Who are you calling vintage?

I had the pleasure of taking a few hours this weekend to hang out at Chicago’s Randolph Street Market.

It was a perfect weekend to do it! Great weather, beautiful sunshine, and that soft Chicago breeze that comes every once in a while.  Booths lined the market with vintage treasures and trinkets.  A live band played in the background. The ambiance was perfect.

As my friend and I browsed the vendors we stumbled upon a couple of vintage clothing tents.  I’m a sucker for vintage clothing. My entire undergrad garb came from endless hours of thrift store shopping.

I was in heaven! Rows and rows of clothing were creatively laid out so that one could see the beauty in each piece.  How lucky I was to have found a dress that I immediately fell in love with!

I had to buy it. It’s going to go great with my red shoes.

I forgot how much fun it is to “dig” for the perfect look.

Summer Hot Rods

Oster is obsessed with vehicles…trucks, cars, vans…so we thought taking him to a car show would be something he would absolutely love.

We went this weekend. Shiny cars lined the streets.  Owners were talking with onlookers and sharing every ounce of knowledge they had about their cars.  It was the perfect scene to walk into.

The minute we “pulled up” to the show, Oster looked in every direction but where the cars were.  He was mesmerized by all of the people. He waved to them, pointed at random dogs, and watched the street traffic. I don’t think he paid attention to one muscle car!

Not to worry. Mom and Dad had a fantastic time! We’re looking forward to taking him to the next show; however, I’ll have to spruce up his car a bit before we go.

 

 

Fun with the Family

We’re back from our long weekend in St. Louis. We’ve been home for a couple of days now and I’m finally caught up with the laundry and some emails (both daunting tasks).

We had a blast with the family. I loved staying up all hours chatting (even though I wouldn’t think of staying up past my bedtime at home), running through the sprinkler with the clothes I was wearing in the 112 degree temps (again, wouldn’t normally do this), and having an extra glass of wine after the kids are in bed (okay, I do this one).

With such a short time with the family, we didn’t make it to any major sights plus it was “too hot” outside (I just quoted my mom).  We spent our time visiting and catching up. It was one of the best trips we’ve had in this great city.

We were so involved with everything everyone was doing I completely forgot to take any photos of our time there…except for this one:

I can never pass up a photo op of yummy grilling! Kudos to Chef Uncle M!

This weekend the Cardinals play the Cubs! Is it wrong that I’m hoping the Cardinals win?

Meet me in St. Louis

Taking a long weekend in St. Louis to visit family today. I’ll be back early next week to catch up and see what all of you have been up to.

Have a great weekend!

Tame the Pain

Peace at last!

Well, after a 3-hour visit with the neurologist last night I did get some answers to my migraine problem.

There are three main headaches one can get: tension, sinus, or cluster.  My pain may originate from one of these three and turn into a migraine within a short amount of time or the migraine hits full force immediately.  In either case, I have been officially diagnosed with migraines.  This is positive news for me because now I can get the proper treatment.

Thankfully I have an episodic migraine and not a chronic one.  The difference? Chronic migraines happen more than 15 times a month for at least three months in a row! Ouch!

I appreciate all who shared their thoughts and experiences with me, as it helped me to gather questions I wouldn’t have thought of and it provided me with support. Thank you.

Treatment: Ellie from Emerald Pie told me about Botox treatments so, of course, I had to ask the specialist! Yes, it’s true…people do get injections every three months for those who suffer from chronic migraines.  Since mine is not chronic, I am not eligible for this treatment. Shucks 🙂

Kelly from My Twice Baked Potato and Laura from As Time Goes…Buy suggested acupuncture. Because I saw a medical doctor, she really wouldn’t give a professional opinion about it so I looked into it myself (Google).  Acupuncture boasts that it reduces inflammation and helps control pain; there are a lot of people that live by this treatment. So, after I’m done seeing the neurologist (I have two more visits), I’ll stop by an acupuncturist to see if this approach would be better.

What I’m doing in the meantime: I took a nerve test last night. It literally felt like I was getting shock injections shot into my body. A scary feeling at first and then it turned into a feeling like you get when you ride a roller coaster.  The doctor was looking for nerve signs that could be the cause of my migraines. A small pen was inserted into my arm so that the doc could ‘listen’ to my nerves. It sounded like Oster during one of his sonograms.

She prescribed an abortive drug for me to take when the migraine hits.  She said there are 10 main drugs that are on the market and she chose this particular one for the sole purpose of trial and error.

I did NOT receive a preventative drug because I didn’t want to have to take something every day. I dislike taking drugs altogether, so you can imagine how thankful I was that she didn’t push me taking a preventative.

I have to go back in two weeks for the nerve test results. From there, we’ll make an appointment for an MRI (brain and neck).

I’m excited to finally get the ball rolling after decades of brushing this pain off as it just being part of life.