Petra's Birthday

This is a few weeks late, but I was inspired by Heather's Blog.

For Petra's party, we had a Princess Tea Party.

I made her a princess castle cake.
She and her friends, Briley and Sabina, dressed up (Petra's was her gift).
And they drank "tea" (raspberry Kool-aid).
There were times when I thought that this day would never come. It is so wonderful to see what a big girl she is--how's she's growing up right before our eyes.

Grandma and Grandpa came over, too, and it was fun to see them. Dad kept falling asleep in his chair and Petra kept saying, "Grandpa, you can't take a nap!"

I Am Such a Wuss

I gave up on the diet. I tried, I honestly, really did. However, I was feeling SO moody and like I was being a jerk all of the time, which I HATE. Also, I was just plain out miserable. I know, I know, I should probably have stuck with it, but the thought of this going on for weeks was more than I could stand. So, there you go. I am a complete wuss. Nice to have it out in the open.

Agony

Well, I know that most of you do not know this, but I haven't been feeling well for a few months. I've been to a couple of doctors, but they don't seem to have the faintest idea what is going on. The last week or so, the problem has really coalesced into agonizing, perpetual back pain. No type of painkiller seems to work at all, and Monday, after spending 8 hours in the car, all I could do was lie on the floor and cry. So, Tuesday, Dusty stayed home from work and took me to a chiropractor.

Now, I will confess that I am pretty sceptical about "new age" type medicine, but nothing that anyone else did seemed to help at all. I also believed him when he told me that my back was severely out of alignment, so I figured that the chiropractor could help with that, at least. Well, one thing that I liked about the chiropractor was that he didn't just try to treat the symptoms, as other doctors have done. He said that there must be some underlying problem here. It felt nice to hear a medical professional admit it. However, he also put me on this insane "cleanse" diet wherein I eat only vegetables, fruits, vitamins, and this repulsive protein shake that tastes like vomit. I honestly don't think that I'm going to be able to stick to that. I did promise myself that I would at least do it until I see the chiropractor again, however I am NOT drinking that shake thing again.

Anyway, he did pop by back, which was excruciating, but helped, for a day or two anyway. Today I am just as bad as before, I think. It's maddening, because I can't do anything. The only time I feel remotely comfortable is when I am curled up on my bed with my back hunched over. Then my legs fall asleep. Basically, I'm completely useless at this point. Ah, well. I don't think that I would mind quite so much if only I knew that they could figure out what was causing it. Sometimes I think that God has a much higher opinion of my abilities than I really wish he did. Then again, that's the whole point, right?

Vacation Pics