Can you ever drink to much Diet Coke? No. Never. If you’re worried the caffeine will keep you awake at night, well that’s what God made Caffeine Free Diet Coke for. It’s in the gold can.

Why was David diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis instead of say Rheumatoid Arthritis? Was he misdiagnosed at first? David has seen two rheumatologists and they both agree that David has Psoriatic Arthritis. In high school and college David experienced back pain, and he was always given stretches and muscle relaxers. The doctors just assumed the pain was from playing sports.

So I guess you could say that he was misdiagnosed, but I’ve never really thought of it that way. As soon as a doctor took an x-ray of his back and did blood work they sent him to a rheumatologist. The other doctors were just being minimally invasive and David seemed so healthy. They really had no reason to think the back pain was arthritis unless they were looking back through his chart seeing how often David was complaining of back pain, but even then, they still probably would have thought it was a torn ligament or something more common.

David has psoriasis on his scalp, and he did have patches of psoriasis on his knees once just before his worst flare up ever. After the blood work, x-rays and bone scan were done, the presence of Psoriasis, and the absence of the rheumatoid factor is what led doctors to diagnose David with Psoriatic Arthritis, although I have learned that David could develop rheumatoid arthritis.

Where does David have Psoriatic Arthritis? In every joint in his body, except his shoulders. His ribs and collar bone are also affected. The arthritis is most severe in David’s spine.

When does New Moon come out on DVD? Saturday, March 20. When Twilight came out on DVD, I sent David to Wal-Mart at midnight thinking there would be hoards of screaming girls just like the movie premiere and that stores would sell out quickly. They didn’t. In fact, Wal-Mart hadn’t even put the Blu-Rays out yet. So David went back a few hours later and then watched it with me. What a great husband!

Does your TMJ Disorder cause pain anywhere besides your jaw? Yes. Some TMJD sufferers get migranes. Thankfully, I do not. I do experience pain in my occipital lobe (the base of the skull just above the neck). Occasionally the jaw pain makes it feel as if I have an ear infection. Sometimes the pain in my jaw shoots down into my neck, but praise God, my jaw really is so much better than it was a few years ago. My TMJD specialist and my chiropractor have worked miracles on my jaw.

Are you guys moving? It depends on where David’s next job takes us. We would love to stay right here in Dallas with our family and friends, but Arizona would be a better climate for David’s joints, and since David has been out of work for two and a half months, he’d take a job pretty much anywhere at this point. He is actually interviewing in New Jersey today, so we’ll see where the Lord leads us.

What’s the best thing for David when he flares? David soaks in a hot bath with epsom salts every day. When he flares, he takes additional hot baths. Sometimes he will use a heating pad or Therma Heat patches. Often when he flares the doctor will give him an injection of arthritis medication directly into his back. There’s really not a whole lot we can do except wait it out. David has tried acupuncture, but it is a bit expensive, although it does provide considerable relief.

What helps your jaw when it’s hurting? Rest and relaxation. I try to eat soft foods like mashed potatoes and yogurt when my jaw hurts, so that my jaw can rest. Relaxation through exercise, massage therapy, playing the piano, etc. helps quite a bit. When my jaw pain was very bad a few years ago, I would sometimes drink hot beverages to relax my muscles. I wish you could have seen me with my mouth full of Chai Tea Latte leaning to one side to hold the hot liquid where I wanted it.

Why don’t you have a smart phone? First, money. It’s more expensive than my low tech phone. Second, the internet is so widely available, I really don’t need to have it on my phone. I can check email practically every where I go, and if I happen to be somewhere without internet access and I desperately need to blog or task a satelliete, well, that’s what David’s for.

Thanks for all the great questions and keep them coming!

Love,
A Young Wife

1. Why doesn’t David take an entry level job while he looks for a mid-level developer position? Well, most entry level computer jobs require physical work, such as lifting heavy equipment or moving and installing computers. With David’s arthritis, he cannot do that sort of thing. Other jobs you might suggest that he can’t do: waiting tables, being a sales clerk or cashier. He cannot be on his feet that long. So keep praying for David to find a job.

2. You guys want to have a baby!? Um, yeah. Really bad. David’s done a cost/benefit analysis of cloth diapers and everything. Unfortunately, with all the medication David is on, we are currently unable to conceive.

3. Is David going to the rheumatologist for each Humira injection? No. He gave himself the first few, and then my parents had to help him once. Usually David gives it to himself now, but I keep my hand over his so that he doesn’t pull away too soon. The last time David needed an injection, he was having trouble, so after two or three minutes he asked me to push the button. We are really proud of our progression! We no longer yell at each other when it’s injection time.

Any more questions? I really like getting questions, because it gives me blogging material, and it clears up any confusion or misperceptions. I love good communication, so please, ask away.

David continued to help me declutter our house this month. He went through his clothes and got rid of at least 20 items that were stained or torn.

I got rid of 1 cookbook that I never use. (Don’t forget that Half Price Books buys cookbooks, too!) I put 1 sweatshirt in the garage sale pile because it is so difficult for me to get on and off. I threw away 1 bottle of cheap nail polish that even David said chipped too fast and 1 bottle of that shimmery, glittery stuff that is so hard to get off your nails.

I am reorganizing my craft closet. It’s looking much better, but I still have a long way to go. I discovered four extra rolls of scotch tape, so now I know I don’t need to buy any more for a long while! I purged approximated 25 items from the craft closet, including eight pairs of decorative edge scissors that I haven’t used in years.

Total Items for February: 49

I’d like to do more in March. David and I hope to go through everything in the garage and get rid of what we don’t need, and organize what we do.

Check out Amy’s blog The Finer Things for more of the 730/365 Challenge and inspiration to help you declutter your home.

So often, people, even Christians, do not treat those with mental illness well. They tell them, “If you just had more faith…” There is such a stigma attached with depression and anti-depressant medication. I truly appreciated Ms. Walsh’s honesty.

She also shared funny anecdotes from her life that made me smile and laugh. She talks about how sometimes bad things happen to God’s people, as was the case with Joseph. I liked that she wasn’t promoting the prosperity doctrine, the belief that if you’re doing good things, God will bless you. I liked the emphasis she placed on trusting God daily, moment by moment. Trusting God is not a one time thing.

My only real complaint with this book is that Bible verses were quoted from The Message, which isn’t a translation. It’s a paraphrase of the Bible.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to women who struggle with worry, anxiety or depression.

A copy of “Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God” by Sheila Walsh was provided to me free of charge by Thomas Nelson through Book Sneeze in exchange for a review of the book.

Click here to read more great advice from women.

David and I love over the door shoe organizers, but we don’t use them for shoes. They’re perfect for corraling cables and cords.

Or mittens, scarves and flashlights.

I’m thinking about using one in my craft closet as well.

It works for me!

*I was unloading groceries one day, and I saw a man working outside two doors down. I waved and said, “Hey, there!” Since the two neighbors I know, and my parents, and my in-laws all work on their homes themselves, it just never occurred to me that it wasn’t my neighbor.

He was a contractor. He came over and gave me his business card. He was telling me something, probably what his area of expertise was (or that I really shouldn’t talk to strangers), but my dog, Henry, was going crazy and barking so loudly that I couldn’t hear a word the man was saying. I was afraid Henry was going to jump the gate and attack the man. That contractor probably thought we had the friendliest neighborhood.

Lesson Learned: Know your neighbors.

*Awhile back, I was wakeboarding with my family. My dad was driving the boat, I was riding shotgun and my brother was being pulled behind the boat in an inner tube. This particular tube isn’t a donut ring. It’s got a floor so you actually sit down in it. My dad likes to go really fast when he pulls my teenage brothers and take sharp turns to see if he can knock them out. They love it.

Well, Dad took a sharp, fast turn and the tube flipped upside down. The boat lurched backwards and Dad killed the motor.

“Whoa! I didn’t know the boat had brakes!” I exclaimed.

“It doesn’t,” said my father. “The tube filled with water when it flipped and acted as an anchor. We’re lucky the boat didn’t flip.”

Brother was laughing when he resurfaced, just in case you were worried.

Lesson Learned: Boats don’t have brakes and always wear a life jacket when you are on a boat. Also, I am glad I am my father’s daughter, not his son.

*Recently I was working at my part time job at the law firm. I was at the front desk and a solicitor came in and gave me his business card. He started giving me the whole sales pitch. He was talking quickly, people were walking by and the phones were ringing. I managed to catch a few words here and there, including “server” and “process”.

Being the geek that I am, I told him, “Ok, thanks, I’ll give Stephanie your business card.” Stephanie handles a lot of our computer issues. Since I’d heard those two key words, naturally I thought he was a computer guy. Nope. He was a “process server”. The guys that hands folks papers and says, “You’ve been served.”

Lesson Learned: I work for a law firm, I have no legal experience, and I need to watch more Law & Order.

*I’m in a book club with some very nice, Christian ladies. We’re reading “12 Extraordinary Women” by John MacArthur. The night we discussed the introduction and the first chapter, talking about all those wonderful Christian women’s virtues: grace, being a helpmeet, modesty, etc. I came home much later than I’d expected to. I burst in the front door, yelling at David, “I’m sorry I’m home so late! I’ve got to pee like a trucker!”

I looked up to see David putting his finger to his lips telling me to be quiet. He was playing XBox Live. With a headset. With a microphone. Oh, yeah. Just call me Mrs. Proverbs 31. And just FYI, I have no idea where I heard the phrase ‘pee like a trucker’.

Lesson Learned: Someone’s always listening, or pay attention to the lessons in your Christian women’s book club.

That’s how great friendships begin. With food.

The next time we got together, Maegan invited me to meet her for a pedicure. That is another way great friendships begin. I was about an hour late to the salon. As it so often happens when people give me directions that include words like “north” or “west” I got lost. Maegan was very patient with me over the cell phone, redirecting me multiple times. Now she gives me directions that include words like “left” and “past the mailboxes”.

I could not believe how long we spent chatting. After they kicked us out of the salon we walked into Corner Bakery in our foam flip flops and talked some more over panninis.

Nowadays, David knows that if I say I’m just dropping something off at Maegan’s it’s going to take three hours. If we go out to lunch, it will take eight. We swap books and magazines and recipes. She’s the one I call (or text) when I need to know if it’s still cool to tuck your jeans into your boots.

David and I watched Maegan’s dog, Zeus, while Maegan and her husband were out of town for Christmas.

She’s the kind of friend that says, “Oh, your blender broke? Don’t buy a new one! Come get mine. I never use it.”

As I wrote this post, I realized that for all our crazy adventures, I didn’t have a single picture of her or with her! So, Thursday we’re going to take pictures. I told her if one of us were to die, we’d have no proof that we were friends. In fact, if she dies before Thursday, I told her I’d go to the funeral parlor, lie down next to her and have David snap a picture. I’ll just tell people she blinked.