Eczema, Jury Duty, Migraines, Breasts, Lawyers, Cupcakes

What a combination that subject line is.
But that combo is what my life is as of today.
To say it with a silver lining, my life is never ever ever boring!

Eczema:
I have horrible eczema on my legs. And it is so itchy that I can't control it! So it's just getting worse.
To all those with eczema here are some things that work well for me:

• Cold washcloths or cold compress-these things stop the itching.
• Lots of fragrance free lotion. Tons and tons of it, several times a day.
• Airing it out. Don't let it get covered up by socks or boots. It needs air to breathe.
• Benadryl before bed. But it does drug you up depending on how you react to drugs.
• A nice and understanding person that loves you even though you have ugly scales all over your legs.
  

This is what I have figured out so far. But I am still really frustrated and I have no idea why it is randomly and suddenly happening to me.
My boyfriend always yells at me for itching. He even blamed me for itching my leg when the car was shaking on Easter Sunday. Come to find out, the car wasn't shaking because my leg was itchy. It was shaking because there was a 7.2 earthquake in Orange County!

GROSS! THIS IS MY LEG RIGHT NOW. my million dollar legs.. =(

Jury Duty:
I had it today for the first time and was selected for a court case.
I can't say much else about it since it is confidential. I can't even really express my opinion.
But I will say that once you actually GET IN THE COURTROOM, it's quite a learning experience. I am open to it. I just wish that it didn't take time away from work because I only get paid for one day.

Dan:
My boyfriend. I came across a collection of photos of him on my phone while having nothing to do at jury duty today and admired how great looking he is. Check out that bone structure.
My collection of Dan below:








Migraines:
Ugh, you'd think that my eczema would be enough.
But I have had migraines ever since my car accident (a T-Bone incident) almost two years ago now. They pop up at very inconvenient times like this last Saturday.
And silly me went to a bowling alley with a migraine.
I was trying to get out and have some fun with friends.
That didn't work. Especially not at a bowling alley!
Sigh. The migraine is now gone. I hope it never comes back.






Breasts:
Still have not heard anything about my MRI results. I think that is a good sign.
Plus I am 30. So I think I am in the clear.
However last week I had a dream that I had cancer.. actually I dreamt that I had lymphoma as scary as that is. So random. I think it's because I've just had too many health issues in the past year. That and someone told me "I looked pale" which made the hypochondriac in me all paranoid that perhaps maybe I was sick with something. But it could just be from lack of sleep because of my annoying eczema.
I think I've just been through too many health ordeals in the past year so now it's blurring my health consciousness. At least I can hope-and move forward to the positive thing that I call life.
Because I do love my life. And cherish it.

I thought my girls looked exceptional in this photo with comedian Harland Williams.

Cupcakes:
Yes I started the Amanda Cupcake website. And I want to share my cupcake love with the world. But, I still need to find a commercial kitchen. I am on the lookout. I also want to experiment with new recipes every weekend. www.amandacupcake.blogspot.com





Lawyers:
My black mold case has just about settled. I can put that behind me.
I still cringe when I drive past that apartment complex. Ugh.
My car accident case is still up in the air but I hope that it will be settled soon.
I hear that it will. Hallelujah! Prayer. Lots and Lots of Prayer.


Xo Xo...
Amanda

muah!

To the Ellen Degeneres Show

I just sent a request out to the Ellen Degeneres show for my parents.
I am looking for any assistance that I can to help them because they deserve it more than anyone I know.....
It would rock their world to hear from Ellen Degeneres.


This is the letter that I sent to her:

Ellen!
I love you! You squirted me in the eye with a water gun at Ellen in The Park 2006!
Now, meet my parents.
I fly home to visit at Christmas. This year my dad was near death. A bleeding ulcer. He lost ½ of his blood when blood clots started to spread quickly all over the inside of his body. The Dr. was “baffled”. My dad couldn’t sleep, scared that this was "the end."
After a long road, the Dr. released the blood clots through a risky procedure. My dad’s health is stronger, but mom’s is weak. She was just diagnosed w/Parkinson’s. An unexpected turn.
My parents are also struggling financially. They filed taxes, hoping for a refund when they found out they owe $10,000! My dad worked for so many yrs & just retired. He spent some of his 401K for my college! Their home needs major repairs and dad is trying to fix it himself. I can hear the tiredness in his voice. His body isn't the same anymore. My mom's voice is tired too. She is also healing from the loss of her sister Rachel to uterine cancer last August. She remembered holding her own mother’s hand in a fight to cancer. My mom also had uterine cancer.
My parents have never had a honeymoon.
They have loved me and each other with their whole being.
My dad says, “"This could be your year-only you can make it that way!"
I imagine my dad doing his woodworking; my mom enjoying her gardening & her 2 adorable grandkids! My parents have had their whole lives to worry. They deserve bliss.

My Blue Dress

I wore a blue dress for my breast MRI. I wanted to look pretty today.
Even if it meant I had to take my blue dress off to change into a gown.
I wanted to feel as if my breasts and I were walking the red carpet to an event that could save all three of our lives!

I have had an MRI done before on my brain.
I was really scared for the brain scan since I have heard nightmare-ish stories.
But all in all, my brain scan MRI wasn't that bad.

However, my breast MRI was so different and strange.
I had to lie face down on what looked like a "twisted" massage table.
There was a cup for each of my breasts to rest in.
IV in arm, I had to flash the nurses before laying down face first, so that they could put some kind of pink capsule on my right breast.

When I was laying down I couldn't see anything.
Headphones rested on my ears and the sound of spa music in the tiny speakers tried to make me forget the loud noises the machine made..and the reason I was here.

MRI machines make loud noises-and the noises are random.
So instead of being scared of them, being the dork that I am--I make up rap beats and lyrics in my head to what sounds like someone banging violently on the side of the machine.
This was even more interesting combined with spa music.

I felt like I was flying or floating because everything was dark, and I was laying face down up in the air inside a tube. I tried my best to ignore this, because I am afraid of heights.

When the nurse told me that the fluid from the IV would be entering my body, I freaked out a little. I really wish she would have just done it without telling me.
The second she injected me, I felt the hot fluid rush to my bladder and I thought I was peeing my pants!

18 minutes later, I was done.
She rolled me out of the machine and gradually pulled the IV out of my arm.

I asked the nurse if it was normal to feel like I peed my pants while she was injecting me.
She laughed and told me it was very common to feel it rush straight to my bladder if I had an empty stomach or a fast metabolism. I was so relieved to know that I did not pee my pants, even if it felt like it!

I was so dizzy and dazed. This MRI felt nothing like the brain scan.

The nurse told me she took 1700 photos of the inside of my breasts!
I was astounded. She took more photos of my breast than I took on my European trip to Paris and Milan.
I guess this goes to show that my breasts are truly a wondrous work of God's art.

Now on to the blue knit maxi dress.
I wore the dress to force myself to feel luxurious even though I felt the need to just throw on my pair of big ugly green sweatpants and walk out the door.
I blow dried my hair so it was wavy and not an afro puff like it could normally be. I put on make up, and wore a heart shaped necklace that Dan gave me the night before.
I gave my keys to the boys at Hoag Hospital and asked them to valet park my car.
All that was missing was the red carpet.
So many women told me how beautiful I looked--at the hospital out of all places!
Little girls stared up at my tall figure.
Wearing my blue dress helped me make it through this ordeal

I think every woman should wear a beautiful (however..comfortable) dress to their mammogram, ultrasound..or even their annual exam. (I suggest a knit maxi dress like mine)

After all, it's your chance to flaunt what you've got in a classy way..and show that you are enough of a treasure to take care of every part of your body!