I ♥ This Week !!

I do ! I ♥ it, I ♥ it !!
This is the last week of summer ... not officially, I guess, but by my inner calendar & the school's calendar it is ... I am not crazy about summer so I am happy to see it go ...go on with you !! ... I do like a few things about summer ... bonfires, open doors, sandals, flowers ... but I see no reason to not embrace those things all year anyway.
This is the week I pack up my tiredness. I sort through my old ideas & throw away those that aren't working for me. I unfold my dreams, write them down, plan the steps to make them happen. It is the mental equivalent of buying a new book bag and filling it with crisp new school supplies. It makes me excited , brave, and energized.
No matter how old I am, September will always be a new start . It is the first blank page of a new scribbler, a whole new pack of crayons, and a chance to start and learn. To try more, learn more, experience more, and be more.
I always have ideas percolating in my head ... hmmm ... but I let them simmer until now. If not I fear that summer's heat & (for me) discomfort will make the ideas wither and die. I will not have the determination or the mindset to deal with them. But come September I am "back to normal" ... lol. And I am ready to make dreams happen !!!

YAY !!!

Happy Happy !!!
As some of you know I have been complaining about hives ... for months ... since January actually, 8 months. Almost a full term pregnancy. lol. These aren't the spotty itchy hives though ... those I deal with ... every day. I have had those every day since late December. But these are - in addition - big huge swollen spots that burn and sometimes cause big blisters. They can last for days if they are severe. They exhaust me and make me unable to do a lot of things. They come from kneeling, carrying a purse, heat, walking, using a paper punch, applying a foot mask, having a massage treatment, rubbing my arm, wearing a sweater over sleeves, a paper cut, a bug bite, a bra strap out of place, shovelling dirt ... yep, silly things really. They can be on my hands , on the bottom of my feet, arms, anywhere. They are really a problem.
So I have been to the doctor several times, been referred to a specialist for 2012 (yes, waaaaaay in the future), that specialist died, and then I was referred to another specialist. I went Wednesday. I was so nervous the night before that I made lists on paper, I had my symptoms all layed out ... I was so sure I would have to convince the specialist. I had been hearing "Oh, you must have an allergy" for so long. I didn't sleep that night, I ate no breakfast ... I was nervous.
I went in & started speaking and she NODDED. She nodded. She knew what I was talking about and knew I wasn't crazy !! She did some very simple tests, took a biopsy (yes, right there ... cut out a piece of the hive !! UGH !!) , ordered some very specific blood work, and gave me a partial diagnosis ... right there !!! I was thrilled. It is fairly rare and is multi layered. The biopsy and tests will tell more but it's a start !! I am on a MEGA dose of medication for a month and then taper it off a bit for a few more months, then back to see her in 3 months. In the meantime we await the blood and pathology tests.
I didn't feel well when I left ... maybe from the biopsy ;) ... but I was elated !! To have someone say "I know some of what is wrong and can start helping you now. And I will soon be able to figure out the rest of it ... and it can all be dealt with ". I can't tell you what a relief !!!
Happy ! Happy !