A Bit of FUN!

It’s been a fun week of adventuring for my awesome rubber chicken! I’ve decided to change her title to a WORLD TRAVELER MASCOT. Birdee is my newest rubber chicken because, may he rest in peace, Klondike passed away from a broken neck. However, while he was with us, he sure had fun in France, Germany and a few other locations in the USA!

Since I can no longer travel like I use to, people are lining up to take Birdee on her next adventure! Lucky bird! Honestly, I’m excited about it as much as Birdee is! I have to finish crocheting her new backpack to get it ready for her next adventure. I’ll have to “renew” her passport too. *wink*

Over the past week, she had her first international flight to Cozumel! You’re probably wondering why I have a rubber chicken, that acts as a “Flat Stanley,” if you will. It makes me feel like I’m experiencing the vacation in a small way. It just works well for me… trust me. It also gives me great joy to see all the pictures coming in from Birdee’s vacation adventure. My husband bought my first rubber chicken YEARS ago and I named it Poke. So, it all started with Poke and the roadtrip mascot was born.

This time, my sister volunteered to take Birdee to Cozumel. She’s not shy about carrying a rubber chicken around with her in public. Sometimes, she stuffs my rubber chicken in a backpack to carry around but that’s ok! What an awesome sister, right?? BIG *HEARTS* to her! Especially since every time Birdee is squeezed, she screams REALLY LOUDLY. lol!

Birdee experienced some daring and exciting things: Flying in an airplane, boating, scuba diving and then got seasick. Poor Birdee. I hope she feels better soon! Below is a slide show of the pictures of her big adventure. I hope you like them and put a big smile on your face as it did mine.

Next post will I will be updating you on what’s going on with me health wise. It’s been a little overwhelming. So that’s why I haven’t posted about it yet. However, I think I’m ready to discuss it now. *big hugs* I hope you are dealing with the heat safely. Don’t forget it’s almost time for a Flu Shot! Yay? lol!

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  Birdee has arrived in Cozumel! Birdee has just arrived in Cozumel and seen the ocean and beach! She is my World Traveler Mascot. Thanks Birdee for going places I can not go!

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  Birdee looks a little anxious trying on the scuba gear that looks way too big for her.

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  The Captain allow Birdee to steer the boat! Whoa what a cool captain!

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  My sister diving with Birdee! Wow what an adventure!!!

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  Birdee is totally amazed with all the coral and look at that huge lobster!!

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  Birdee said “squawk” (that’s HELLO in Birdee speak!) to the big turtle!

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  Birdee really close to that shark. Now what????

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  I think Birdee was trying to float away from the shark who’s in the background.

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  Uh oh! Birdee might have had too much fun. She sure got seasick… Poor thing.

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  Ohmygoodness! Birdee!! You naughty chicken! Eating some of the birthday girl’s cake. I’m sure she was just trying to celebrate with her.

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  K and my tradition for our anniversary and my birthday. My sister did this for me because I can’t get to a beach this year. Love her so much!

A New Adventure Awaits!

Yesterday, I spent a good amount of time at the beauty salon. We’re talking about three whole hours. It’s not my stylists fault we spent so much time doing my hair. It’s my HAIR’s fault. Ok we gabbed a lot but I was also born with thick hair which happens to be long and now it’s getting gray. *gasp!* I know… Me? Gray hair?? Inconceivable! It’s ok. Having gray hair means that I made it to 51!!! Soon to be 52!!! Woohoo! Go me! Rock that GRAY hair.

Ok so maybe now you’re thinking that if I’m cool with gray hair, then WHY am I getting it colored?? My answer is: I’m going to a WEDDING!!! Not just to any wedding, it’s my little sister’s wedding and I’m going to be in pictures. Not only in pictures… my sister wants me to be a bridesmaid!!! My last post shows my dress I’m wearing to the wedding. Whether or not I’m going to be a bridesmaid will depend on my energy level. My sis wants me to be one but she is leaving it up to me and how I feel at the time. Right now.. I’m like.. heck yeah.. sign me up! But it’s smart to be cautious.

So, I’m going on another adventure and yes I will be taking my new rubber chicken. My previous chicken passed away. His neck broke. So so sad. *sigh* Klondike was so cool. Remember? He went to Germany, France, and so many more places. Now, though, I have a new one, slightly smaller but still packed with a lovely scream. All I have to is squeeze his tummy and Birdee will scream like nothing you’ve ever heard. haha! I can’t wait for my family to meet Birdee. I know it sounds weird and maybe a bit juvenile but he’s got a passport and a backpack and he’s willing to travel. He’s one cool chick… er.. dude chick.

What was super nice about yesterday was that before K left for work and before I woke up in the morning, he had cleaned and brought in my MacGyver’d portable oxygen cart (the one I made that carries two portables). He also prepped my vehicle with a big pillow that I drive on (I’m short.) and he filled up the tank with gas. He even made sure I had tip money. Ohmygosh! So unexpected. I didn’t ask him to do any of this. He even met me at the salon about an hour before my hair was finished and when he was done working to make sure I was ok. He also refilled one of my liquid oxygen portables while he waited. He didn’t want me to run out of oxygen.

He knows that my breathing has gotten much worse. So he’s trying to make everything easier and more enjoyable for me. He knows how much I want to go to this wedding. He’s a blessing to me. My next item on my wedding prep to-do list is GET MY NAILS done!!! I have to space all these events out because I get tired from them so easily. It takes longer to regain my energy. But by the time I’m ready for the wedding.. I’ll look FABULOUS!! *cheesy smile*

After the wedding, when I come home, I’m scheduled for medical tests. My 6-minute walk, labs & echo didn’t look great which means I get to have a Right Heart Cath and a CT Scan sometime next month. The doctor already suggested getting a shower chair. YAY more shopping! haha!

Life is always interesting here. I hope everyone is well and being safe. Love to you all.

Staying Active…

Living On Oxygen for Life

I AM SO EXCITED!!! K built me a second raised garden bed so that I can plant even MORE vegetables this year. He knows that my energy is waning but he is wanting me to keep active so that my lung function stays stable. Plus, staying active makes me happy even though it takes a lot more energy. So, this year, K has committed to helping me with my garden whereas, last year, he told me it would be my responsibility to take care of it.

Here’s some of my gardens:

I planted 8 seed potatoes this year.

Carrots, Broccoli, & Herb garden.

I know what he’s doing and I appreciate it very much. He’s getting more involved in hopes that I will be encouraged to keep moving which has declined over the last 6 months. In fact, we even went out clothes shopping for me last week. I normally hate shopping but I hadn’t had any substantial new clothes in years. I’m someone who will wear what I own for years before I become willing to shop for new stuff. Shopping makes me tired and again, K was so instrumental in helping me make shopping for clothes really fun. He helped me pick out clothes (because he’s SO good at! haha!), came in the dressing room and helped me get clothes on and off if I needed it, went out for exchanges for different sizes, told me to rest when he saw I was getting tired, AND told me, as I was showing off each piece of clothing, how much he liked it or asked me if I liked it or will I be comfortable in it. You see, I have scoliosis and clothes don’t always fit right. It can discourage me a lot when I go out clothes shopping. So having K there in the dressing room giving his opinion was SO helpful. He’s never gone into the dressing room with me before. So, yeah, he’s noticing and really trying to make a difference in my life and our happiness.

Today, I have February’s Need a Hug afghan being mailed out to a sweet lady, Linda. I’m still working on March’s afghan. It’s about half done. I hope I can finish it by the end of this month. I hope everyone is doing well. Much love to you all! *HUGS*

P.S. I just told K that I need a new Rubber Chicken. *sniff* Klondike’s (my current chicken) finally broke his neck *cringe*. It’s so sad because he’s been on some amazing adventures! When I get a new one, I will need help with naming him (or her). I’ve never had a girl rubber chicken before! Yes, I know I’m a bit strange about these chickens but they are our Road Trip Mascots. They go on our vacations with us for good luck. *sigh* So far, over the last 29 years, we’ve had Poke, Poke Jr., Mr. Chicken, & Klondike as our mascots. It really is a fun thing to do. haha! Like I’ve always said, finding something fun to distract me from my health, no matter how silly it can seem, is how I deal with life.

I wasn’t ready for a change…

Living On Oxygen for Life

For those of you who read my blog and use oxygen, have any kind of breathing problem or any kind breathing device, you know life can be challenging. Life is filled with highs and lows. When you get in those high places, it feels like you are accomplishing the things you want to do in life. Unfortunately, those high places don’t always last as long as we want them to last. At least, that is how it seems to me. Sometimes the lows can be pretty low and lasts for what seems like a lot longer than I’d prefer.

Switching over to Tikosyn from Cordarone involved a lifestyle change for me. It’s been a crushing blow to my happiness. Instead of one step back in health, it feels more like two steps back. It made me really frustrated, thinking and wondering what I did wrong. It’s made me have to, once again, reinvent ways of getting things done around the house. Some of the things, K has completely taken over which adds more stress for him. Both of us were hit hard with this unexpected change in my ability level. I get short of breath from scooping a cat box (which he now does) or using a broom on the floor.

K takes good care of me and I’m grateful for his love and understanding. He’s come a long way. *wink* He stopped thinking that I was just being lazy about ten years ago. He’s always known that I have breathing problems as well as the pulmonary hypertension on top of everything else. He just didn’t realize or understand how much & how quickly the Pulmonary Hypertension would progress over a relatively short amount of time.

So now, I’m going to take care of him. I’ve decided we’re going on a much needed vacation since we haven’t gone on one in 3 years. Right now all I can think of is how good the sand will feel under my feet with the water washing over them. This will involve a lot of planning for my oxygen needs but it’s always been so worth it. I’ve already secured our accommodations and I’ve even bought travel insurance just in case we have to cancel at the last minute or if one of us becomes sick while on vacation. It’s good to have a backup plan just in case there’s a hurricane too!

We both really need this getaway. We rarely watch TV while on vacation. We leave our worries behind while on vacation too. So it’s like we’re on an island made for us.. though, technically we’re not. This is our way to get back to a healthy mind and release all the stress even if it is for just a little while.

I just wanted to let you know that I’m getting into the swing of the new changes we’ve made. I’m back to blogging and YES Klondike will be going with us on our vacation. My sister sent him back to me! Yay! Stay tuned in for more blog posts from me! Stay well everyone! I enjoy talking with you on Facebook and by email! goredrider@gmail.com is my email address for those of you who have questions or would like to say Hi!

–Christine

Gearing up for the PH International Conference and What’s up with my heart?

Living On Oxygen for Life

I’m super excited to be going to the PH International Conference in Dallas this month. Hooray! I’ll be surrounded by so many people who have the same disease that I have. I hate to even call it a “disease” but that’s what Pulmonary Hypertension is. It’s a disease that has no cure but it’s slowing amassing some amazing medicines to help battle the symptoms that PH causes. We still need a cure. The conference is going to be a way for me to learn even more about PH. I want to actually try to find other people to have Pulmonary Hypertension who also has Scoliosis like I do. My PH is secondary to Scoliosis and Restrictive Lung Disease due to Scoliosis deforming my rib cage. Finding others like me will be difficult. Not many people out there like this. PH is a rare disease. I want to find those people and compare how they manage life with how I manage life and breathing. Maybe we could learn something from each other. *fingers crossed*

Before I go to this conference, I have to get through the next 9 days of the 10-day Halter Monitor I’m wearing to get a read on what my heart is doing. Tikosyn is not really helping my heart arrhythmias which is discouraging. The doctors didn’t believe me so I “suggested” that they do a Halter monitor to see what’s going on. We’ll find out one way or the other. Right? Like I said, *fingers crossed*

I’m actually impressed with the newer halter monitor that I’m wearing. It’s cool! I get a “Sensor” that has 3 leads and I wear it around my neck from an attached lanyard. Plus, there is the “Monitor” which is like a cellphone. When I have an “episode” with my heart skipping, I get to push a button on the screen of the monitor and go through a few questions about: What is happening? (I check: Heart skipping), What’s your activity? (I click either resting, mild, moderate, or heavy). So far, I’ve not had to click on heavy activity. I’m not crazy! haha! It’s raining and humid here. So, my activity is limited to indoors, low to minor-moderate activity because I get tired a lot faster in this kind of weather. There’s no telling what my carrots look like in my garden. I only have one orange left on my dwarf orange tree. The wind blew the others off.

If you want to see the many pictures of Klondike’s Adventure in Germany, you can view them all here… you don’t need an account to view them. My sister really did show my rubber chicken a good time so far. His trip is coming to an end soon. I’ll be meeting my sister and her family when they fly through on their way home. Maybe I should make her some more cookies! Shh! It will be a secret!

Stay well and be safe. Lots of love to you all! *heart emoji!*

–Christine

Klondike’s Adventure Begins! Off to Germany!

Living On Oxygen for Life

Yesterday was so exciting! K & I drove to meet my sister & family at their hotel for a visit before they take off today for their vacation. It was so great! Yesterday, though, I got a text from one of my twin nephews asking if I’ll make his favorite cookies. The whole family loves Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. I texted back.. “Of course I will!” I made a whole batch yesterday morning at 5am because I couldn’t sleep any longer. Before I started, I was kind of freaking out because I thought I ran out of sugar and thought I didn’t have enough 1-minute oatmeal but I finally found the new bag of sugar that was hidden away and the oatmeal ended up being enough. Whew!

I made Klondike a new hat, an English to German dictionary (like his French one), a fun tourist map of Germany, some miniature old newspapers of WWII as reading material for my chicken while on the plane, his wallet & money, his Germany Travel Journal (different from his Paris Journal) and his passport. My sister said she will get some German stickers to cut down to size to add as customs stamps to his passport. How clever is that? She’s very creative like me.

The first picture came in today as they are getting ready to head to the airport. Klondike is a PRETTY COOL DUDE! I can’t wait to share his adventure with you and hopefully brighten your days to come like it does for me. Being on oxygen, we need all the fun and exciting things we can get to help us get through life. So, even though owning a rubber chicken who goes off on adventures is a little silly, he does his job in brightening my day. He really makes me laugh so much! lol!!!

Klondike is wearing his fuzzy wolf ears from the hotel and enjoying his first Chocolate Oatmeal cookie. He’s ready to travel!

This is the cover of his dictionary. It’s only 2 inches tall. Everything fits in his backpack.

Stay well everyone!!!

Springtime brings the good and the bad…

Living On Oxygen for Life

Spring is coming!!! Ok… Here in Texas, it feels like Summer will be here soon. It’s already touched 80 degrees. So, that has encouraged me to string my 50ft cannula out the back door to watch K construct my newest raised garden for planting vegetables. He asked me how big I wanted it to be and I told him at least 8 feet long. He replied, how about 6 feet long and 2 feet wide? And then we began the negotiations for the height. I accomplished 16 inches in height which means we both were happy in the end. He was afraid if he made it bigger, it would tire me too much. He said he’d build another one if I wanted later. We just want to see how I do with this add-on garden. Don’t forget… I still have my 4ft elevated bed from last year that I’m using again.

This is a great way that K and I keep myself moving and motivated. There’s nothing like watching something grow into a plant you can eat!! Remember my 3 lemons? I made some awesome lemonade?

I made lemonade from the lemons I grew!

Lately, I’ve discovered myself in a battle with a nocturnal cat. The stinker likes digging in my gardens and darn near killed my basil. Well, I’ll show it who’s boss! I went to Walmart a bought a whole bolt of toile netting and then off to Home Depot with K to but some PVC tubing. I feel a MacGyver Moment coming on. I created a dome netting to cover each garden!

My 2016 garden adventure!

In the upper left corner of the above picture shows a bunch of orange blossoms on my dwarf orange tree K bought me about a month ago. Even my lemon tree is budding flowers again. Yay!

Ok now the not-so-great news. With the warming weather, it brings along pollen and other breathing irritants such as what seems like more air pollution. With warm weather, my body starts to retain water causing swelling and difficulty breathing which means I have to move a little slower. Well, ok, a lot slower. Right now, I’m starting my practice of getting my body ready for our Texas summer heat. I go outside on warm days for short periods of time and then go back inside to rest. I only go out in short bursts and gradually increase my tire outside allowing my body time to adjust.

My first Homemade fresh fruit Popsicles that I made. Raspberry (sieved to make seedless), mango, lemon.

For a while I’ve wanted Popsicle molds. I finally found some cute one and tried my hand at making my very first fresh fruit Popsicles. Getting the seeds out of the raspberries with my sieve was super slow going. That was a lot of work. I hope they taste good. I made them a few days ago. I’m going to try them tonight. K and I are trying to eat fresher food. We no longer eat canned vegetables. Food tastes so much better fresh.

I have exciting news coming up in my next post. I thought I’d catch you up with what’s going on in my life. I hope you are doing and breathing well.

I’m still taking questions for my Q & A video that I’m going to make and post on my blog. If you have a question about me, oxygen, Bipap/Cpap, living with oxygen, Klondike (my rubber chicken) and his adventures, or even Rocco, you should email me your questions at goredrider@gmail.com I’ll try to answer your question in my video.

An Overload of Information to Catch You Up!

Living On Oxygen for Life

Oh my goodness… I have so much to catch you up on. First, let me show you my MacGyver invention that I took to two movies and a trip to see my sisters a few days ago. It enabled me to take both of my portable liquid oxygen tanks and not have to carry them myself.

Going to a 2 hr and 15 min movie with 2 tanks and this cart I invented to carry both tanks.

I put one of the portables in the bucket and strapped the whole thing in my van on the middle bench with the seatbelt. It worked really well! Next thing I need to tell you that my trial with Adempas is over. I didn’t do very well on it. I had a constant headache and my breathing had gotten worse. So, I talked with my doctor and she agreed to stop the medicine. Having Restrictive Lung Disease makes it hard to find Pulmonary Hypertension medicine that my body will tolerate. Right now, I’m back on 62.5mg of Tracleer twice a day.

Christmas was great!! K and I decorated the house again this year. Unfortunately he had to work on his days off but I had the energy to decorate most of the Christmas tree myself since I went slow. It took me a couple of days to get the ornaments on the tree. Here’s a couple of pictures of what we did.

Our 2015 Christmas Tree!

K made our table look great with a live tree from Jackson & Perkins.

I had fun crocheting some holly and berries… I turned them into knob ornaments.

My Mary enjoying the Christmas tree 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was visiting my sisters a few days ago, we met up at Winstar Casino since it was the most central place to meet. My little sister is the one who went to Paris and she brought me back Klondike! It was good to get him back home but it looks like he is going to be a world traveler because my little sister said they will take him to Germany when they go. Germany!!! How cool is that? They really liked the Shutterfly book I made of all the pictures they took of Klondike in Paris. They texted them to me each day they were there. By doing this, it gave me a chance to travel by proxy to places that I’d never thought I could go. Overseas! Plus, I got a very awesome purse and a beret! Yippee!!

The French Beret I got from my sister!

I know I’m overloading you with a bunch of information but I can’t stop now! I have more news to tell you! This one is super exciting because I worked all year to accomplish this one. My dwarf Meyer Lemon tree, that I’m growing in a half whiskey barrel, produced 3 whole lemons for the first time ever and it took all year to grow them. I think I’m going to make lemon brownies with a glaze on top. I forget what they are called but I found a yummy Pinterest recipe. The lemons are HUGE!

It took one year to grow these!

I’m still crocheting Need a Hug afghans. Even though 2015 was pretty rough and my Happy Jar doesn’t have a whole lot of “Happy Moments,” I’m determined to make 2016 a more awesomer year. Yes, I said AWESOMER which is a new word I invented and I’ll say it until it catches on! haha! Have a great year everyone and stay well and warm. Sorry I had to throw everything at you in one blog post. Believe me, I could go on but, I’ll let you digest this post for a bit before I post more. Lots of love and hugs to you all.

Klondike’s Big Adventure – Last update!

Living On Oxygen for Life and Klondike’s Adventure in Paris

And now what you’ve all been waiting for…!!! Klondike’s final Paris adventure update. My sister and my brother-in-law are home now and they still have Klondike with them. Yes, I miss that little guy (which isn’t quite so little according to my sister!) but I know he must still be having fun! Also according to what my sister has told me about their adventure with taking Klondike along… People were taking pictures of them while my sister was taking pictures of Klondike! Plus, people were trying to photobomb Klondike’s pictures! hahahaha! Apparently, Klondike added a whole new dimension of adventure to their trip. I’m just glad they had an excellent vacation.

Let’s check out the pictures!

Here you see Klondike braving the Space Mountain ride in Disneyland with my brother-in-law on Saturday in Paris! They’re SO brave!

Klondike isn’t sure if these are Mickey or Minnie Mouse ears but he looks fashionable!

I don’t think you can go wrong with a pair of Mickey ears! (or are those Minnie’s ears?)

Klondike is posing at the Lock Bridge. He looks like he’s not too sure why there are locks on the bridge.

Here are the locks up close on the bridge.

Klondike posing in front of the river Seine in Paris

The River Seine and the Eiffel Tower in the background. Wow! Klondike is getting around!

Who knew it was Fashion Week in Paris? Good thing Klondike is dressed for it!

Thank you for following along with Klondike in Paris, France. Perhaps he will have another adventure in the future! Yay! Many, many, many thank yous to my little sister and her husband for being so gracious about offering to take Klondike along on their vacation. Be well everyone and have a little adventure of your own! *hugs*

Day 3 of Klondike’s Big Adventure!

Living On Oxygen for Life and Klondike’s Adventure in Paris

Yesterday was a fairly quiet day for Klondike and I haven’t heard from them today at all. I hope they are ok and having a good time because. tomorrow, they go home. I noticed in one of the pictures from Day 2 that I didn’t post on my blog has Klondike in it. I hadn’t seen him in the picture before. I guess I was looking closely enough. This was taken in Disneyland. I had to ask what the characters were that I was seeing. My sister said thought they were Ghosts dressed for Halloween. I told her that they looked scary to me. hehe! Let’s see if YOU can find him.

Where is Klondike?

I only received one picture yesterday. They (my sister, her husband and Klondike) all went to a show at the Moulin Rouge. I’ve always wondered, since I watched that movie, what it was like inside. I guess I will always be wondering because I only got this one picture. Klondike looked pretty excited!

Klondike visits the Moulin Rouge for a show.

I really hope you liked following Klondike’s adventure in Paris. I’m sure he’ll be going on another one in the future. I don’t know for sure when I’ll be getting Klondike back from my sister.

Lots of love, hugs and happiness to all of you! Hey, if you haven’t already, get your FLU shot. I’m going to be getting mine next week. YAY! Even K is going to get one!

Klondike’s First Day in Paris!

Living On Oxygen for Life and Klondike’s Big Adventure

Holy smokes! Klondike is getting around Paris and having loads of fun! He’s (& my sister and her husband) showing me what it’s like to tour Paris. I love it. More pictures are in and

I’ll try to post a daily update when I get pictures. I woke up this morning to find 3 pictures on my phone already! The time difference almost confused me but I think I got it down now. Here’s the first picture which is just a graphic.

Klondike has reached Paris!

Our first monument.  The Arc de Triomphe!

Klondike has a gourmet lunch with my sister and her husband on a tour bus!

Klondike made it to the apartments in Paris!

I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a gourmet lunch on a bus. Wouldn’t your glass tip over on a sharp turn or your linen tablecloths flutter in the wind? How very interesting! You see my brother-in-law in one of the pictures. He really is pretty cool about Klondike.

Well, that’s all for today’s Klondike update. I hope you enjoy the pictures! Breathe easy y’all and lots of love and hugs to you all!

Klondike News!

Living On Oxygen for Life

You may already know this… I have a rubber chicken as my road trip mascot. I say road trip because I can no longer fly. Even though the airplane cabin is pressurized, it’s just not enough for my lungs at that altitude. My lungs are pretty weak. So, my husband, K, and I will pack up my van (HEAVILY packed!) with my medical equipment and hit the road for a fantastic vacation the scenic way. About 20-plus years ago, I really, really, really wanted a rubber chicken. Hey, if Magnum P.I. could have one stuffed in his junk closet… why can’t I? And so the legacy begins. K bought my first rubber chicken which I aptly named, POKE, because his beak. poke, poke, poke.. he would tap with his beak. I know, my logic back then as a 20ish year old was weird. Hey, you only live once, so let’s make it fun. Right?

Poke, died…so sad because he melted on the dash of our car. My bad! Next, came… POKE, JR. Oh don’t give me that.. I know it’s not orginal but POKE was such a great adventurous chicken. Not to worry because POKE, JR.. carried on the legacy in style. Unfortunately, he melted too. Not to worry.. I’ve finally learned my lesson. My next rubber chicken, named.. Mr. Chicken, came inside, the house or hotel, with us. Mr. Chicken was far out cool. He posed on a cannon and went to Las Vegas and happily went up in the Eiffel Tower that’s connected to the Paris Hotel. Unfortunatley, Mr. Chicken died too.. We think Rocco, my dog, got ahold of him and broke his neck. It was sad.

You probably are wondering why I have a rubber chicken at all or make such a big deal about it. Well, because I have breathing problems and a few other health problems, I look for ways to keep me excited and motivated in life. This gives me a little pep in my step. If a rubber chicken will do that, great! Plus, my imagination runs crazy with this kind of thing! hehe!

Now, I have KLONDIKE and Klondike is going to Paris, France. He’s packed and ready to go! Pictures are coming in. FOLLOW my blog to watch his adventure!

Klondike is packed and ready for his adventure to Paris, France! (2015)

This JUST in!!! He’s in the air! Oh lands sakes… he looks a little nervous. It’s his first time flying. Be safe Klondike (and my sister & her husband).

Klondike is flying! He’s on his way to Paris. (2015)

Klondike you are so cool! Thanks for having this adventure for me! I’ve always wanted to see Paris! If you’ll notice, Klondike is wearing a beret and scarf in the color of Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness which is a disease that I have. Pulmonary Hypertension is a rare, incurable disease that leads to heart failure. Learn more about PH by going to the PH ASSOCIATION *hugs*

2015 Oklahoma Vacation

Living On Oxygen for Life

Sorry all! I know this blog post has been a long time coming but I’ve FINALLY got all my photos from K & my vacation on my computer and uploaded to my blog. Whew! That was a LOT of work. Now that that’s done, let’s get busy discussing! First, I told you in my last blog that we had yet another tire mishap on the way to Oklahoma. The thing that I didn’t mention was that the oxygen concentrator gave out about one hour before we were to leave. Yes, I was a little stressed but I called my Oxygen provider and told them what happened. We needed a replacement concentrator ASAP! Luckily, my driver had a new concentrator in his truck. He was about 40 minutes away but he turned around to drop it off at my house! How awesome!!! Crisis averted! Whew!

We get to Oklahoma and I take all the next day to rest while my van was in an Oklahoma shop getting the falling apart Firestone tire replaced. The next day was my 46th BIRTHDAY and I had just received some AWESOME news! My little sister and her family were going to make it to the party! That means my whole family will be there. Let me explain… it’s so so hard to get everyone together at the same time, on the same day! Most of my family lives in Oklahoma but they are spread out and everyone has kids.. some young as a baby and some old enough to drive. I can’t even express to you how much it meant to me to have them there to celebrate with K and me. I darn near cried. One of my sisters made a special cake. Thank you T!

My 46th Birthday Cake! YARN BALLS!

The party was super fun and I don’t think I laughed so much because my sister who has Klondike was telling us how surprised she was when she received my rubber chicken in the mail. You see, even the slightest of handling of the chicken will make him scream and he’s a wee bit bigger than she imagined. Teeheehee! (I’m still giggling over that! hehehe!) However, they are still going to take him to Paris and show him a good time. In fact, today is the day that his adventure begins. Keep a look out for pictures of him on my blog. Go Klondike Go!

The next day, I had some energy leftover. So, we hopped in my van and took off for the Museum of Osteology. Words don’t do this place justice to describe how intriguing this place is. If you like bones, you’ll love this museum. As you enter the building to pay your entrance fee, to the right, you can look in a window to see beetles cleaning a coyote and a domestic dogs skull. It wasn’t gross like I thought it would be. It was, however, very interesting! Look at what’s inside this museum!

Bones of so many types of animals! 2015

Sunday morning, we went for breakfast at Jimmy’s Egg. I guess that’s like a IHop or a Denny’s. It was good. I had biscuits and gravy, with eggs & bacon. Who doesn’t like bacon, right? *drool* The biscuits and gravy were PERFECT! It makes me want some right now! Yes, I’m hungry. I had to go get my labs today. Anyway, after breakfast and because I ate, I got sleepy. So, we went back to take a nap. After that… we went to Oklahoma City to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial. We went about 30 minutes before sundown. That way we could take pictures at dusk and then at night when everything was lit up. If you’ve never been here, you should see it at least once. It’s somber but BEAUTIFUL. Go here to read about what happened.

This building holds artifacts from the building.

OKC National Memorial & Museum 2015

The chairs represents each person who died in the blast. The smaller chairs are for the children who died and the 5 most western chairs are for those who were outside the building who died.

At night, the chairs light up and are so somber but beautiful.

At night, the lights come on.

I was able to see the name of one person I knew on the wall of survivors but I couldn’t tell which chair was the one that represents the survivor’s spouse. Losing a family member is hard but to lose a spouse in a terroristic bombing is horrific.

After we got back to my parent’s house, we ordered pizza and watched a movie. We were leaving the next day. I will have to say that our trip to Oklahoma was a blast….even Rocco had fun. Maybe, he had a little too much fun because he scared my parents so badly. They thought they lost Rocco. While we are there, he runs free of a leash like their dogs do. Well, Rocco got sneaky and tricked my parents into thinking he ran away. He was just looking for K. We had to make a run to Walmart and that’s when Rocco thought he lost his daddy (K). So he went looking for him. He showed back up when we pulled into the driveway. Silly dog. Sorry for scaring them though. Yikes!

Stay tune for Klondike’s Big Adventure! He’s on his way to Paris, France now! YAY!!! Be well everyone and FOLLOW my blog! *hugs*

Off Topic – Klondike’s Big Adventure Begins! (and other stuff)

Living On Oxygen for Life

I think everyone knows by now that I like doing silly things or creative things to keep myself in good spirits. I try to share these things to help others feel happy too. For those of you who don’t know who Klondike is… Well, he’s K and my road trip mascot who happens to be a rubber chicken (don’t laugh.. we take this pretty seriously! haha!). He really is pretty darn cool. Not only that, he brings us good luck and a safe journey to wherever we go.

This year Klondike has the opportunity of a lifetime. Who wouldn’t want to go to Paris, France? I know I do! However, with my breathing problems, I can no longer fly. So, my younger sister offered to take Klondike with her and her husband to Paris. They will take pictures of Klondike enjoying Paris and send them to me. It’s their way of helping me enjoy Paris too. They leave later this month. Last month, I got really busy preparing the things that Klondike will need for his journey… things like: a passport (teeny tiny size!), a French dictionary, a beret, a scarf, a backpack, faux money in a tiny wallet, a fun map of Paris folded like a Rand McNally map, a letter of consent for traveling with my sister, and even a little, tiny journal (with the first entry in it as Day 1) made from the banana paper she gave me from one of her vacations. Well, I think that’s everything. If you want to see some of those things, see my post here.

I’m pretty excited because Klondike has already made it to Oklahoma which is his first stop on the way to Paris. He’s already made a new llama friend. Klondike loaned him his beach hat! Wow! He also learned how to play the clarinet! My youngest nephew taught him how. It really sounds like Klondike is having so much fun already. Here’s a picture and a video for you to enjoy. haha!

Klondike met a new friend llama from Peru! He’s wearing Klondike’s beach hat!

You probably think I’m nutty for doing this but, honestly, sometimes I just need something exciting to look forward to. It helps me keep a smile on my face. Maybe I went a little too far with all of Klondike’s “belongings” but heck, I’m having fun. Pretty soon, I will be turning 46 years old and on that same day, K and I will be married for 23 years. I started dating him when I was 19 years old. So, that means we’ve been together for 27 years. That’s a pretty big accomplishment! haha! With my birthday coming up, I will get my “Week of Princess” treatment. I can’t wait! K is so sweet about it. I get to use the phrase…”but it’s my birthday” a lot and it even works! haha!

Ok enough for now. You all keep safe and stay well. *big hugs* to you all!

Random Picture Day #14

Living On Oxygen for Life

I had a very exciting 4th of July weekend. My older sister came down for a visit and Saturday, we all went to her in-law’s house to watch the fireworks display while sitting on a lawn chair on the sidewalk. How awesome is that? They had great food and HOMEMADE ice cream (two flavors… chocolate or raspberry). I was in ice cream heaven for a little while. Yum! While we waited for the Fort Worth firework show to start, the kids lit the sparklers and my niece (who’s 5 years old) had a hay day with the snaps that you throw on the ground and they pop like a fire cracker. K was so funny. Every time she threw one near him, he acted all scared and jumped and screeched. Oh the joys from the laughter she makes. Even though I had a LOT of fun, the fireworks smoke and the humidity became too much for me. I had to go inside after the show was over. When I got home, I was feeling it badly. Sunday, I got up to see off my sister & her family and after that.. it was a blur… We crashed for about 4 hours. A five year old can really wear you out!! Sheesh! Once again, Miss C, told me that she still has the little canula tubing that I gave her when she was about 2 years old. So sweet and precious.

I’ve been pretty busy lately with gardening, crocheting, and working on a new adventurous project involving my rubber chicken, Klondike. Maybe you’ve heard? You can read about it here. So, I’ve been getting him prepared to leave and head to my sister’s house so that he may continue on to PARIS, FRANCE!!! I’m gathering things that he might need for the trip…. He’s getting really excited and I don’t blame him one bit. *wink* I just think that this is such a sweet thing my sister is doing for me. Here’s what I have so far!

Passport with Klondike’s picture, Mad Money, a Beret and matching scarf.

I’m also having some gardening luck this year. I actually have 3 whole lemons growing! *shocker* It’s the first year since I’ve had the Meyer Lemon dwarf tree that it’s produced fruit. Hey, maybe they will be edible! One could only hope.

Next is my raised flower bed that I got for last Christmas. My spinach didn’t make it… bummer… but my yellow onions, garlic, chives & basil all are growing well. It’s my first time growing onions and garlic. I hope they survive because I’m really getting into fresh food. I can’t believe how much tastier a recipe is with fresh garlic. I mean, wow! hehe!

The other thing I’ve been working super hard on is sending out Need a Hug afghans. I love doing this. If you need a hug and have trouble breathing, you email me! goredrider@gmail.com It’s free thanks to some really wonderful and generous donors. Here’s the afghan that I just sent out last week. My current afghan that I’m working on is going to Illinois!

June 2015 Need a Hug Afghan

I hope everyone is doing well this Summer. *HUGE HUGS* I love hearing from you. Be well! Sign up to follow my blog so you won’t miss any of the exciting things I write… even Klondike’s adventure! YAY!

[2015]