Back to the Original . . .

Do You Think English is Easy? Imagine if you had just recently learned this language. These 20 sentences would drive you nuts!

Check this out:

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Not so much! I feel bad for people trying to learn English as a second language! YIKES!

An Amazing Family!

Ok - I learned about this family, THE MURPHY's, while watching TLC (or was is Discovery Health Channel?) the other night. The TV special airs on both TLC & Discovery Health - "Our 27 Kids" is the title. I can not give justice to the work these people have done. I say, "Watch the Show".

The Family:

27 Children Total.

4 biological kids, all average.

23 adopted kids. ALL adoptees have Special Needs (they are mentally &/or medically challenged or in one way or another).

The majority of the adopted children have Down Syndrome, http://www.ndss.org/ . Most these kids have severe medical (heart) conditions attached to them while some of the other children are products of mothers addicted to drugs and others have severe brain damage (one of which was a result of being shaken after birth). The show commented that this family takes in those children that are normally not 'wanted' in the adoptions that take place in the Untied States. (sad, huh?)

The couple that is raising these kids/people is amazing in their own right! This family has more love than any on if can imagine. The children (and some are now adults) in their care have all turned out better than anyone could have hoped for. These people have really allowed them to thrive! They have nursed some very sick kids back to health. The kids are all home schooled. These kids seem to have learned more in this environment than they may have in the school(s) in their area.

Their mother finds tasks for everyone to get involved in, no matter what their ability level is. Everyone participates in activities of daily living at the very least. Some of the higher functioning, older children are mentoring the younger ones with vocabulary, assistance with eating and other tasks.

The family also takes a yearly vacation to the beach - that is a lot of planning & organization with such a large group! And the behavior of all of these guys/gals out as a large group is AWESOME! (I hope, if I ever have children, that I am able to teach children as well as this family has taught theirs!)

This is a link to allow you to see a bit more about them:
http://www.murphyhouseproject.com/
(This link is a donation site that was started to get these guys into a bigger, newer home AND to provide other items to them. The back story/ information is there too)

The Social Worker in me would love to follow their lead.

Big V to the Rescue . . .

So, my trip the Doctor was not as bad as I thought it might be. That DOES NOT mean it was as good as I thought it could be either.

I actually got in rather quickly to see the Doc. I explained to him what was going and gave him some back story (See that? ha ha). I told him what I had tried to do on my own and he then proceeded to poke & prod me.

In the end, he was not able to do much but gove me a script for pain meds. He informed me that the muscle tissue was too inflamed for an x-ray or MRI at that point. I was instructed to take my medicine like a good little girl and call back if the pain did not resolve in 5 to 7 days. He scribbled down the medication & dosage, gave it to me & on the way out advised me that I should not return to work for a few days. (Awesome, an extra day off to rest...which was great since I had not had much of that in the past 4 days!)

To my surprise, he had given me Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen (The Big V). I usually am given crap that does not work - Soma, Flexeril or Robaxin. This Doc meant business. I was pretty much out for the next day and a half. That was some NICE rest. There was pain relief for sure!

And I am sure glad that there is a long weekend ahead of me! I am exhausted from the medication (duh) and having to think before I make any movement so I do not cause any more pain. So, this weekend will consist of some house cleaning & lots of sleeping (what a party animal, huh?)!!

SPECIAL NOTE: The Duke's last Day Happy Hour - A small gathering AND good times. It was nice to see some fellow bloggers *Your Mom*, Birdman & Avman along with some other co-workers & Mrs.Duke. The best appearance was by far the D'nasty! The Duke must be super cool to have gotten her to make an appearance! I guess that work husband/wife duo is meant to be!

LESSON OF THE DAY: Do not take strong pain medication, eat lunch & then ride back to work as a back seat passenger! Unless you are into the binge-purge thing...Yuck, I know!

OUCH!!!!

So, I have not been @ work for a few days...anyone wondering about me there? Well, even if no one there is wondering, I'm tellin'!

Have you ever thought about the effort involved in picking up a simple object off of the ground? For most of us, pretty easy! Have you thought about the effort involved in the process of getting dressed? For that same most, no problem! Right?

I have been in the "most of us" category for the majority of my lifetime as well...Until Saturday at about 4am, I (again) have been taken out of the “most of us” group. I was up and decided to get something picked up off of the floor on my way to the restroom. That seemed easy enough. Um, yeah, right - WRONG. I have done some serious damage to my back (which if you do not know was ruined back in my Disney working days).

I am sure it is a combination of lifting things improperly as well as things that are a bit too heavy over the last year. It could not just be the result of the tiny, feather weighted article of clothing I innocently scooped up off of the ground (I hope it couldn't be). But whatever the case - YIKES! I have not been able to sleep much. Any movement up, down, forward or back is painful beyond words! Just getting into & out of bed is an issue. I am headed to the doctor today. Why the 3 day delay (?), you might ask. I had figured (with the history of back injuries) that this 'issue' would be resolved on its own.

I think I have a serious issue when 6 Advil do NOTHING. And let me say that I am no whimp when it comes to back pain (other things, yeah I can be. Back pain = no way!). I have lived day in & day out with pain in my lower back that has been there since I was about 20 yrs old. It is not fun but I deal. I have a few tricks that normally would make it better. I have tried all of my old tricks - stretching, over the counter meds, hot pads, cold packs, ICYHOT self stick patches, alternating sitting & standing, walking, light sports message. Nothing has brought an ounce of relief.

So, I must fold and head into the Doctor.

MEH! Not the doctor! (hey, did u see that? Huh? huh? Did ya??) I hate having to go there. I better get some sort of help from them!

LESSON OF THE DAY - Bend from the knees to pick up ANYTHING at all!! Take care of you so no one else has to.