First of all, grocery store workers putting raw chicken in the same bag as my produce is just wrong. I am always especially grateful to the clerk at my Kroger who puts the chicken in a bag all by itself. You, ma’am, could bag groceries for Monk, and that’s saying quite a lot.

Also, you may want to skip this paragraph if you’re a male. Yeah, men, don’t read the rest of this paragraph. I don’t care about panty lines. I don’t care what the magazines say. I don’t want hemroids or a bladder infection from fecal matter being transfered on a thong. Yeah, that really does happen to some women. Just don’t look at my derriere and there won’t be an issue.

Also, it drives me crazy in movies when some guy buys a girl a dress and thinks she can put it on and go to a party or a ball or whatever. First, she’d need to shave her legs. Then, if she’s going to wear open toed shoes, she’ll have to paint her toenails. The girl would also need to pluck her eyebrows and probably put on clear deoderant instead of the powder kind she’s wearing. Not to mention she’ll have to do something with her hair. And what about her accessories? Does she have a purse and earrings that go with the dress? Maybe it’s just me. Maybe most women can just slip on a dress and head out the door.

I’m really annoyed with myself, too. David talked me into Digorno pizza twice this week. And I’ve gotten off of my workout routine. The past month I’ve only worked out once a week. This week I didn’t work out at all. Ah, well. Tomorrow is another day.

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David’s next appointment with the rheumatologist is September 9. I’m going to ask for a handicap parking permit. I really feel like we could do more if he didn’t have to walk as much. Maybe a play or a short sporting event. It would also make traveling a lot easier. I’m thinking of the airport in particular.

So, um, I guess I’ll review some books and movies. I’ll only give it 5 stars if I’d read or watch it more than once.

Books

From a Distanceby Tamera Alexander – 3 out of 5 stars
The Mark of the Lion Trilogy by Francine Rivers – 5 out of 5
The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth – 4 out of 5
A Wife After God’s Own Heart – 5 out of 5
Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris – 4 out of 5
Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury – 4 out of 5
The Complete Cheapskate by Mary Hunt – 3 out of 5 (Good tips, but it got overwhelming.)
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult – 4 out of 5
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger – 4 out of 5
Miss Invisible by Laura Jensen Walker – 5 out of 5
Twilight – 5 out of 5

Movies

Starman – 2 out of 5 stars (If I don’t finish watching a movie, you know it’s boring.)
Tortilla Soup – 4 out of 5 (It’s the foodie in me.)
Spy Game – 5 out of 5
Defiance – 4 out of 5
New in Town – 3 out of 5 (Very predictable)
Frost/Nixon – 4 out of 5 (David would disagree, but I love thrillers and political movies!)
Only You – 3 out of 5 (I actually like the best friend/brother love story better than the main characters.)
Guarding Tess – 5 out of 5
Gattaca – 5 out of 5
Twilight – 5 out of 5 (Keep in mind, I saw the movie before I read the books.)

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I don’t do horror. My favorite movie is a tie between The Hunt for Red October and The Princess Bride.

Here’s a list of my favorite movies. Please note, I am not recommending you watch these. Some of these have lots of violence and bad language. These are just the ones I like. Do a lot of research before you sit down and watch any of these with your mother or children.

Chick Flicks/Romantic Comedies

Steel Magnolias
Anne of Green Gables (With Megan Follows)
Tristan and Isolde (Never, ever lie! That’s the moral of this story.)
The Notebook (To me, this isn’t a chick flick. It’s a true love story.)
The Importance of Being Earnest
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Hitch
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Sci-Fi

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (One of my goals in life was to see that this story was made into a better movie than the old BBC version. I can die happy now.)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Matrix

Musicals

The Sound of Music
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Guys and Dolls
Grease
The Phantom of the Opera
The Newsies
On Moonlight Bay

Guy Movies

The Patriot
Braveheart
The Dark Knight
Hot Fuzz (Have grown up with a father and three brothers, this parody of cop movies cracks me up.)
The Bourne Movies
The Departed

Westerns

3:10 to Yuma
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Tombstone
The Cowboys
Giant
The Alamo (Um…every version?)
Shenandoah
You Know My Name

“Christian” Movies

Fireproof
Amazing Grace
Facing the Giants
Love Comes Softly (The book is better.)
The End of the Spear
The Last Sin Eater
One Night With the King
The Ten Commandments (I loved this Charlton Heston movie as a child. I was even pharoh’s daughter for Halloween twice.)
Ben Hur

Thrillers, Drama, Etc.

Patriot Games
Children of Men
The Day After Tomorrow
Crimson Tide (What can I say? I have a thing for submarine movies.)
Crash
The Painted Veil
The Pursuit of Happyness

Christmas Movies

Meet Me in St. Louis
White Christmas
Miracle on 34th Street
It’s a Wonderful Life (Although being related to someone who works for the FDIC kind of ruins this movie. That’s not an accuarate picture of how the banking industry works.)

What are your favorite movies?

Coming Soon! A list of movies you shouldn’t watch when you or someone you love is sick!

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Our guest bedroom or hotel room for the weekend

Because of David’s arthritis, we couldn’t go do all the fun Dallas stuff, but it’s okay. We’ve lived here all our lives, and we’ve been to the Arboretum, Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, the Dallas Museum of Art, Reunion Tower and the Dallas Summer Musicals many times. So, here’s an overview of a weekend staycation, chronic illness style.

Friday Night

My mother came and got our dog, Henry. We went to Studio Movie Grill and saw The Proposal. David and I had never been to Studio Movie Grill. We really enjoyed it. The chairs were adjustable, which was a huge plus for David.

We took a walk at the park near our house. The sidewalk at the park is more even than the sidewalk in our neighborhood. Then we watched Defiance. It was a great movie. I love survival type movies, like The Day After Tomorrow or the TV show Jericho. I would say that because of chronic illness, I like to watch them and say, “Oh, gee, it could be worse. There could have been a nuclear bomb!” but I’ve actually loved these kinds of movies since I was a child.

We stocked the mini-fridge in our workout room with sodas, bottled water and snacks so it was like a hotel room mini-bar.

There's chai tea mix, green tea, Earl Grey Tea, sodas and snacks.

I put travel size lotions, toothpaste and body wash in the guest bathroom.

Guest Bathroom

I put samples of toiletries and even makeup in this bag in our guest bath.

Saturday

I made PW’s Migas. Delicioso! David and I went to the mall. We rarely get to go. Mall walking is just too much for David’s joints. I ate a Cinnabon. Yum! David bought a video game. We looked at bed spreads. David is apparently tired of blue. We found a bed spread we loved, but we haven’t purchased anything yet. David really likes the white, tan, neutral colors. They’re very calm, and different for me. I always lean towards blue and white. My bedroom was country blue and white all my growing up years. Our wedding colors were Wedgewood blue and white. Our dining room is Carribean blue and white. I think it’s good David is introducing me to some different colors!

We tried a new Mexican restaurant, Mi Cocina. We love Tex-Mex. Then we watched a few movies on Netflix instant watch. We stopped at 7-11 since it was July 11 for a free Slurpee. They were giving away teeny tiny free 7.11 ounce slurpees. It was fun. I have a paraffin bath. I don’t use it nearly often enough. I pulled that out and used it on my hands and feet. It was very luxurious.

Sunday

We slept until eleven. It was heavenly. We watched another Netflix movie and went for our monthly massages at Massage Envy. We made a Digorno pizza for lunch and got Chinese for dinner. This really was a weekend for relaxing and eating junk food!

A staycation is really great for people on a budget, of course, but it’s also great for people with chronic illness. David had his huge bath tub and epsom salts. Most hotel bathtubs are inadequate for a 6′ 4” man. His Back 2 Life machine didn’t have to be packed. We didn’t have to stand in line at the airport, or sit on a plane for four hours. Many aspects of travel are very difficult for people with chronic pain and chronic illnesses.

Tips if you’re considering a staycation…

A staycation is much more relaxing when your house isn’t on the market. Having to keep it spotless at all times doesn’t allow you to fully relax. However, David helped me tidy up several times, which helped considerably. If you have kids, you might consider switching rooms or bathrooms with them during a staycation. It really was fun and different sleeping in our guest room. Cut up fresh fruits and veggies ahead of time. Make up little snack bags of almonds and walnuts so you have healthy snacks to balance out all your eating out and ordering in. Also, if you get a coupon for a nearby restaurant that you’ve never tried, use it during your staycation. New experiences make a staycation more like a vacation. Go to the library or Half Price books and get a magazine and a beach read. Burn a candle or use body wash that reminds you of your favorite vacation spot. For us tropical, coconut fragrances remind of our trips to the beach.

Relax and enjoy! We did!

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