Wild at Heart - A Book Review

I received the book Wild at Heart - Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul by John Eldredge, the new revised edition, from Book Sneeze.  The premise interests me, being married to a wonderful man now for 23 years and the mother of 2 boys, almost up and out of the house at 21 and 17.5.  

A sad truth for many men today - they live from the list of "should" and "ought to" rather than from their own heart.  Whether with their upbringing or by the message they feel they have gotten from society, many men today just don't feel the freedom to truly follow their true passions.  

"This is the man you ought to be", "This is what a good Christian/father/husband/churchgoer ought to do".   Many of these messages are good and well-intentioned, but they leave most men feeling empty.  Men need something else - why do they long for adventures and battle and beauty?  Because God made them that way!  But society doesn't agree.  

A favorite quote from the book by Howard Thurman: "Don't ask yourself what the world needs.  Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive".  

Do men have permission to be adventurous anymore?  The world has spent the last several decades trying to feminize men and it isn't working, as should be obvious.  Why do men today look in their hearts and instead of discovering something dangerous and valiant, they find anger, lust and fear?  Why don't men today engage?

What about this line from Braveheart  -  "All men die, few men ever really live" and 150 years ago, Thoreau wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" and it seems nothing has changed.  And as John Eldridge says, "And so most women lead lives of quiet resignation, having given up on their hope for a true man".


Shouldn't there be more to life than this?  This is the point of Wild at Heart. 

As a mother, I learned a valuable lesson:  A woman can not bring a man into manhood.   For the man whose father abandoned him or simply didn't know how to BE a father, being around other men is so important.   A man need to know his name.  He needs to know he's got what it takes.  A man needs to find and embrace his inner strength!  But where to find it?  The church would like to think they are adequately initiating men into manhood.  But the truth is, men can only learn this through the journey they must take, the journey of surrender and to discovery.

What is a man to do if his father had not found his inner strength and therefore didn't role model it?  What about men who had no fathers at all?  Men are supposed to be strong, the supporter, the protector.  But all these boys today - growing up being told 'No, don't do that.  No, don't do this".  They learn to question every natural impulse.  Without a man around to show the way, many boys just do not connect with the very essence of being male - and finding their strength.  This isn't lost in the minds of men.  They feel their emptiness.   Therefore, almost every man will take that wound and bury it, never to take it out again.  

Men construct a False Self from their woundedness - from childhood, from early experiences, from life.  Until men find their inner strength, they find comfort hiding behind this false persona.  They decide they need to be a "nice guy", believing no one accepts them as they really are.  They create this new self that everyone will admire but no one will know.  Sound familiar thinking of the men in your life?

In Wild at Heart, John Eldridge encourages men to turn to God for this initiation, for God knows every man, knows his heart, knows his dreams.  This false self does not please God and often he must take it all away.  Sometimes losing everything a man holds as his worth (falsely) is what God will use to bring him around to being the man God had planned for him.  This is powerful!

This book had many passages where I was just struck with "a ha!" moments.  I love learning about human nature, about God's plans for our lives and striving to be the woman God would have me be, it only felt natural to learn how to better understand the heart of my man and my boys.  I encourage all women to read this book and frankly, acquire more "tools for their toolbox" in the life of living with men.  Enjoy!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Have a glorious day!!

P.S.  Something got ALL messed up with the fonts and I can't seem to fix it.  I hope it isn't too distracting!

Simply Raw - Reverse Diabetes in 30 days

Do you or anyone you know have Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes?  Check out this trailer!

For more information on this documentary, please click HERE.

Have a great day!

Good and Not so Good Eye News

Sure enough, I got in to see an ophthalmologist zip zap today!  The good news is I do NOT have Shingles in my eyes!  That is one answered prayer right there!!

I also do not have conjunctivitis - the 2 possible choices we thought.

What I actually DO have is dry spots on my corneas.  ???????  She said there are dry ridges on my surface of my corneas and this is causing the blurry vision (I don't truly need those "cheater glasses" from the drug store), the tearing, the "gunk" some mornings.  I will first try to use an over the counter Tear producing ointment for a week and then if it aht doesn't work, she will change my prescription eye drops to something else.

She asked if I slept with my eyes open. Well, noooooooo.  Do some people?  She said yes!  lol

Hopefully I will be better soon, and can lose the cheaters!! 

Thanks so much for the prayers!

Well, shoot!

I think I've whined explained on here about all the traveling my husband has been doing.  But, only 2 more weeks to go - out of 10 in the last 14 weeks.  ACK!  I won't lie - it has been stressful.  It isn't just about not wanting to be alone - I really really like him!!  I miss him when he is gone!  The other side is my health issues and the inherent anxiety I do have - the balance issues, the pain increases due to the mandatory increase in activities I must do to cover everything, yada yada.  And let's not forget how fun it is to parent teenagers alone.  NOT!

So, when I got some red bumps on my left cheek, I thought I was getting some adult acne or perhaps I used a product on my skin that it didn't like.  Andy came home from his trip and asked almost immediately what was on my face.  I was ignoring it personally (lol), so I shrugged it off.  Neither of us clicked as to what it was.

So last night, my face was really itching but I was busy online.  When I went to bed, I noticed it did not look like a pimple, but again, that was all I thought.  I got up this morning to a bigger, redder mess and Andy stopped me to ask "WHAT IS on your face?"" - and it hit me.  Shingles.  Again!!!!!  What itched last night is burning today.  Just great.

Ugh.  This is the 3rd time in under 2 years I've gotten them and 43 year old gals just aren't supposed to be getting these repeatedly!!  And if that isn't bad enough, I realize that for the last 2 mornings, I have had "gunk" in my eyes when I wake up and my eyes are really red.  Hmmmm..

The shingles are within an inch of my eye and all warning says get to the doctor.  I went to Minor Med and the doctor was very concerned about my eyes and the recurrence.  She started to politely lecture me on what is going on in my life that I would get shingles repeatedly as this is NOT NORMAL.

I told her about the severe nerve damage and pain.

I mentioned my husband had been gone for 8 weeks with more to come.

Oh, and I have 2 teenage boys I'm single parenting for now.

When she heard those 3 things, she said "Well, there you go.  Ok, lecture over."

The truth about chronic pain is the enormous stress it does put on your body.  I can put the biggest brightest smile on my face but the truth of the matter is never gone, which is my body is so over all this pain.  It is stressing every organ, every muscle, every neuron, every nerve..........and it will never end short of a miracle from God.  

So, when life brings me more lemons and I try to make lemonade...........well then, it all can crash.  There is just so much someone can tolerate/handle/pretend through when their every waking and sleeping moment is wracked with burning/searing pain.

Back to the doctor - she looks at my eyes and FREAKS.  She didn't have to tell me that shingles and your eyes is a VERY BAD DANGEROUS issue.  I am under strict orders to get to an ophthalmologist TOMORROW ASAP.  She said when I call and say "I went to Minor Med and have shingles an inch from my eye", they will see me in half an hour.  Yikes.

The doctor jumped up on the foot stool part of the exam table and got so close to me with the eye light thingy I thought we might kiss.  She looked and looked and was thrilled to see my discs were lovely (apparently).  But she is still worried.  She is treating me for conjunctivitis and we are all hoping that it what is it.  

But, it might be shingles in my eye(s), and that can be very bad news.  I will be praying I am fine because all I need is vision damage to go along with my balance issues.  Hubby will put me in a wheelchair and keep me there for safety!  lol

Oh crud - I just read that shingles in the eye can CAUSE conjunctivitis - so the fact that I was hoping I have conjunctivitis instead of shingles isn't necessarily a good thing.  POOP!

There''s nothing more irritating than trying to be a pretty pretty princess with big huge smile, showin' those teeth, just trying to be a sweet southern belle and try to convince hubby I'm doing just fine when SHINGLES show up to prove I'm NOT handling this too well.  Guess that'll show me.  Humph.

Here's praying that I do not have shingles in my eyes.  Please Lord.

Supplements to Lower Blood Sugar, Cholesterol and Triglycerides

My triglycerides came back high after a non-fasting blood test.  Who does non-fasting anyway?  lol  I will be going back for a traditional "fasting" blood test, but in the meantime, I researched what natural supplements might be helpful.   I found two and wanted to tell you about them.

First, I ran across Gymnema (Gymnema Sylvestre) and have been taking this for over a month and am on my 2nd bottle.  Directions are to take it just prior to meals, 3 times a day, but I only make it once, maybe twice a day.  I'm working on that. 

Supporters and some studies claim it can help:

Lower Sugar Cravings

Lower "Bad" Cholesterol

Lower Blood Sugar Levels

Lower Triglycerides

Studies have been conducted and are showing the reductions in the above.

I have found that I do crave sweets less, but not entirely.  When I want a snack, it is almost always something sweet I crave, rather than something salty.  I am pleased to have this lessened.  In fact, i have some candy sitting right by my computer that prior to Gymnema, would have been gone in a few days.  Instead, I look at it occasionally and think "Hmmm, eh, not in the mood".  Now that is something different for me!

And just this week, I ran across information on Guggul, another supplement known to help in this area.  This supplement in purported to help with:

Weight Management

Lower Cholesterol

Improve Circulation

Relieve Arthritis Pain

Relieve Menstrual Pain

Help with Skin Problems

Check out the results of these clinical studies on Guggul:

Clinical Studies

Some of the results:

Cholesterol/ Atherosclerosis - A double-blind placebo-controlled study of guggul for reducing cholesterol studied 61 individuals for 24 weeks. After following a healthy diet for 12 weeks the participants were divided into two groups with half of the participants receiving placebo and the other half receiving guggul (100 mg of guggulsterones daily). At 24 weeks the results showed that the treated group had a 11.7% decrease in total cholesterol. Those on guggul also had a 12.7% decrease in LDL ("bad" cholesterol), a 12% decrease in triglycerides, and an 11.1% decrease in the total cholesterol ratio.

Guggul, however, has been found to stimulate thyroid activity, so anyone on thyroid medication needs to check with their doctor to monitor these levels.

I've taken Guggul now for 2 days, just once a day, and I have to tell you - not only do I not crave sweets, but if I eat any, I feel almost ill, like it wasn't a good idea to eat that.  YAY!!!  If I personally eat less sweets, I will lose more weight, guaranteed.  

I am also taking a product called Omega LDL by Nordic Naturals.  I prefer this company for 2 reasons - a former doctor recommended them AND the company verfies they are Mercury/Lead Dioxin and PCB's free by 3rd party studies.  Info on that HERE.   That is very important to me.  When you buy fish oil products at drug stores, be extra careful to check out the company to make sure they are free of those dangerous substances.

Omega LDL - contains Omega 3's, EPA. DHA, Red Yeast Rice and Conenzyme Q10, all shown in numerous studies to lower cholesterol

I will tell you this product DOES have a strong fishy smell, but I do not burp on it, which is great.  

Credit

Interesting tidbit on Red Yeast Rice - you know this stuff works when the pharmaceutical industry is going after it to be declared a drug and not a supplement!!!  

Here is an article on ABCNews as to its efficacy:

Red Yeast Rice Helps Reduce Cholesterol

Interesting quote:  

This latest study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine followed 62 patients who had tried taking prescription statins, such as Lipitor or Zocor, but complained it left them with severe muscle pains. 

In the study, all of the patients received counseling on nutrition and exercise. Additionally, half of the participants also took 1,800 mg of red yeast rice supplements every day. After 12 weeks, those taking the supplements saw LDL, the "bad cholesterol," drop by a remarkable 27 percent. Those who did not take the red yeast rice supplements saw their LDL drop by only 6 percent. 

Only two patents on the supplements reported those persistent muscle pains. 

"I was pleasantly surprised with the degree of LDL lowering," said Dr. Daniel Rader a lipid specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an author of the study. "I have to confess, I did not expect this degree of LDL lowering. And there were many fewer side effects than expected." 

Chuck Jones, 59, from Yardley, Pa., started taking red yeast rice supplements in the study and saw his total cholesterol level plummet, from 221 to 135. 

 

The reason the pharmaceutical industry is going nuts over this is that Red Yeast Rice is not regulated and is a natural product which cannot be patented.  Folks who can go to the health food store and lower their cholesterol will not be beholden to the pharmaceutical industry.  Stay tuned for more information on this developing issue. 

Click this link:

Dangers of Statins - What You Haven't Been Told:

Muscle Pain and Weakness

Neuropathy (nerve damage)

Heart Failure (crazy, huh!)

Dizziness

Cognitive Impairment

Cancer

Pancreatitis

Depression

This link above also discusses multiple studies on statins, so do read if interested. 

This is NOT medical advice.  Just sharing what I have found and am personally using.  Check with your medical professionals if you are interested in trying any of these products. Do not stop taking current medications to try these.   As with any medication, get educated, discuss with your pharmacist to make sure there will be no drug interactions and be well-informed.

Have a glorious day!

Oh no it did not!

I just almost had a panic attack.  It's 1:30AM and I am busy researching on the Internet.  It started acting up, so I clicked CTL- ALT- Delete OR SO I THOUGHT.  I was going to turn off a program to get everything back to normal.

Well..........all of a sudden, my entire desktop turned sideways.  Yes, sideways.  As in, to read anything, to be able to use the mouse, I had to LAY DOWN and operate it that way!!  It still was acting up and frozen, so I had to do a hard shutdown, which I hate to do.

It came up sideways again!!!!!  Now I was really panicking.  Thankfully, I took a deep breath, laid down  on my right side and navigated to the search page for help with "sideways desktop in Windows Vista".  LOL   Happily, I found it is a somewhat common problem and lots of other folks had to ask what to do also.   This actually is an option you have.  You can turn your desktop sideways (right or left) or completely upside down.  Whatever for, I have no idea.

Anyhoo..........instead of hitting CTL-ALT -Delete, I hit CTL - ALT - LEFT Arrow, and THAT is why everything went sideways.

So this is my Public Service Announcement  - do not be in such a hurry as to hit any of the arrow buttons when trying to pull up your program manager.

The fix was to find graphics properties (which I somehow found in the Control Panel under Display Settings, advanced mode, I believe).  Once in, I clicked "0", since it was set on 270 degrees.  UGH!!!!

Seriously, now. why???  If I had an iPad, maybe.  Or a notebook.  Maybe.  But a laptop?  That can't be turned any other way?

Now I can relax and go back to enjoying my peaceful time in the middle of the night.  NOT a good time to have a crisis!  lol

Have a great day (or night as it is for me right now)!

Suzy Cohen - Diabetes Without Drugs

I saw this video yesterday and thought it was very informative.  She has written a new book titled Diabetes Without Drugs - The 5-Step Program to Control Blood Sugar Naturally and Prevent Diabetes Complications, just released in 2010.  I've not heard of Suzy Cohen before, but she has been a pharmacist for 22 years and is exploring the role of non-drug options.  Obviously, medicine has it's place, but her books and information seem interesting. 

Her website is Dear Pharmacist

Watch this video and see what you think!  She also discusses important information for folks who take Statin medications for cholesterol.






In a future post, I am going to discuss my recent experience with 2 supplements from the health food store that work to lower blood sugar levels, lower triglycerides and cut sugar cravings.

Have a glorious day!

So What Happened To Me? Part 3

I am continuing my online journal of my nerve damage journey.  Still can't believe it is taking me a month in between entries, but it is THAT hard to dwell on.  I keep my mind so much in the future, not the past.  But I will be relieved when this is finished and realize it can help so many others.  If this is the first post you have seen, you might want to start at the beginning.

Part 1

Part 2

Well, here I was a big physical mess and scared.  Scared to live like this, but scared to seek more help.  2 surgeons had not helped me in 3 months, and 2 surgeries and should I trust anyone else?  I wasn't a big fan of doctors at this point.  But then I had this tremendous guilt - I was unable to be any kind of mother let alone any type of wife.  As I pondered this, fully reclined 24/7 in my chair, only getting up to use the bathroom, I slowly fell into a deep depression.  Unrelenting pain can keep you from being able to mentally function at all.

One day, my phone rang and a former Sunday school teacher from 10 years ago gave me a "Come to Jesus" chew out.  lol  She was abrupt and bossy, which was what I needed.  She ordered me to demand more of myself, to believe in God for relief, to have the courage to seek another medical opinion and just to trust that something else could be done.  I chose to follow her advice, much to the relief of my husband.

This time, we chose to see a Neurosurgeon, as the previous 2 Orthopedic surgeons had not helped my nerve situation.  The first visit with this new surgeon was very telling.  He could tell from the simple X-rays I brought that something was very wrong.  He was going to order his own testing, MRI's, CT Scans with and without contrast, but just from the X-ray he could see I was missing a key part of my spine.  Because of this, my spine was over-rotating and shearing as I walked.  This was very dangerous.

If you imagine a vertebra in your back, there are spiny processes that protrude out, and if you turn to the right, the spiny process will keep you from turning and turning and turning.  Make sense?  

 Credit

Well, mine was missing.  MISSING?  How??  The only possible answer was that it accidentally broke off during the 2nd surgery, yet was not mentioned in surgery notes.  When that happened, a competent surgeon would have changed course and put in hardware for my fusion, not just a non-hardware fusion as that 2nd surgeon had done.  NOTHING was there to help my back stay in place and heal.  

So while the over-rotating was bad news, the shearing was the worst part.  Here is a picture that illustrates what was happening.

Credit

As my discs sheared, my nerves were compressed dangerously.   This explains why being fully reclined 24/7 brought me the only relief I could find.  

Medical opinion was that a 360 degree Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF) was mandatory, this time with full hardware - screws, cages, rods.  The works.  We HAD to stabilize my back before I ended up in a wheelchair.  Nerve damage was secondary at this point, but it was hoped that the nerve pain would be lessened with the back stable.  

We had gone to the surgeon on our way our of state for Thanksgiving and I had 2 weeks to decide what to do.  I reclined numbly in the vehicle, in shock at what I learned.  Yes, I had gotten the answer BUT I went into a state of denial.  I suppose that is common.  Could I handle a 3rd surgery in 12 months?

We opted to go forward, having it done during hubby's Christmas shutdown so he could be home for 2 weeks to help me.   This surgeon was 2 hours away, so we had a 4 hour round trip to worry about.  (We lived in a very rural area and this was the closest civilization). 

Most surgeons who do the 360 degree fusions enter through BOTH the stomach and the back - can you imagine?  Sometimes they do it all in one day and other times they do one side, wait a few days, then go back in for the other side.  I was so lucky my surgeon knew had to do this going through the back only!  The hospital stay after surgery would be at least 2 days, but Little Miss Overachieving Cheri got booted out after less than one day, for her exemplary recovery.  Ugh.  I freaked out and started crying hysterically!!!  I had a 4-hour drive home on curvy, rural roads less than 24 hours after massive back surgery?  


Fortunately, the hospital had a few "hotel type rooms" next door that we were able to rent for another night, to give me a little more time to recover.  The boys were with a relative 4 hours away further North, and hadn't planned on coming back so soon.  The extra night gave the relative time to get them back down to us, for our trip home. 

It takes months to recover from these major surgeries and walking a huge key to success.  Not only did my husband take me walking at nights and weekends, but other friends would pick me up during the day, take me to an indoor mall and walk with me.  I needed to be on a flat surface and walking outside on the pavement or uneven ground was very dangerous. I also could not use a treadmill for risk of falling.

After the recovery and surgical pain meds removed, that nerve burning was still present.  I was so discouraged.  It took me over a year to convince the surgeon to test my nerves, as he told me that it takes nerves a long time to heal and we wanted me to give them a chance.  He ordered an EMG  to test the electrical activity of the muscles and Nerve Conduction Studies to test the function and ability of electrical conduction of the motor and sensory nerves in the body.  My results were not good - I have acute and chronic S1 nerve damage. 

Credit

This made sense, because I had noticed I was almost entirely numb laterally from my hips to my toes.  Every time I would shave my legs, I could not feel the razor over those areas and it was scary.  I had to really be careful because several times, I nicked myself or one time even took a chunk out of my foot and did not feel it.  A trail of blood alerted me to the injury.  That is scary!   To this day, I feel very little.  My feet actually feel like marshmallows when I walk - and that is not fun.  Imagine wrapping your feet in a foot of toilet paper and walking, trying to balance yourself.  My feet do not report to my brain where they are with any accuracy and this causes my balance to be very dangerous.  (This is called Proprioception.)

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I feel only the insides of my feet - the ball of my foot and 2-3 toes, depending on the day.  I wear "safe" shoes (Dansko brand)  and walk carefully, using a cane in crowds and my walker on bad days.

Anyway, as the surgeon told me these disastrous nerve results, his demeanor entirely changed.  He went from "you'll be fine, give it time" to "Holy cow, I'm so sorry, this is so terrible......".  I finally got my answer and I wasn't crazy BUT it was terrible.  No cure.  Only option was now a Spinal Cord Stimulator first and if that didn't work, an implanted pain pump.  Yikes.

I again went numb and in denial..  Before I faced reality, my husband took a promotion to a larger city and little did we know that taking a referral for a neurosurgeon would NOT work out as we hoped.   Instead of continuing on with my treatment, the new world-renowned neurosurgeon required things be done HIS way.  He utterly ignored my referral or any of  my other medical records on what I had tried or not tried and required me to start all over.  Suddenly the decision to move to an area with extensive medical options didn't seem so great after all.   I would NOT be getting my SCS any time soon, and I was sadly referred back to a pain management clinic. 

I was devastated.  

To be continued......... 

Hautelook

Have you heard of Hautelook?  It is an online shopping event service, offering exclusive limited time events.  You sign up for free and then get emails daily showing you what companies are having specials that day - usually 6 per day.  I haven't purchased anything and don't plan to, but I love checking things out.

Jewelry

Rugs
Home Items

Makeup

Skin Care products

High End Clothing for Women, Men, Kids, Babies

Pet Supplies/Clothes

Blenders

Tanning Beds

Etc!!!

There are some adorable infant jammies today and I was thinking of all you new mommies!

As you can see, a total mish mash of things.  You never know what you will find and it is fun. I've read that folks can really get some deals for their holiday shopping.

They have some gorgeous lamps from Jeffan today and I thought of my super trendy brother-in-law.  Bet he would love some of the products.

They had this lighted stool, but it is sold out already.  Just an example from today:

Photo Credit

Here is the link:

HauteLook


Have a great day!

P.S.  This is not a paid endorsement - they have no idea who I am.  lol

Ryan's College Golf Team Headed to Regionals!

They did it!  They came in 4th at State, and are now headed to Regionals.  Ryan would have qualified individually if the team had not, with his 75/77 for the two days.  He is SO excited and we are very proud of them!

I think Regionals starts April 25th, if I have it correctly entered in my calendar on my iPhone.  Just a few weeks away.

Here's a photo of Ryan 5 years ago, shortly after his love of golf started to pay off - 

Ryan, 2005, Duck Creek Golf Course, Iowa

Stay tuned for more!

State Golf Tournament Update!!

Ryan called earlier today with exciting news.  On day one of the tournament, his team is in 3rd place with a 301.  First place has 289.  If they end up in the top 4 overall after the final round tomorrow, they will qualify for Regionals!!  

Ryan personally shot a 75.  He said he had a crazy day, with 3 bogies and 3 birdies before finally parring at hole 7.  

Oh, and he had a 30 yard chip-in!

Can't wait to hear how they do tomorrow!

Have a great day!

Update on Boys

Ryan left this morning for State Golf (Collegiate Junior Level).  His team qualified for state (I had originally thought he had qualified individually only, but I was wrong on that.)  They will have 2 practice rounds today and tomorrow, and then the tournament is Monday and Tuesday.

Holt has been considering trying to get his old job back and had sent a text to a former assistant manager asking about it.  She instructed him to come in and interview with the new manager.  This kept Holt at bay while he worked up his nerve.  2 nights ago, however, the assistant manager called and BEGGED him to come help her close for the night.  Someone had called in sick and she had no one else.  He went in and voila' - is now rehired.  lol  He will end up working 4-5 days straight this week alone, even though next week's schedule is not up yet.  How is that for getting a job the easy way?  I told him to negotiate a raise since he was such a lifesaver, but he didn't seem interested.  lol

Hubs and I will likely go for more walks since the weather has been so nice lately.  The other night, we walked up to a nearby restaurant and had dinner.  I had a salad that I shared with hubs and we ordered a thin crust pizza. Silly me forgot I am avoiding garlic (think I'm allergic - last time I ate it I got red flushed all over and felt very ill for the rest of the night) and of course we ordered the alternative "no sauce" pizza with garlic, tomatoes, artichokes and Canadian bacon.  Ugh!  Have you ever ordered pizza so thin you almost can't tell it is pizza?  That's the kid this place has.  After he was done with the pizza, we boxed up the rest and finished our walk home.  It was SO nice!  We love spending time together, catching up on our day...........Do you spend time with your spouse?  When was the last time you went for a walk and shared your day?

Have a glorious day!