A Year in Review 2016 Edition

   Goodbye to 2016. This year you have taught to always be grateful for the small things in life that can be easily overlooked, like contact lenses. This year I restarted my Etsy shop in January, February I had to say goodbye to my best friend, my buttercup of a dog and April I also had another eye surgery. I found out this year when I am stress I create so I had a lot of projects to go through to make this top 12 list. 

January's favorite project. This is my favorite because it has one big photo. 

February's favorite project. I love this page I created for the Shimelle guest spot that I had in May. 

 March's favorite project. 

April's favorite project. What is not to love about upcycling the jean skirt with lace. 

May's favorite project. My favorite card that I created for a custom order that I did for Clear Choice Custom Lasik.  

 June's favorite project. I just love explosion box cards.  

 July's favorite project. I created this for a magazine call, which I got published for. in the winter issue of Creative Scrapbooker. 

August's favorite project.  I just love the simplicity of this page. 

 September's favorite project. I finally got some of those terracotta pots to good use. 

October's favorite project.  This was my first scrapbook page that I did in months. I was happy to find out that I didn't lose my touch. 

November's favorite project. I reworked a old dog toy that I use to sell. A lot of people seemed to like it. 

December's favorite project. This leather handbag was my first time working with leather. I made it for my Mom. I love how it came out since i had no pattern.  

Here to another year, I am hoping 2017 will bring new and exciting things. Also, a lot of new projects. 

Busy

   Hello, readers, I am just popping in to say I am still here. I have been super busy working on my Etsy shop and holiday cooking. 
I am just want to say you might want to pick up the Winter issue of Creative Scrapbooker magazine, I might be in there. You can pick up a copy at Joann's and Barnes and Noble.  I am so excited since it is my first time in a printed magazine. 

These are the cards that are in the issue. 

World KC Day

   Today was the first time keratoconus has own day to give more awareness to this rare eye disease that no cure has been found or what even causes it. Having this has taught me how to never take small things for granted. I am amazed at all the beauty every day holds and that sight is very precious.
I am happy that collagen crosslinking is FDA approve now and I hope the kind I had done (epi-on) will be in the future.  

   I know my case is not as bad as others but it is still trying on days when I take out my contact lenses out too early but I am grateful what this journey has taught me. This thing has made me more of my own advocate personally and professionally, which I don't ever want to use as an excuse to hide behind.

   Since getting my new soft contact lenses I have been testing them out. I love looking from my bedroom window at the woods watching birds and planes going by. Now, when I look at the moon I don't see five images but two which I am still very grateful for. Last week, I had tears come to my eyes when I looked at Christmas lights. They looked like the shape of their bulb instead of the typical bohek effect that I have grown use to.
  
   I am not letting this rare eye disease live my life for me. KC I have kicked you to the back seat, enjoy the ride and watch what this girl is going to achieve. 

Here is a pic from 7.11.15 during the first cxl surgery. 

   This is me after the second cxl surgery on 4.02.16. 

Me Update

   I thought it has been long over do on a progress report of what I have been up to.

• I am still working hard on my Etsy shop. I just redid over 120 listings tags and titles. It looks like it is paying off since I am getting picked up in searches more often.
• I am officially done with the eye doctor for this year unless I have a problem. I am now in soft contact lenses. All I can say is I am in love with them and I am taking in all the views that I can. It feels like I am seeing for the first time. 
• I am finally learning to shoot in manual mode on my camera. I am enjoying walking around the town taking fall photos. 

This is a photo that I took Sunday at the historical village. 

• I am still freezing the last of the fall goodies I have been buying at the farmer's market.
• Last but not least, I am looking into doing my first craft show. It would be next year sometime in the summer. If you know me I am a big planner so I know I will have to plan for this months in advance to make sure I have enough products to last the 8 hours it runs. 

That is what my life has been this past couple of weeks. I am hoping to end the year on a high note since the year started on the lowest note possible. 

App Pick + Me Update

   Hello, everyone. today there will be no sketch reveal for Scrapbook Challenges due to it being the end of the month and a design team call will issued in the future. However, there is still time to play along with all 20 sketch reveals from the month.

   I thought I would be great to share an app for the desktop that I am sure a lot will love. It is called the InstaPic . It allows you to upload to Instagram from your desktop. I have been using it for most of August and have fell in love with it. I haven't found any problems like the one I was using before (Gramblr).

   I have been super busy creating and listing Christmas items on my Etsy shop. I have ornaments, dog toys and cards which meant a lot of photos to take and edit. Plus, over 25 different listings. Since August was a crazy month between design team work and shop but I loved it.
Here is my latest ornament. 

  I opted to not do any eye doctor appointments since I felt my vision has been good, which I am almost 5 months post-op ;) but should get tested to make sure everything is still good. I am sure new glasses will be prescribed since my latest ones are too strong but I can go without them fine but with a little eyestrain by late night. I am just not sure if I want to deal with the whole contact lens thing again since I know the right eye is still changing. I know my old lenses don't work anymore, they are way too strong and I am sure the fit is off again due to the surgeries.

Totally Random

Yesterday, i came across a blog post by Susanne from Snaps and Snippets. It was 44 odd things questions.  I thought it would be fun to do the same type of one here but I am switching it up just a little by replacing some of the questions with my own.

Hope you enjoy reading these completely random Q&A session.
1. Do you like blue cheese? YUCK. I can't stand the smell or taste of it.
2. Do you have a favorite veggie? I love green beans. I cook them and top them with olive oil, salt and garlic powder. Yum.
3. Best thing that happened so far this year? Gaining a lot of vision back from the last cxl surgery.
4. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Cookie Dough.
5. Do you get nervous before Doctor visits? Yes. I still freak out before going to an eye doctor, that is still after 30+ trips I did in a year's time.
6. What is your favorite summer clothing to wear. I live in skirts most of the summer.
7. Favorite Christmas movies? Polar Express, Holiday Inn and White Christmas.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee with milk.
9. Do you do push-ups? I haven't did any in a few weeks since I injured my toe.
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? At the moment I am loving arm jewelry. Almost every day you will me wearing one of the cuffs I made with pieces I was given as a gift.
11. Favorite hobby? Cooking, sewing and paper crafting. See I can't just pick one.
12. When was the last time you went to a movie theater? Feb. 2008. National Treasure 2
13. What’s the one thing you hate about yourself? My voice. It just doesn't match my age.
14. Middle name? I am not even you can even call my middle name a name since it is just the lonely letter J.
15. Name three thoughts right now:(1) Should I open a new online selling site. (2) should get off the computer and head back to dt assignment deadlines (3) Should I make a double batch of egg rolls?
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Coffee and water. Once in a while I will have a glass of milk
17. Current worry? Am I wasting my money and time on Etsy, should I venture off to my own site.
18. Current hate right now? The muggy summer heat.
19. Favorite place to be? Would love to be at the beach right now.
20. How do you ring in the new year? Very boring, staying at home.
21. Where would you like to go? Anywhere. I need a vacation that doesn't involve a out of state trip to an eye doctor.
22. Green or a black thumb? Somewhere in the middle. First year of successful growing stuff in containers.
23. Do you own slippers? Nope
24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Black and white stripe tank top.
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never had.
26. Can you whistle? Yes
27. Favorite Color? Teal
28. Would you be a pirate? No. I think I would get sea sick.
29. What song would you say would be your theme song. Gold by Britt Nicole.
30. Favorite hairstyle? At the moment I like it short with layers and side swept bangs.
31. Favorite summer shoes? Wedges.
32. What’s in your pocket right now? Noting. I rarely ever have anything in them.
33. Last person that made you laugh?
34. Best toy as a child? I loved my big wheel when I was little. I use to tie my baby carriage to the back so I could carry items in.
35. Worst injury? I would have to say dislocated toe and thumb.
36. Where would you love to live? I like Michigan.
37. How many TV’s do you have in your house? 5 but four are in use.
38. Who is your loudest in your house? My parents.
39. How many dogs do you have? 0
40. Does someone trust you? I would like to think so.
41. What is your favorite movie? The Royal Wedding
42. What’s your favorite candy? Dark chocolate
43. What’s your favorite sports team? Not a big sports fan. I do cheer for MSU,
44. Barefoot or shoes? I go barefoot always in the house.

Identinty Crisis

   While you might say I am having an identity crisis if you head over to my Etsy store "MJ's Kraze". I have over 50 listings but I am sure you won't expect to see dog apparel and toys in the same shop as paper crafts except at my crazy shop. I think the "Kraze" in my branding is a perfect description of my shop and my creative brain since I am always doing something different each day. Plus,I didn't want to run multiple online shops.I did that a few years ago and one of them always got neglected.

So far my shop has been steadily growing and I am at the most listings I ever had. My most recent category added were the planner clips.

• Cards37
• Memory Keeping2
• Notebooks2
• Wall Art3
• Pet Toys1
• Pet Apparel5
• Planner Accessories7

   This post my confirm your suspicions of my craziness but being normal is very boring. I am totally embracing the wandering brain that finds me creating totally out of my comfort zone crafts.

P.S. I might be going on a metal stamping jewelry binge soon. I just ordered some supplies.  

Going Slow

   That is what time has been doing ever since I got home 2 weeks ago from my second cxl eye surgery. The day after my birthday, my birthday was busy preparing for the trip and had to go to bed super early, my dad and I headed down to Ohio to have my other eye done since I was starting to notice the vision started to become double more. I really wanted to have the surgery done to keep the vision from becoming like the other eye.

   Friday, consisted of a 230 mile trip which meant getting up at 5:20 to get to the 11 a.m appointment. The drive down there was perfect. We timed the trip just right because by the time we got to their office my appointment was in 15 minutes. After a few tests, I got my eye dilated which was glad I only needed it done to one because it is very hard to fill out forms with both of them done :).

   Saturday, was surgery day and it was an early one, I had to be there at 7:45. This time I opted out for the sedative since I hated feeling so lightheaded last time. I also didn't take a pain med before but wished I did since the pain set in by the time I got back to the hotel room. After getting the surface of the eye buffed by a laser, I was sent into another room for 30 minutes of riboflavin eye drops every 45 seconds. Next was getting my eye looked at to see if the eye was soaked with the drops, I could have told them it was since my vision had a nice yellow tint. At this moment I had three doctors looked at, my optometrist, my surgeon and a visiting doctor.From that moment, I got referred to as Wiley's special crosslinking patient, I am guessing because I opted for no meds or the fact I am know what I need to do before they tell me.. Next, it was time to stare at the UVA light for 30 minutes, it is a little blue light that turns on for about 15 seconds and off for about the same length. After the first 10 minutes I couldn't wait for the timer to go off since I was starting a hard time seeing it.
   When it was all done the surgeon came in put drops in the eye and placed the bandage in place. Him and the  nurse said that they needed more patients like me since I made the whole thing easy since I sat perfectly still for the whole hour. After, it was all done the nurse and surgeon took my to another room to get my photo taken. I now realized why the nurse asked if I wanted my dad to come and sit with me. I sure don't look like I am 27 here. This was taken right when the pain started. I was smiling right before the photo was taken but started to fade since the nurse didn't know if she could get a pic since the camera was dying so I was caught a little off guard.

    Back at the hotel, I took the pain med but it didn't touch it so I tried to sleep for the 4-6 hours I was told to do before starting the eye drops every two hours. After I had two pain meds in me I watered to feel better, however, I still couldn't get the eye open and it was watering non-stop. The next day was not better. When it came time to get the bandage removed the doctor said this won't hurt. He was WRONG. It hurt so much that I tightened up my jaw. Thank God, for the numbing drops by the time I left I felt no pain, I just wished they lasted longer. On the way home, I had to keep popping pretzels in my mouth so my mouth had something to clamp on since the comfort drops only lasted for 10 minutes and the pain med didn't keep in until I had two in my system since I skipped taking them at night and morning. By Tuesday, I had no more pain. This was the second most painful thing in my life.

Now, my vision is changing daily so most of the time I am not wearing glasses since they are too strong. This makes it kind of hard to decided on what to do since I need correction and I believe the other eye is stable to get a new rx for glasses and contacts. I am honesty thinking of going correction free for the next three months and just living with the ghosting. I wonder how long I will stick to that since my eyes seem to get tired pretty fast.

. 

Hello

   I know my blog has been kind of just design team posting for the last month and I am foreseeing that happening again for this month.
 
   I am currently at the eye doctor getting an exam done to see if I can have the crosslinking done to my right eye now. Since Buster's passing I have noticed the ghosting getting worse and I want to save the vision I have now before it gets as bad as my left eye. If I can have it done I am hoping the outcome means I won't have to be dependable on the contact lenses because I hate them. There is noting worse than having two hard plastics suction to you eyeballs.

   So here it goes to saving my vision.

Grieving

   Today, was a sad day here. This afternoon my family and I had to put down Buster. He had another seizure Friday night but was sick before it happen. Over the weekend he became super ill and couldn't keep anything down. Today, my dad and I took him to the vet, 3 hours later, the veterinarian called and said his stomach failed and he needed to be put down. We gave him the okay.
 
   Buster knew his time was running out. After his seizure, I picked him up and hugged him. He wrapped his head around my neck, as if he was hugging me back. This was the first time he ever did that. About 4 this morning he woke up acting better but kept walking from room to room to see my parents, brother and I as if he wanted one last look.

   Now, this house seems so quite. This little fur ball was the center of the household. He had a big personality and was always there to comfort you. He was a birthday gift when I turned 12. He has been a part of my life for over half of it.

   I will always remember him with full of life, his cute smile and his love with everything. I am finding comfort in knowing that he is not miserable anymore and that he is in heaven being taken care by my grandpa.

 Buster, we loved you. You were a great dog.

Update on Life

   I know it has been a few weeks since I have did a personal update about everything.

   Last Monday, I went to the eye doctor for another contact lens exam. I am happy to say I am finally of an owner of a lens that fits, it only took 18 tries and countless trips to the optometrist :).
No more eye doctor visits until Nov., while there is the one that is next month but I am not counting that one since it is out of state.

   Yesterday, I took Buster back to the vet since he has been limping for the last week. My dad said it was because he he had another infection and I say it is because of arthritis. It looks like we both were right, he is now on an antibiotic and inflammation med. The vet did a blood test and x-ray and everything came back fine which stated he had no cancer.  He seems to be walking a little better today.
 
   This weekend, my family and I are celebrating the 8th anniversary of completing the home theater in out basement. We always watch a movie together on this day. We are going with the Minions.

   Lastly, I have been adding shop items to the Etsy store and creating layouts for upcoming challenges over at Scrapbook Challenges. That reminds me I have you seen this month's challenges. Certain days if the week we are focusing on a Sketch Crew member, Wednesday just happened to be me. 

Goals

   Unlike last year, I am setting myself some goals I would like to work on. These goals are not hard but they are empowering. They will help me find more freedom in being me. I say that because this past year I have been having a hard time be content at where I am at and was always looking at the "what if's". So I am starting this year on the right foot and hopefully reach these five goals I hope I will be able to reach. 

1. I am going to try to worry less.
2. Was going to get my drivers license at the start of the year but I am putting that off until my vision is completely stable and have a contact lens.
3. Do more of the things I enjoy that don't happen that often, tennis, sewing,etc.
4. Learn manual mode on my camera.
5. Be content at where I am at.

As you can tell three of the goals are more of self improving. The driving goal is something I am hoping I will reach this year but it all depends if I am feeling comfortable at where my eyesight is.

   I am also going to pick one word that I want to focus on this year. It is going to be the word "Grow".
I think this word is a perfect word for everyone, It reminds us that we should broaden our view and knowledge. We should only stop learning when we are gone. We should better our lives before we can improve things around us.
So why don't you "Grow" with me this year.

Flew By

   That is what this year did for me. It seems like last month that we just celebrated the new year. This year has been full of mix emotions it started out rough and it is going out a lot better than it started. In between that time a lot has happened and they were a few tears shed. I dealt with me eye health all year, traveled 1,400 miles total for eye surgery and exam and who knows how many just to my in town eye doctor. Buster had a surgery for a abscess, he also had a seizure and another infection. We also started the kitchen remodel

   Since it is the end of the year I like to do a 12 month highlight of my favorite blog post projects I did.   

January. 

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

   Here is to 2016. My this year be filled with great things and start to something amazing. May we experience good health, grow closer to one another and be content in our own skin.

Very Thankful

   That is how I felt leaving the eye doctor after Friday's appointment. I was nervous about going the reasons can be found here. 

• I had a $145 bill for the lens I lost and had to pay for the replacement so I was thinking it I wad going to paying $290. To my surprise there was no cost. I don't know how that happened but I was so surprised. 
• The other thing is that I don't have keratoconus in my right eye, the data was typed wrong into the computer, instead of typing os (left eye) it was typed in as ou (both eyes).

   The vision was not good with the new contact, I could only read the second line on the chart, which I found discouraging until the optometrists said that the prescription in it was too strong. Before having the surgeries done I was in a +11.00 prescription now it will be about +1.00.

   The fit still needs some work since I felt like I could pop the lens out when I blinked but the comfort of it was good, I could almost forget i was wearing it and that was for not wearing them for about five months. That was something I didn't think could happen since none of the previous lenses did that, only the right eye did. Plus, I was not getting a glare in it, first time that never happened.

Thanksgiving Prep

   Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Like many people this day involves a lot of cooking. This week I decided to do some of the things that would make my life easier since I have a birthday already to do on Monday. Today's foodie post is going to be about how I have been prepping for Thanksgiving and give you some of the recipes that I have did this week for it.

   On Tuesday, I made the bread for stuffing. My favorite recipe for bread making is found in the Kitchen Aid stand mixer manual. You can find it here on page 49. 

   On Thursday if was time to do the crusts for the cheesecake and pumpkin pie. This is the first year of making these ahead. First, I made a graham cracker dough (recipe can be found here). Cut the recipe in half for one cheesecake or do like I did and make half of it into crackers. I make my own crust because I always burn the crust if I use all ready made crackers. To remedy that problem I just roll the dough out on some wax paper to the size of the pie plate. When it is do the desired thickness and size I just roll the paper and crust jelly roll style, wrap the roll in foil and place in a freezer bag.
For the pumpkin pie crust I just used my favorite crust recipe that has never failed me. Can be found here. I rolled, wrapped and froze it the same way as the cheesecake crust. Now I just have to take them out of the freezer Tuesday night so I can make the desserts. With either of these crusts I don't pre-bake them before adding the filling.


   The only thing I can do before I do a lot of the cooking on Wednesday is do a deep cleaning of the stove and oven. Luckily, my brother helps me on this.

Angry at Myself

   I haven't did any kind of eye update since my three month post-op exam I had in Ohio last month, so expect this post to be long.

   It started with an early wake-up call (4;30) so my dad and I could drive the 3 1/2 hours trip down to the small town of Brecksville, Ohio. Once we were at the office I got to fill out a comfort of life survey and rate each eye to the questions with a 1-5. I find them amusing since they ask questions like, do you avoid being social because of your eye health, etc.  The reason for the questions is that this is all part of a study where they are collecting data to see how well life before and after after surgery is. All my tests results came back with nothing alarming and was given a new prescription for eyeglasses since the ones I were wearing did noting to help the vision in the bad eye. With the new lens I would be corrected to 20/25 and before it was like 20/40, big improvement.

  I can back home happy since I was given the all clear about getting new glasses and able to try the contact fitting process over. I was lucky to find a Groupon with a coupon to get my new glasses for $38 + whatever the $200 value didn't cover so my glasses cost under $50.  I can't complain about that price. I was so happy I got such a great deal and that these would allow me to see even better than I have been able to in  years. When I got the glasses I felt kind of ill from the changes, headache and lightheaded, I thought it was just because I needed to adjust to them but after 5 days of wearing them the feeling didn't improve and everything looked slanted. I could the doctor in Ohio and he said my vision changed and I needed a new prescription (the vision changed within 2 weeks of it being written out). He asked if I was going to be in the area anything soon so he  change it and I said no (as if I would do that long 7 round trip for a new prescription). He said to go to my guy in town to get the adjustment.
 
   I went to my guy two weeks ago and that is when my problem started. I got another eyeglass prescription and fitted with a new contact lens but came home finding out that I have keratoconus in my right eye too. I was shocked since neither Ohio or my local doctors said anything to me, I am guessing my local one thought I already knew since he was looking at Ohio's test results but the doctor in Ohio says just keep and eye on the right eye so I could have the surgery done on it early enough before vision lost. Besides, this new diagnosis shocker I got a sticker shock. Instead of paying the normal $85 for the one contact lens I know pay $145 for the special lens that fits better for keratoconus. I already had the special lens before but my doctor never charged me when he changed the style. Since it has been over the three months swapping period I had to pay again for the new lens. I was so happy to try the lens that I went down the the doctor's when I got the phone it was in. I decided to try it out after dinner because I knew I would have to break in the lens again. This is where it went wrong. I put the lens in waited until it settled in my eye and went to wash the solution off my hand so I could pop in my old lens in my other eye, while I was doing this without knowing it happened until it was far too late I blinked and that lens popped out of the eye. I am guessing it went down the drain since I haven't found it and it has been 6 days already. So I just watched $145 go drown the drain, so not cool.

   Since the glasses were new I  still had the one lens free of charge so I got them changed right away. I have been wearing the new glasses for a week now and I am still getting use to them. I am fighting the idea that my vision changed again since I am still getting a tad dizzy in them. I am hoping it will pass soon if not I am going back to my old glasses and saying seeing with both eyes in eyeglasses is overrated or at least for the next four months until I go back to Ohio for my last required eye exam.

  I called my doctor's office the next day to ordered a new one and I had to tell the lady what happened and I felt like such an idiot because I only had the thing in my eye for about 90 seconds. So this week I have to get the lens again and this time I will be putting it on at the eye doctor so I wouldn't take the chance of loosing it down the sink so soon. Plus, I have another eye appointment so the doctor can look at it right away to see what adjustments need to be made.  I just wish the appointment was earlier in the day since 4:30 is when I am home cooking and now it is up to my mom to do the cooking. it is not that she is a bad cook but I have been doing it for so long that she says she forgot how to.

Spaghetti Squash Mac & Cheese Style

  I know it has been a couple of weeks since I posted a recipe. I came up with this run during my break. The photo I am sharing is something more soupier since I added too much milk when I did it. I am sharing the ingredient measurements for one that is more like a mac & cheese are suppose to be. 

A few weeks ago, I bought a spaghetti squash at the Farmer's Market and I knew I wanted to try to make a mac & cheese style since my brother loves my homemade macaroni and cheese. 

First, you need to prepare the squash and I used this recipe here to cook it. 

Ingredients: 

1 small spaghetti squash

1 c. milk

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

1/2  tsp. salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp basil, dry

3 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

 Directions:

1 First cook the squash.

2. In a small saucepan cook the butter and flour to make a rue. 

3. Add in seasonings and milk. Cook and stir until it thickens. 

4. Once that is hot stir in cheese until it is melted.

5. Toss over squash . Pour into a greased baking dish and cook at 400 for 15 minutes or just until top is golden. 

Hope you enjoy this recipe. 

Tech Difficulties

  Our family computer has bitten the dust this past week. One morning, I work up to the black screen of death but was lucky enough to open it up in safe mode to retrieve all of my photos and videos that have not been backed up. We are currently just using my dad's business computer but it is hard for me to get on it since there are three other adults always on it.

   Once, we get a new desktop or get this one fixed I will post my photos of the blood moon I took Sunday night.

Recap

  Since mid- July my personal life updates here have been non-existent, so right now I want to give you a little recap on what has happened since I left for Ohio. Warning it is a long post.
 
   On July 10, my dad and I left for Ohio for my CXL study eye surgery. My family and I decided to go with the epi-on version since there is no chance of infection or vision loss. It took four hours to get to Brecksville, Ohio. The drive was nice but, man I got hungry for corn on the cob, I lost count of how many corn fields we past. :) We arrived an hour early but they saw me right away. The people at Clear Choice Custom Lasik we very kind and helpful. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for eye surgery. The whole pre-op exam took an hour. The surgeon and optometrist decided it was best if I also have conductive keratoplasty done too. I was shocked on this since I never heard of it but they said it would help with the contact lens comfort. Everyone knows I still haven't had a good lens for that eye so I am hoping it works, which I will find out late October after I have my 3 month exam in Ohio. The surgery was scheduled the next morning, It took about two hours and I was nervous while I was waiting in the lobby but soon relaxed after I listened to some music. However, I still had to take a sedative and painkiller before they started. By the time it was all over I was light headed from the drugs. Once I got my rx drops at the pharmacy, I ended up falling asleep in the truck while my dad got lunch. After lunch I ended up taking a two hour nap but that was it since I was not tired but I was under orders to keep that eye closed and sleep. By dinner time, I wanted to leave the hotel room so I decided to go to eat inside Panera's. During the whole day I had no pain so I didn't need the rx for painkillers.
  They sent me home with a flower and my dad a gift card for Starbucks.

   Five days later, I had another exam but this time at my eye doctor in town. He said, I have gained a little vision in the eye and was all healed up. Happy Dance. I was not expecting this and especially this soon.

  Since then my vision seems to be stable. I have gained some distance vision but I still have double. I am hoping that my eye shape has changed enough so I will be able to  just get my corrected vision through eyeglasses.

After we got back home it has seems like dominos have fallen because the things that have happened has been non-stop.
1. A storage unit became vacant. Left messy. Cleaned it up, added electrical, paint it and patched the floors.
2. Car needed to go into the shop, "fixed" it by charging $1200 to replace a part and still had the same problem afterwards. Now, they come back with another $1800 quote to fix these other two things we said no. They ended up taking our car out of All Wheel Drive, we will see how that works come the winter.
3. On August 22, Buster became ill. Had to take him into the 24 hour clinic. Was not sure if he would make it. He ended up having an abscess but they wanted to know if they should had if biopsy to rule out cancer. We had to think about it. We had to leave him there overnight. When we took him to our vet to get the drain tube removed he said it looked like a cyst that just got infected. Plus, he said Buster is healthy and we have nothing to worry about.
4. The last thing is the rain we have been getting. We had hit the daily record for a day a couple a weeks ago. Almost 4" within a couple of hours. I wish I could send our rain out west to the ones in need of it.
During all this I decided to start up my etsy shop again, so far I have 10 items listed and more on the way.