My Super Bowl Plans

This is a big Super Bowl  weekend. I’m not really a football fan, but Kansas City made it so I’m thinking it will be fun to watch. I imagine I will watch by myself because the Farmer has already “called” Sunday as a cattle working day. There will be no snacks. Just me watching and then praying that the guys working the cattle don’t get hurt.

I have some cousins that really enjoy Kansas City so it will be a fun day for them. They are true fans so it’s a big day coming up.

Most likely, I will enjoy the commercials and the half time show. I saw on the news that it costs $5 million for a thirty second commercial spot this year. I hope that means they’ll be entertaining. I have to admit I like the funny ones versus the sappy sad ones.

I’m looking forward to Saturday  because I get to go visit my mom again. It sounds like she’s planning a great meal so we’ll try to bring something nice to go with it. It sounds like the weather will be nice so we’ll try to take Mom on a road trip somewhere if she would like to get out.

I’m still a bit down about not being able to sell the clothing line I wanted to. The Farmer said today to be happy blogging. I told him I won’t make any money and I’m expensive. He doesn’t want me to worry about it, but I do. Life somehow seems to go on.

Monday, I go back for another injection in my right eye. It’s very scary, but I say my prayers and hold on with my big girl panties on.

That’s about all I have for today. I wish you well and I’ll check in again soon.

Sherry

My Day On The Farm

Today wasn’t all that exciting, but it was ok. I started off the day by making a few phone calls. I did my usual check-in with my mom. She was a little down because she had chosen a headstone for my dad yesterday and cancelled his cell phone. I could hear the hurt in her voice because there is that final letting go that a person has to go through. Bless her heart, she is a strong woman.

I also had to return a phone call to one of my cousins. We talked a long time and it was an easy and flowing conversation. She doesn’t live close anymore and it was nice to catch up.

It started out as a snowy day here on the farm. I think the sun peaked out a little from time to time. My husband, The Farmer, had hay to put out for cattle and had plenty of chores to keep him busy before he headed to town for his factory job.

I took a decent nap this afternoon but woke up kind of sick. I had tried a pin wheel sandwich from Casey’s last night and it didn’t like me one bit. What I thought was a somewhat healthy choice turned out not to be. I think I’ll pass on it next time.

I think I’ll be holding down the fort tomorrow as The Farmer will go in to help his dad with whatever projects he has going on. I imagine there will be some fencing in his future. He’ll stay busy there until dark thirty for sure.

Sunday will be a day spent with my mom most likely.  I do look forward to those days. There is nothing like a good home cooked meal from your mom even if she thinks it’s not much. She mentioned chili and that will be just fine.  It’s the visiting and seeing her well that matters most.

That’s about all I have for today. I hope you’ve had a great day. I’ll check in again soon.

Sherry

It's Been A While ...

It's been a while since I've written anything on this blog. I've share some things to my Facebook page, but that is about it. There are a few reasons for that.

Firstly, my dad had a lengthy illness and then passed away. I was ill myself and wasn't much  help to my immediate family let alone much of a blogger. We lost his in October and I know he is now in a better place. 

Over a year ago, I broke my right ankle and had to have two different surgeries. It's still not completely healed.  I'm very discouraged as I move around with a walker. It's left me with some lymphoma and that just makes my weight battle even harder. 

I was going to sell a line a clothing and found it to be too much for a challenge because it was getting hard to see. So, I went to the eye doctor thinking I would just need a stronger prescription. Oh no. It turns out that I was diagnosed with diabetic nephropathy. That is the bleeding of blood vessels in the back of my eyes. It seems that when it rains, it pours.  Not all diabetics get this but having it a long time can ca;use it. It's 12 years for me.

I've already had laser eye surgery and a shot in each of my eyes. There will be more shorts to come, I'm hopeful that my eyesight will improve by the end of this treatment. We shall see.

I haven't had a good cry over all of this. Maybe I've broken down here or there but I've not had a soul cleansing cry. Somehow that would make me feel weak even though I would not think less of others who might do the same. 

I will try to keep this blog a little more current. It does help me a little as a re;ease pf [emt pf feelings. Please forgive any typos you might see in advance.  I'm doing the best that I can as my vision hopefully improves.

I hope you're having a great day and I'll try to write again soon.

Sherry

Endings

Sometimes it's not fun when things have to end. That goes with many things in life. Letting go is hard. 

If you read this blog much, you know that I had high hopes for making a go of a business venture with Avon. I have to admit that I failed with that.  It was a disheartening defeat.  I'm not an in your face sales person, so I suppose it wasn't a good fit for me.

Recently, I left a Facebook group that I've belonged to for a significant period of time. To my knowledge, no one has noticed. I guess that proves to me that it was a good time to exit because I think I really needed to let go of a pattern within myself.  Although I miss the group a bit, I'll soon fill my mind and time with other things.

That's the thing with endings.  They create new beginnings.

I've been trying to end my procrastination, but that ending is a very hard one for me.  I think my fear of failure gets wrapped up in it.  I catch myself procrastination writing.  It's silly because it is the one thing I feel I'm good at but yet worry about harsh judgments about it. Some days I don't do any writing and then beat myself up about it.  Procrastination calls for a needed ending for sure.

Another thing I decided to end is by choice. I've been taking a statin medication and the side effects of this one are weight gain, swelling, and muscle/nerve pain.  This is the second statin I've tried. The first caused crippling nausea and vomiting. I am not going to take it.  The weight gain in itself will eventually create other health problems that don't need to be conceived. The doctor is going to have to work with me on finding an alternative or I will do without it.  Cholesterol has as of yet not been an issue of my many.  This preventative measure just feels wrong and in my mind it screams bad idea.  I'm ending it before it gets started. Quality of life is worth something to me.

I'm going to temporarily end my cheap attitude of not spending significant money on myself.  I think I need new glasses. The glasses I'm wearing are ok but not perfect.  I shouldn't have to sit on top of the computer monitor to see perfectly.  Our insurance only pays for glasses every two years. I got new glasses after cataracts surgery in 2015. Those glasses never did suit me and I got different ones after that.  I'm sort of lost in the process. I think I'll just suck it up and see what insurance will or will not pay for at this time. I need to see what I'm doing easily and effortlessly.

Another thing I really need to end is the mean reaction I have toward myself when I perceive I've failed.  The statin drug issue is a prime example. The weight gain has been a big issue in my own mind.  The last visit I had with my doctor I got a big speech on watching what I eat, exercise, and cutting back on salt.  I had already done all of those things and I took the full blame for my weight. I thought I had to be doing something wrong.  Then one day out of boredom I did a vocal command on my phone to research the prescription I was taking.  Bingo. There was the answer.  I felt such relief to realize that it wasn't all on me.  I'm going to do this same vocal search for my doctor the next time I see  him. Part of me is furious and the other part wants to cry.

So, I'm going to pledge to myself to be stronger about having the courage to end things.  I've going to listen to that little voice in my head that has a good idea now and then. 

Famed author, Louise Hay, has this wonderful affirmation, "I bless the past with love and let it go." I am going to repeat it over and over to myself to bring about a positive new beginning.

Thank you for reading.

Sherry

A Story Of Cowboy Angels

I come to you today with a story on how prayer really works. Yesterday, as I do everyday, I asked that the cowboy angels would watch over my husband as he went out to do what he loves which is work on fence, feed cattle, etc. He usually leaves early and comes in late. Yesterday was no exception. However, he did have one doosy of a story to tell.

He had been in at his dad's helping to mend some fence. For some reason he had the bright idea to stand on top of a big round bale in a bale row while pulling wire. His dad was mowing weeds with a brush hog attachment on a bob cat skid steer. Somehow the wire got caught up in the mower and jerked my husband to the ground quicker than a cowboy getting bucked off a bull. He was left with whip marks from the wire across his face and a story to tell. He said he almost took the big trip.

I told him if he didn't think of safety a little better in the future, I wasn't going to let him go out and play. Thank heaven the angels were with him. As I eluded to earlier, I always pray that cowboy angels will go with him when he leaves the house because always in his stories there is the line, “you never would have thought”. I'm always thanking those angels for interceding for him.

He'll heal up just fine this time and he'll have fun telling his buddies the story.

Thank you for reading.

Sherry

Avon Representative, Sherry Stoll

www.youravon.com/sstoll

Kawasaki Manufacturing Hiring In Maryville, MO

Kawasaki Manufacturing is now hiring in Maryville, Missouri for all shifts. Here is a list of openings from the Kawasaki website. https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/RTI.home?d=NewExtCareerCtr&c=1062241

At this factory they manufacture small motors that are well known for their excellence in the industry. I am told that it is a team atmosphere and those that work hard are rewarded with advancement and yearly bonuses. It is well worth looking at their website www.kawasakimaryville.com if you're in need of employment.

My thought is that this could be a great opportunity for anyone, but especially for those displaced by hurricanes and fire. If you need or know of someone who needs to start over, Maryville, Missouri is a great place to consider. I've lived on a nearby farm in this community for almost twenty years. We have a population of somewhere near 13,000 and we are the home of Northwest Missouri State University. Our crime rate is low and our people are friendly. It's a nice place to call home.

Another reason I like Kawasaki, is that my husband works there as a maintenance assistant. He does all the preventive maintenance on the forklifts and tuggers, etc on second shift. He tells everyone that it is the best job in the factory. We found out during my recent health scare how magnificent their health benefits are. We are so very thankful for them.

If you have any questions about Maryville, MO, please leave them in the comments. I'll do my best to get you an answer. This is a growing community and you just might love it if you come here.

Thanks for reading.

Sherry

Please visit my Avon website to see my full line of Avon products.

www.youravon.com/sstoll

A Rainy Wet Day

Today is a rainy wet day here at the farm. My right leg hurts so bad that I could literally scream. I overextended the muscles as I was getting in and out of the shower. My knee and my lower leg are the culprits of discomfort today. In general, my legs are still recovering from the diabetic coma I was in over a year ago. My hope is that at least by acknowledging the pain, I can release it. I'm trying to stay off pain relievers because I don't like them and their side effects.

The day started out with a Pop Tart fire in the kitchen. My husband mistakenly put it in the microwave for three minutes instead of 30 seconds. Smoke was billowing. It's a good thing it was raining so the little fire was put out when the mess was tossed outisde by my husband. The farm cats scattered. They were smart enough to get out of the way.

The dogs seem a little unsettled today. They are barking at more than the cattle walking by. It's so foggy and misty out that I can't really tell the who, what, when, where and how of it all. Most likely the weather has a lot to do with it.

My mom had cataracts surgery this morning. I wasn't able to be with her, but I'm very thankful than my sister and dad were. I'll be taking her a meal tomorrow with my husband. She already put in a request for what she wanted. My husband helped get things ready ahead of time, so we'll just have to pick up and leave in the morning. We live about an hour away.We'll spend the day and leave the leftovers so she doesn't have to cook for a day or two.

I don't have a big evening planned. Sometimes I listen to the local radio station and their coverage of Friday night highschool football games. I never had children of my own and I guess I live vicariously through other families with their kids playing. It seems the games may get rained out tonight anyway. I can always share my Avon website on social media as a plan B.

Thanks for reading.

Sherry

Please visit my Avon website ...

www.myavon.com/sstoll