Refrigerator Recall Fixed Finally

The repair man for my Maytag refrigerator recall was able to finally show up on a scheduled day. The part was switched out and took all of 5 minutes to do the actual repair. I did ask why he didn't come last week as was initially scheduled and he said that they don't get told what they are doing until that day and that they dislike the scheduling department that is taking care of this recall as much as the customers. He drove almost 2 hours from Casper to my house in Medicine Bow then next had to drive back up to Casper then over to Douglas for the next service call. The scheduling people working this recall just have no clue what is going on it seems :( Really sad!! I am glad that my refrigerator shouldn't burn the house down now though!

Yesterday was my DH's birthday! I made him a special dinner and his Mom baked him a cake too! Plus his parents had taken us out to dinner for his birthday on Saturday. I also got him a cute t-shirt and a new tape measure as gifts :) So he made out quite well!

Fantastic Book- The Daily Coyote

Have you ever wondered what Wyoming is like? Probably not before you started reading my blog and realized that I live in Wyoming...

Do you love pictures of nature?

Do you love animals?

Well if you answered yes to any or all of those questions then do I have a book to recommend to you! "The Daily Coyote" written by Shreve Stockton is simply awesome. It has everything from the basics of living in small town Wyoming to a love story and so much more...

A friend from church let me borrow the book and I have to say that I now need to own this book. The photographs are stunning and I know that I will want to read it again at least once.

It isn't a very long book and is a quick read. If you need to laugh a little and maybe even cry a little then I recommend you seek out this little treasure and read it yourself.

If you want to get a sneak peak at some photos and more go check out "The Daily Coyote" blog too.

Queen of Alll Things Awe-Summm!!! Award

Staci at Just Bloggled has given me this Awe-Summm award! :)

So here are the Awe-Summm rules:

1. List seven things that make you Awe-Summm.
2. Pass the award on to seven bloggers you love.
3. Tag those bloggers to let them know that they are now Queens of All Things Awe-Summm.
4. Don't forget to link to the queen that tagged you.
   
5. If you would like, copy the pic and put it on your sidebar so everyone knows that you're a queen.

What are seven things that make me Awe-Summm?

1. I have a knack for turning what seems like nothing in the pantry into some pretty good grub! If you don't believe me just ask my DH - LOL!
2. I can beat all of my family at Wii Sports Bowling even though I can't beat any of them at any other type of video game! Pretty nifty considering one is a Marine!!
   
3. I can take recipes that call for dairy and turn them into dairy free deliciousness!
4. I am learning how to bake wheat and gluten free! Let me tell you that this isn't easy to begin with and I am learning to do it at an altitude of almost 7,000 feet!
5. I love my dogs so much that I cook for them from scratch due to them both developing seizures from eating commercial dog food. Now if that isn't Awe-Summm love I don't know what is...
6. I live next door, just across the alley to my in-laws in a town of less than 300 people and I haven't killed anyone yet! Let me tell you that is an easy feat some days and not so easy on others.
7. I live 60 miles one way from the grocery store. We have lived here for going on 3 years now and I have managed to never run out of food even during prolonged blizzards that have snowed us in for days at a time!

OK, and now on to the recipients...

1. Sinclair from Nature with Me
2. Storm from Confessions of a Psychotic Housewife
   
3. Lin from Duck and Wheel with String
4. Nipsy from Nipplelicious
5. The bloggers at Today.com Exiles
6. Patty from Greys & Things
7. Maxie from Marilynne's World
   

The Floor is in the House!

The laminate floor is in the house!! So exciting!! Now to get it installed! LOL - Hopefully DH and I are able to get it done without too much fighting and other issues :)

The weather yesterday going to get it was not very good. We had to go about 110 miles each way to Lowe's in Cheyenne and we had to cross the summit both ways! As we left the house it was raining with a little snow mixed in and as we got 10 miles or so down the road it turned into pure snow but the roads were good and we kept going. We got to Laramie and it cleared up and the summit looked to be sunny from there. We got to the summit and the weather was fine but the rest of the way to Cheyenne was a little foggy with some rain and snow mix. We hurried up and got the flooring and got it all loaded up and tarped to stay dry. The loading it was easy as they just used the forklift to put it in the back of the truck! We left Cheyenne and the weather looked like it was clearing up some maybe. Barely out of Cheyenne we hit fog well that isn't even the right word for it as actually it was clouds - very thick and hard to see anything through. We slowed down to a safer speed but other cars slowed down to literally a crawl and we saw so many almost accidnets because of it. I really wish if people didn't feel comfortable driving that they would just pull off and wait or calm down or whatever because it would be so much safer!! We finally got home just ahead of another wave of the storm.

When we got home we called around looking for some help getting unloaded but nobody was around. DH and I ended up unloading 30 boxes of laminate flooring plus the few other things ourselves. DH did a lot more than I did, but I did try to help. Today I am suffering immensely from the pain and burning in my muscles which I know is the Fibromyalgia telling me i did way too much. I am sure that the migraine I woke up with in the middle of the night and that still hasn't 100% went away is because of it too. It is so frustrating that I can't do the things that I want to do because of this disease and then if I do try to push through and do things that I suffer for having done it. I come form the suck it up and keep going school as does my DH but with this when I do that everything just gets so much worse. I don't think that he really can grasp how much worse things are today for me just from having done the little that I did do physically yesterday. I know that I did all that I physically could yesterday because on the last box I carried I about dropped it like 5 times. This is such a hard pill to swallow and I don't know how to deal with it.

I am holding out hope that the Rheumatologist can give me a firm diagnosis on May 4th when i see her and that we will be able to do something to help me get my life back. I don't want to live like this where I can't do the things I enjoy, I can't do the things that I need to do, and I can't do the things I want to do.

Christmas is Officially Over!!

LOL if you have been hanging around my blog for long then you know that we have had a delayed ending to our Christmas celebration. Well technically not the celebration of Christmas itself but the removal of the physical Christmas decorations. You might remember that about a month ago we finally were able to get the inflatable Christmas decorations unfrozen and dried out enough to get taken down from the front yard and put away. You might also remember that a while before that I actually undecorated the Christmas tree and took down the other indoor decorations other than the physical artificial Christmas tree.

Well yesterday I had decided that enough was enough and that DH was never going to get around to taking the darn thing down and putting it in its box - Lets not even go there with putting the box away in the garage rafters because honestly the boxes of other decorations are still setting in a neat stack where I left them when I took them down.

Now if you are new to From Huskies to Husbands then you might be wondering why I don't just take care of the boxes myself and also wondering why it was such a big deal to just take the Christmas tree down myself. Well the answer to that is because honestly I physically just am not strong enough right now and even if I am strong enough the repercussions of doing that kind of physical activity aren't worth it. I am suffering from taking that darn Christmas tree down too :( I had hoped that I wouldn't but hoping got me nowhere on that one! Can we say increased burning and muscle pain?! I so can not wait for the Rheumatologist appointment on May 4th. I hope that the doctor can give me a firm diagnosis for this be it Fibromyalgia or something else and get me on the road to less pain and a better quality of life!!

In other news, we are set to go get the laminate flooring in Cheyenne tomorrow!! Now for the weather to cooperate and us to be able to get across the summit! LOL! You might remember that we were supposed to go do this last weekend but then we had a HUGE snow storm and the road across the summit was closed for days! We will be using either Lowe's or Home Depot for this purchase since they both have a pretty good price of less than $1 a square foot and they both are willing to do a credit card purchase over the phone since my parents are kindly and generously footing the bill for the materials. Aren't they the greatest for wanting to get rid of the carpet in my home so that my allergies aren't as bad??!! :)

TGIF!!

Maytag Sucks!!

OK, so if you read the previous post you know that today I am sitting at home waiting on the Maytag repair man. I was scheduled by Maytag for repair service on this recall when I called them on the 13th. They told me that they would be here between 8 am and 5 pm on the 23rd which is today - I did not have a choice as to what day of the week the service would be on. I was called last night not once but twice to be reminded that I needed to be home between 8 am and 5 pm for the repair today. I cleared my schedule and didn't go to town with DH today because I had to be here for the Maytag repair man.

Well at about 10:30 am today they call and say to me we have to reschedule. We don't have service people in your area on Thursdays they are only in the area on Wednesdays. WTF are you kidding me?? You have 10 days lead time and you don't figure that out until 10:30 am the day of the service!! You scheduled me for a Thursday, I didn't choose to have service on a Thursday!! OMGosh the scheduling on this recall is horrendous so if you call be prepared for that and specifically ask them if they have someone in your area on the day that you are scheduled.

Then the real problem begins of trying to get them to realize that they have screwed up and that I need them to fix the problem. After many telephone calls and getting hung up on many times and getting passed around like a hot potato I was given a recall authorization ID which I was told to use to get the recall service done locally. I called the "local" place which is 120 miles away round trip and was notified that they could do the repair but that it would be in 2 weeks and I would have to pay time and mileage which added up to a lot!! OK I didn't put the faulty part in my refrigerator so why should I have to pay to get it fixed. Back to the telephone I go and begin calling Maytag again only to receive the same treatment as before. Finally, I get someone who seems to actually give a crap and they schedule the service call for Wednesday, April 29th between 8 am and 5 pm and tell me that there is a $50 check in the mail for my difficulties but that it wont arrive for 4 to 8 weeks.

All I can say is that Maytag has horrible customer service with this recall and has chosen a less than stellar company to do the actuall service scheduling and repairs.

Great so now I get to sit at home on the 29th again which really sucks since that is DH's birthday and I had wanted to go into town with him and hopefully go to dinner or something for his birthday... So much for that!

Refrigerator Recall

Today I will be sitting here at home waiting for the Maytag repair man *giggle* I thought he was the one who never had any work because their products were so great?

The reason that I am waiting for the Maytag repair man is because our refrigerator is involved in a huge recall!! If you own a Maytag, Jenn-Air, Amana, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag, or Crosley brand sided-by-side or top freezer refrigerator you could be involved in this recall too and should call this number 1-866-533-9817 to find out if you are involved in the recall. Be sure to have the model number and serial number ready when you call. This recall is due to a defective part that is a fire hazard!

Yup, you read that right a fire hazard!! According to the information that I recieved there have been more than 40 reports of the faulty part igniting and at least 16 of those cases have had property damage ranging from smoke damage to extensive kitchen damage. Scary stuff!!

Please if you have any of the mentioned brands of refrigerators please call and find out if you are involved in the recall!!

Fibromyalgia Information

A little bit of information about Fibromyalgia since this is why I am scheduled to see the Rheumatologist in early May and this is what the PA and the GI specialist think that I might have.

According to the Mayo Clinic …”Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points — places on your body where slight pressure causes pain. (Yes)

Signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia can vary, depending on the weather, stress, physical activity or even the time of day. (Yes)

Widespread pain and tender points
The pain associated with fibromyalgia is described as a constant dull ache, typically arising from muscles. (Yes) To be considered widespread, the pain must occur on both sides of your body and above and below your waist.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by additional pain when firm pressure is applied to specific areas of your body, called tender points. Tender point locations include:

• Back of the head - Yes
• Between shoulder blades - Yes
• Top of shoulders - Yes
• Front sides of neck- Yes
• Upper chest - Yes
• Outer elbows
• Upper hips - Yes
• Sides of hips - Yes
• Inner knees

Fatigue and sleep disturbances
People with fibromyalgia often awaken tired, even though they seem to get plenty of sleep. (Yes) Experts believe that these people rarely reach the deep restorative stage of sleep. Sleep disorders that have been linked to fibromyalgia include restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea.

Co-existing conditions
Many people who have fibromyalgia also may have:

• Chronic fatigue syndrome - Maybe
  
• Depression - Yes
• Endometriosis - No, but PCOS
• Headaches - Yes
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) - Yes
• Lupus
• Osteoarthritis
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Restless legs syndrome
• Rheumatoid arthritis”

WebMD says that people who suffer from Fibromyalgia should avoid 7 foods in particular.

1. Aspartame or NutraSweet
2. Food Additives such as MSG and Nitrates
3. Sugar, Fructose, and Simple Carbohydrates especially High Fructose Corn Syrup
4. Caffeine including Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, and Soda
5. Yeast and Gluten
6. Dairy
7. Nightshade Plants such as Tomatoes, Peppers, Potatoes, and Eggplant. However, these should only be eliminated if they are specifically a problem for the individual because they are highly nutritious.

Yeast, Gluten, Dairy, MSG, and Aspartame all make sense to me as these things do greatly play a role in my health. The Caffeine, Sugar, and Nightshade Plants I am not sold on.

Then you have a ton of information from Anne Hillebrand at FibroFix. A lot of this information is based on her personal struggle with Fibromyalgia and on the food front it conflicts with the information from WebMD in more than a few points. But there is a lot of good information there I just need time to process it all and start trying some different things.

MIL Update

They did the stress test yesterday and decided that she was well enough to come home, so they discharged her yesterday evening. We all are really happy to have her home. However, she needs to see a cardiologist as they did find something but what that something is we don't really know yet. But, she is feeling a lot better :)

Rough Week So Far

It has been a very difficult week here in the middle of nowhere for our family.

If you remember from my post over at Today.com about riding the steam train then you probably remember this photo of my MIL. Well she gave us all quite a scare yesterday and got to ride in not 1 but 2 ambulances on the way in to the hospital - I guess that is what happens when you cross county lines. I waited here in the Bow for her husband my FIL to get here from one town over where he teaches high school then we headed in too. She was experiencing shortness of breath, radiating chest pain/pressure, and a headache when she went over to the clinic here in Medicine Bow and had the PA take a look at here. It was then that the clinic called me and said to get right over there. I did and then I called my FIL and let him know what was going on. Once we got to the ER they started doing tests, lots of tests but not finding the cause of the problem and her distress. They did find quite a number of things that could have been the problem but were not the problem though. Eventually they decided to admit her to the hospital and sent her upstairs. Today she is having more testing and we do not know whether she will be coming home tonight still. So needless to say things have been stressfull around here...

My body is not handeling the stress well. I guess that is to be expected though with all my medical issues. As soon as the stress hit me it was like every muscle in my body was on fire and it really still has not subsided over 24 hours later - I guess that is expected with fibromyalgia and stress though. In addition I have been very light headed and have felt like I was going to pass out a number of times. To top it all off I am very queasy well actually more than queasy as I have actually thrown up a few times. I don't know if that is from the pain or what though. I am thankful that yesterday when I need to be mentally clear at the ER I was able to think and communicate. Today is a different story though and I have had difficulties with getting my freelance writing done do to the "brain fog". All I know is that I feel horrible and the pain is so intense that I just want to lay down and not move.

Blogroll & Entrecard

Over the course of the next few days I will be migrating over my blogroll from the Today.com From Huskies to Husbands to this site. I apologize for the delay in doing so but as most of you know our satellite internet connection causes me to have some difficulties at times!

Also, I have changed the site associated with my Entrecard account for From Huskies to Husbands and am now up and running here with that as well. I hope to see some of you dropping in on me again soon!

In other news, if any of you grabbed my button from the old From Huskies to Husbands I would love to have you update the site information for the button as well as if any of you have me on your blogrolls.

In addition if you are new to From Huskies to Husbands and want to be on my blogroll or exchange buttons please let me know either via e-mail or via a comment here! I am always happy to make new blogging buddies!

Thanks so much everyone!

What is Sacroiliitis?

One of the things that I struggle with medically is Sacroiliitis. My PA and I believe that I now suffer with this condition and will for the rest of my life because of an untreated urinary tract infection. The not so funny thing is that I had been trying to get one of my many specialists to treat me for the urinary tract infection for over a month and a half before I found my new PA and he agreed to prescribing antibiotics.

Here is some information about Sacroiliitis. (More information can be found at the Mayo Clinic Website)

Sacroiliitis is an inflammation of one or both of the sacroiliac joints, which connect the lower spine and pelvis. With Sacroiliitis, even the slightest movements of the spine can be extremely uncomfortable or painful.

Sacroiliitis symptoms may include:

• Pain and stiffness in the lower back, thighs or buttocks.

• Pain that worsens with walking because the motion of the hips strains the sacroiliac joints.

• Inflammation in one or both of the eyes (uveitis or iritis).

• Psoriasis, an inflammatory skin condition

• Pain radiating down the leg.

• Limping.

• Decreased range of motion in the hip joint.
  

• A fever that appears quickly.

Complications:

• Delayed treatment of Sacroiliitis — Either because of an incorrect diagnosis or because of delaying going to the doctor — can cause serious harm to the sacroiliac joints.

  Sacroiliitis may be part of a larger inflammatory arthritis condition known as Ankylosing Spondylitis. Complications of this condition can be very serious, including difficulty breathing, spine deformities, lung infections and heart problems.

• Ankylosing Spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily causes pain and inflammation of the joints between the vertebrae of your spine and the joints between your spine and pelvis (sacroiliac joints). However, Ankylosing Spondylitis may also cause inflammation and pain in other parts of your body as well.

Initial symptoms - Early signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis may include:

• Chronic pain in the lower back and hips, especially in the morning and after periods of inactivity.

• Stiffness in the lower back or hip area, especially in the morning.

As the condition progresses - The condition may change over time, with symptoms getting worse, improving or completely stopping at any point. Over time the pain and stiffness, which usually begin gradually, may progress up your spine and to other joints. One may experience inflammation and pain in these other parts of the body:

• Where the tendons and ligaments attach to bones.

• Joints between the ribs and spine.

• Joints in the hips, shoulders, knees and feet.

• The eyes.

Symptoms of advanced stages - In advanced stages, the following signs and symptoms may develop:

• Restricted expansion of the chest.

• Chronic stooping.

• Stiff, inflexible spine.

• Fatigue.

• Loss of appetite.

• Weight loss.

• Eye inflammation (uveitis).

• Bowel inflammation.

Signs of Depression

I know that talking about depression can be a taboo subject with some people. However, I am honest with myself and others about the fact that I suffer from both depression and PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder). (For more information on this topic check out this site.) I am a firm believer that sometimes talking openly about one's own problems can help other people who might be going through the same or similar exeriences.

At times I can feel the depression starting to weigh me down like a ton of bricks on my shoulders. Other times it feels like I am drowning. Still other times it feels like I am in a deep dark pit from which I can never climb back out of. Other times I feel just fine and go about daily life without even a depressing thought. I am not on medication for either of these issues currently - Mostly because I am sick of being a guinea pig and trying all kinds of new medications only to have them make me feel worse instead of better. I had gone that route for about a year straight at one point and the result was that I found a lot of medications that almost killed me. So, for now at least, I just deal with it and try to be cognitive of when the weight is beginning to press down and try to keep myself from falling down into the black abyss.

I want to share some signs that for me are clues that I am beginning to fall down into the abyss.

• I either start sleeping more or start sleeping less - a change in sleep habits.
• I stop caring about showering or taking care of myself in the most basic ways.
• I cry or get angry a lot about almost anything. Mostly about things that crying or getting angry about makes next to no sense.
• I become unpredictable in almost every aspect of my life.
• I pretty much refuse to leave the house for any reason what so ever.

About Me

Hi! In case we haven't met before I want to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Stephanie and I am a 34 year old female with a husband and 2 huskies furbabies. My husband and I have been married for over 5 1/2 years now!

I live in a small town in Southeastern Wyoming called Medicine Bow. The population is under 300 and the closest town with grocery stores and shopping is 60 miles away. I was born and raised in Florida just about 45 minutes outside of Tampa. So moving here was culture shock on many levels!

I know that this may come as a shock to some of you, but I am an educated women with a B.S. in Biology from The University of Tampa and a M.Ed. in Exercise Physiology from Auburn University. I sometimes work at The Historic Virginian Hotel, Cafe & Shiloh Bar here in Medicine Bow. I also do freelance work part time currently but I am trying to build that aspect of my employment up.

I have PCOS, IBS, GERD, PMDD, Sacroiliitis, asthma, a ton of allergies and food intolerances. One of my biggest food issues is my problem with dairy in any quantity at all. I also am working on getting a firm diagnosis on what appears to be Fibromyalgia. I am admittedly overweight, but I am working on that at www.SparkPeople.com where my username is SLColman as well. I also use my Wii and Wii Fit to help get in some fun exercise when I can.

I love food and cooking. I enjoy scrapbooking, gardening, and other crafty type things.

My husband is a Southern Baptist Minister, so faith plays an important role in our lives. However having said that, we still are real people with real issues living out in the real world. My husband is also the mayor of our small town - Talk about a man with many different hats!

If you want more info on me just let me know!

Welcome!!

Initially this blog was started to be only a placeholder of the title "From Huskies to Husbands" since that is the name of my Today.com blog. Well with all the changes happening over at Today.com I am going to be posting over here much more often than I initially thought.

Please come visit me at From Huskies to Husbands at Today.com to get caught up with me from the beginning. I wish that I could just move all those posts over here but Today.com doesn't allow for that to come to pass.

I hope that old friends are able to find me here and that I can make many new friends as well!