Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn discussion

What's new with everyone? Anyone doing anything fun this summer?

As some of you may know. I am going to Berlin pretty soon for a couple of weeks. I am pretty excited about that. :)

How exciting, Kasey! I've never traveled to Berlin and I can't wait to hear all about it :)

My Big Excitement was when we had to abandon our home due to a large wildfire that was 3/4 mile away. After 4 days, we were able to return. All is well. It was scary, though. As of now, we don't plan to go anywhere for a while.

Yikes, Susan! I'm glad to hear everything is well. That's really scary!

Thanks, Okie! It should be fun.

Susan, that is scary! I am glad to hear that everything turned out okay for you.

Thanks, Kasey and Okie for your sympathy and concern. We were lucky that the Sheriff made our neighborhood his prime priority for firefighting efforts. The fire was larger than 20,000 acres at that point.

Well it is technically in the Fall but I'm going to Disney World for my best friends wedding so I'm excited although as someone pointed out (Elyssa) was I going to Harry Potter World...oh I wish but the whole week I'm in Orlando is planned out for the wedding so it's a no go so that leaves me super sad :(

Life has not been easy for the last 2 years. My oldest daughter has been sick, and we've been mainly focusing on getting a diagnosis. Many of the doctors haven't been very nice, but in the last 6 months we finally got somewhere... But my husband got laid off last week, and now we are having to deal with COBRA health insurance payments. I feel like things go from bad to worse. I haven't been able to pick up a book, because I have no motivation to read.

Cindy,
May God smile upon your daughter. Good luck to the Hubby to find another job quickly (yes, it sometimes happens!). Hopefully, you'll want to read again soon. Is your daughter going to school in the fall?

Cindy, I hope everything turns out well for your daughter. I hope it isn't anything too serious. Good luck with the health insurance, I know it can be a pain. I will be thinking of you and your family and hoping it all turns out well.

Cindy,
I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you're going through right now. I hope your daughter's doctors figure out what is going on and get her the help she needs. I can only imagine how stressful it is, and I know it takes it's toll. Just a word of advice about your insurance... Keep on top of it. I'd make sure it's still "active" before being seen.

I'm also sorry to hear about your husband being laid off. Good luck to him, and hopefully the perfect job will open up for him soon.

Take care.

Susan, Kasey and Monica,

Thank you for your kind words. I've missed coming around here for encouragement. It's just been a really hard time.

Thanks again!

Cindy

Hugs, Cindy!! Sending good thoughts and extra prayers y'alls way.

We're experiencing a scary situation with my mother in law right now. She was complaining of severe headaches. She went to see her doctor and he sent her to the hospital emergency room. After a brain scan and spinal tap, they found she has inner cranial pressure. They gave her meds to try bring the pressure down. She is scheduled to see her neurologist tomorrow, the doctor told us if the pressure in her head doesn't come down on its own, they would have to operate. They don't know what's causing it. All this waiting around is driving me nuts!

Okie, I hope everything goes well for your mother in law. That sounds so scary!

Thanks, Cindy!

Okie, I'm sorry to hear this. I'm sending y'all prayers, hugs and love your way.

Thanks, Monica :) She is seeing her neurologist this afternoon. I hope that they give her some answers.

Good news ladies :)) The cranial pressure my mil was suffering from went down, with the help of meds. She is gonna stay at the hospital over night for observation, but all is looking well for her.

Found out what was wrong with my mil- West Nile! Can y'all believe that?! I can hardly believe it myself.

Cindy, how are y'all doin?

Okie,
I'm glad to "hear" that your MIL has a curable disease. What a relief for your family.

Have a terrific rest of the summer.

Okie, I'm so glad you M-I-L has an answer. We are still hanging in here. My daughter is still getting no answers. We only have a partial diagnosis. She has gastroparesis, acid reflux and a hiatal hernia. The gastroparesis is making her life miserable. And the medication they put her on was causing horrible side effects. Now we are seeing other specialists for other things that we are trying to diagnose. Overall things are still not so hot. I have picked up reading again this week though. :)

Thanks, girls. She is doing well and on her way to a full recovery. Cindy, hang in there and please keep us posted. Hugs!

Wow, Okie! That was scary about your MIL. West Nile is so frightening. Glad she's doing better.

Cindy, I'm so sorry your daughter is going through such trouble getting diagnosed. I hope you get an answer soon. Glad you've gotten into reading again though. Romance has helped me get through some tough situations, so I hope it does the same for you. Or at least I hope it lets your mind take a break from the stress for a little while.

Thanks, Manda!

Does anyone practice Yoga or Pilates? I recently started both of them and have incorporated them in my workout routine. I can't decide which one I like best. lol!

Okie, I haven't done either, but I have thought of taking some Yoga classes. There is a place in my town that supposedly has $5 walk-in classes. I might try that out this fall.

In other news, I am going to DC on Wednesday, so I am excited about that!

You should def try Yoga, Kasey! I'm in love with it.

Fun! Is this for school or family/friend visit?

I will have to give it a try. Hopefully, I can get into the habit of going and doing something like that this winter.

My sister and I are going to go visit a friend. He has to work Thursday and Friday though, but we plan on doing some touristy stuff during that time.

Here's my PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

I was recently diagnosed with a melanoma on my BIG TOE, and "possible" one on my shin. I had surgery last week to have them excised, and since the one on my toe was where it meets my foot, there wasn't enough excess skin to stitch it closed, so I had to have a skin graft. (ok, yeah NOT FUN, really) My path report has come back and my wonderful, caring surgeon got it all. All margins are CLEAR! YAY!!!

I have fair skin, and freckles... One day I noticed this spot on my toe and thought it was dirt... (I wear flip flops in the winter!) When it didn't come off with soap and water, I figured it was a NEW freckle... Hmmm... It didn't hurt, it didn't bleed, it was flat, it was perfectly round and a medium brown color. Well, it "bothered" me, and I was constantly looking at it! Lol! I went to my PCP and she didn't think it was anything to worry about. However I had a few small black freckles on my back so she sent me to a dermatologist. He shaved those off, took the one on my shin... But when I mentioned the "new" freckle he immediately came to attention and shaved it off. All in all he took off 5 freckles. Well, the ONE that my PCP wasn't worried about came back as a MELANOMA!!! EEEEK!!!!

So, I'm asking y'all to --please, Please, PLEASE -- PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BODY!!!! If something looks or feels differently or wrong, or even suspicious, don't be afraid to ask your doctor! Or just go straight to a dermatologist! Early detection is the key in all cancers. Trust me! AND WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!

Here's a link I came across and it's "The Skin Cancer Foundation" "Seal of Recommendation" in regards to sunscreens.

http://www.skincancer.org/seal/displa...

BE SAFE!
LOVE Y'ALL!!!

Monica :-)

Monica wrote: "Here's my PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

I was recently diagnosed with a melanoma on my BIG TOE, and "possible" one on my shin. I had surgery last week to have them excised, and since the one ..."

Monica,
Good luck and godspeed for a quick recovery. If I lived near you, I'd buy you some yummy flipflops with flowers on the "Y". Have a healthy remainder of the Winter.

Susan

Thank you, Susan! I'm healing more and more each and every day! LOL!!!

Monica, I hope you're feeling much better now and headed for a healthy November.

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that we finally have a diagnosis for my daughter. She has food allergies. She's allergic to dairy, wheat and eggs. She's doing much better with those things being removed from her diet. I'm feeling much relieved, and I'm getting back into reading. I've given myself permission to feel good again. :) My husband still hasn't found a job, but we are hopeful that things will turn around soon.

Good news, Cindy! It is so frustrating to try to battle something when you don't know what you're facing. I can relate - food has been at the bottom of so many health issues in my family. I've altered my diet recently and gotten rid of migraines and sinus issues. I'm starting to believe it's all about the food!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for your husband. Enjoy catching up on all the great reads!

Cindy, I was just thinking about y'all a few days ago! Im glad to hear they have diagnosed your daughter and she is on her way to feeling and doin better. Like, Irish, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your husband. It's good to see you here : )

Great news, Cindy. I'm so glad that your daughter's health issues are things that can be handled with changes in diet.

Here's hoping you have more good news about your husband's job status soon. I have two friends who have been among the unemployed for more than two years who were hired last week. Maybe things are improving a bit at long last.

Thank you, everyone, for the encouraging comments. I have a lot of hope lately that things will turn around. It's a nice change. I was feeling very defeated before, like nothing was going our way. But things are finally improving.

Hi everyone, I just wanted to pop back in and say hi. I've been absent forever it seems. Well, the food allergies only were part of the problem. My daughter only felt better for about 1 month. We were back to square 1. We had to keep pushing for a diagnosis. She finally did get diagnosed this past August. Her diagnosis is Dysautonomia and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardiac Syndrome. She has to take a couple of medications, and they make her feel somewhat better, but there is no cure, just management. I'm still not finding myself reading. My husband found a job at the same time she was diagnosed, so things are looking up.

I would love to find myself reading Romance again, but I'm having a hard time with that. But I did introduce my daughter to it, and she does love it, so that's really good. Anyway, just wanted to keep everyone posted.

Thanks for all of the support through all of this.

Talk to all of you again soon!

Cindy

Hi Cindy,
I'm glad your daughter finally got diagnosed. I'm sure it's somewhat of a relief to finally have a "name" to put to what's been going on. I know you said there's no cure, but I'm glad to know they're manageable diseases.

Also, congrats on your husband finding a job! Thats wonderful news!

I understand how you feel about not being able to read, especially romances, even though you WANT to read. I went through that not too long ago. It took me several, several months to get beyond it, but I'm finally back to reading. Thankfully! Maybe you just need a little more time with everything that's been going on to get settled, and then next thing you know you'll be back to those wonderful romances!

Hope to see you reading again soon! Take care!

Monica

CIndy, I'm really glad you guys finally got a diagnosis. I hadn't heard of POTS so I looked it up, and weirdly it's associated with Marfan Syndrome, which I have. I've had the postural dizziness thing for a while but didn't know what it was called. Hope the meds help and your daughter gets some control over her symptoms.

it's a bummer about the reading, but I've been there. Just do what you need to take care of yourself and read what you want. And yay about your husband's job! I know that's a relief.

Good to hear from you, Cindy! I'm happy to hear y'alls situation is getting sorted out, slowly, but it's happening. Happy Holidays!

Thanks for keeping us informed, Cindy. I'm happy that you have a diagnosis and hope for your daughter's condition and yay for your husband's new job. I hope things will be less stressful for you now and that you will rediscover your love of reading. Happy Holidays to you and your family.