Where to Begin?

I eagerly anticipated the arrival of Ella the Bella and her parents at the beginning of February. They arrived just two days before our annual Sweet Adelines show. A few days before their arrival, I began having all kinds of pain in my midsection, so I decided a trip to the doctor was in order.

After checking me over, she thought that I probably had shingles. A kidney stone was an option. Because the lab tech wasn't in that day, the urine sample couldn't be checked for an infection. So I went home with the assurance I could call any time during the weekend since she was on call. On Saturday, I had a rehearsal for Sweet Adelines in the morning, a Pampered Chef lunch at my house at noon, and then something else in the afternoon. I don't even remember what it was.

On Sunday I was still hurting, so I called her back. She suggested my going to an urgent care facility where they could do a scan and whatever was needed. There was no kidney stone, and a chest x-ray looked fine, so the dear doctor there said in his soft Cuban accent, "My dear, I believe you probably have shingles." I got a shot for the pain, antiviral drugs, a prescription for nausea and one for pain and went home. I broke out with a rash on Monday. I believe the antiviral drugs kept them from being so severe, but it has not been fun.

As you will notice, I'm not in any of these photos. The day after the Sweet Adelines show, we went to Disney World. The kids had a great time. I stayed in bed most of the day on Monday. I had told David and Sabrina that I wanted to take Ella and the family to a character breakfast, so on Tuesday we had breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort. The breakfast was yummy, and we really did enjoy seeing the characters up close and personal. I think I enjoyed it as much as Ella did.

The week went by much too quickly. The rash has subsided on my body; the pain is not as bad, but it is there. I'm finding that being quiet is better than lots of activity.

Just a couple of weeks before I came down with shingles, the nurse at our retired educators' meeting gave a brief report. Her point was to make sure that our immunizations were up-to-date, and then she mentioned the shot for shingles. I don't know where I've been because I thought that I usually stayed current on what I should be doing, but this one passed me by somehow. At the appropriate time, I will be getting it. I would not like to go through this again!

A Fun Sunday

We drove over to Orlando on Saturday afternoon and had dinner at the Rainfor*st Cafe at the Marketplace in the Disn*y Village. I had called earlier in the week and made reservations, so we got there right at 5:30 and were seated right away. The restaurant is like a rain forest, filled with all kinds of animals...not all rain forest animals however. There were elephants there, along with monkeys, gorillas, birds and butterflies. We were told that every 12 minutes the animals come to life. This was a little bit frightening for Ella, but she soon got used to it. Our food was yummy, and then we walked around a while before going to the hotel.

The next morning we arrived at the Magic Kingdom before it opened, so we were outside for a few minutes. Since my DIL's birthday was on Sunday, she got in free. She wore a pin that said "Happy Birthday!" and everywhere we went the cast members (that's what all the employees are called) wished her a happy birthday. Since we had been there many times, (my children and I) we went the opposite way of most of the people and got to some of the popular rides before everyone else did.

The day started out so pleasant, and it really remained that way the whole day. It was nice and sunny, yet not too hot. A couple of times I needed to cool off, so I found a cool spot in the shade and recouped my strength. Ella fell asleep around 1, so I watched Ella while the others went through the Haunt*d Mansion. We figured that might be a little bit scary for her. Before she fell asleep, though, she and her daddy rode the D*mbo ride. She liked that one.

The last ride that we all went on was Pooh*s ride. We were all able to ride together in the car, and we took a pleasant trip through the hundred acre woods. Ella is so familiar with the video of Pooh that she recognized everything there.

Sarah and I came home Sunday afternoon. I could hardly walk. I'm either going to have to get myself in good shape or break down and use a wheelchair or an electric cart! Having MG doesn't help either.

Our day was very pleasant. It wasn't super crowded, which was nice. On the way over, I asked one of the men if Disn*y was the largest employer in the county. He said that 62,000 employees, it is the largest employer in the country. It's all make-believe, but it is indeed a magic kingdom. For the most part, everyone goes out of their way to be helpful. I can think on only one time in all the times that we have gone that one of the cast members was not at his best.

I'm eager to see them tomorrow as they return and see what they have to say about the rest of their stay.