disease, often draw a blank mind. Having a pattern or order of procedure, helps to complete tasks. I even have my vitamins and prescription medication purposefully positioned in my medicine cabinet.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 38th wedding anniversary. We dated five years prior to getting married so we have been together a long time.

We worked in the park, cleaning sites. This evening we enjoyed a Mexican dinner. The waiter sung along with the piped in Hispanic music and was very personable with everyone. He makes a pretty good margarita too!