A Long Week, But God Always Gets Me Through

Last week was one of my favorate weeks of the year, 4-H camp week. Since the first time I went to camp as a kid I have loved it! Because of my love of camp over the years I have gone to many of different camps, learned lots of things and made many of lasting friendships. Now that I am in my 30s there of course isn't too many camps for me to still go to, but I do. I am on adult staff for my local 4-H Jr. Camp. I work with the camp counselors and other adult staff for about six months planing and getting ready for this one week of the summer. All want is it to go good, be fun, safe and the kids to leave there with the love for camp I had so many years ago. Well, last week camp went good, for the most part, but personally not a good week.

To start out I had been out of state the week before for a conferance for work, it was good, but left not much time to get ready for camp. Then my almost free weekend turned full and busy, the Sat. before I had no plans... of course it didn't stay that way. In the morning I went to an auction to try to buy some stuff for our county Farm Bureau, it was hot and long like auctions can be. The good news is I got a milk shake maker for the fair booth. Then I went into work for a few hours to get cought up from being off and going to be off again. Then to top it off I DJ'd a wedding, yep you read that right I played DJ. A friends sister in law needed a DJ, theirs cancelled and so I helped out and played music. No I am normaly not a DJ, but I do know how to run the equipment and didn't mind helping out for a wedding emergancy. Sunday was Father's day and I had lunch with my dad and other family, then spent the rest of the day getting ready for camp... O and baking for the market too.

First day of camp was Monday and didn't go too bad, for a first day. Things ran late, as they can, camp picture was taken and that was long, hot and hard... they just didn't want to set still this year, but I got it. Tuesday, well I woke up to find some sad news on facebook, a friend went into labor at only 20 weeks so they would not be able to save the baby. I knew all I could do was pray for her and her family, she is now in FL so I was sad I could not go be with her, but asked God to comfert her.  Well then I left for a little while, decide I didn't want to miss the farmers market two weeks in a row so I left to go to it. Then didn't sale much and wasn't worth the trip, but had no way to know that before hand.

Wednesday was when it really started going bad... went to town to get some items for camp, first couldn't find 15 blue matching table cloths in Troy (I am sure thanks to graduatioin just a few weeks ago), then my car broke down. Yep, thats right car trouble, it always picks the best time to happen (thou I don't think there is a good time for car trouble, lol). Car wouldn't stay running, stalled out every time I slowed down or stopped. Well, got it back to my house with lots of stops and Dan picked me up and got me back to camp. Of course I left things for camp in the car without realizing it then. Wednsday ended good I finaly got to lead "Making Rain" at our campfire, in hopes to get real rain soon.

Camp Canoe Trip Group

Thursday was good for camp we had our 2nd annual canoe trip with the last year camp counslors and campers. Of course with the lack of rain these days the river was very low and we had to get out and walk a few times, but all in all still a good trip. Thursday is also banquit night at camp, brings me back to thouse darn table clothes, yeah had to to buy three different types and of course some was not the right size, but we pulled through and made it work. It was the last full night of camp so emotions are all over the place and I was working on my slide show when it was time to end evening rec, well at that point I was tired and in a hurry and did something to mess my computer up. Yep, no computer now, before I went to bed I tried to get on it and it wouldn't fully boot up and open windows, I turned it off in hopes that when I got up it would be over this problem.

Nope, Friday morning, still no computer witch means no slide show and no car, so not sure how all my stuff is getting home and O yeah, I have animals coming to camp and still no real plan to what to do with the campers when not visiting the animals. Can we say stress, good thing I can stay calm (haha). I broke the news to the camp director that there may not be an end of camp slide show (when the parents come to pick up there kids we play it with all the pics from the week), but would do what I could. Animals got to camp and we got the kids through and for the most part it went good and was enjoyed by most (fyi we had an animal theme this year). Then another adult staff had to go home so he took me and a load of my stuff home too, so I could get my car towed to the mechanic and try to put together a slide show in a few hours. Car was off and I get out my very slow old computer...4 hours later we had a slide show, not the best and the computer was chugging through the music, O and it locked up about 5 or 10 slides from the end, but we had a slide show and camp was over. Dan and Grant helped me and the rest of my stuff get home, big Thanks to them.

It is now a week later and I am still recooping from all that, but as always God is blessing me and getting me through it. I knew it would work out, but didn't know for sure how or when, but I have great people in my life and things have been coming together. A good friend came and got my computer to work on it and has it back up and going, so if you are near Midway, OH look up Budget Geeks on facebook and give Sean a call. Car has been at the shop all week, but I trust my VW guy and know he will do a good job and not rip me off, but it is a costly fix. I go to Jon's Auto in Marysville, OH a VW shop ran by a very nice couple out of there home and he is very good, so if you got a VW I highly recommind them! My throttle body sincer is bad, so it isn't telling the computer when the car needs gas or not, why it was dying. Soon it will be running good agian, I get to pick it up tomorrow and pay the bill. That is where God has been blessing me, I have had some photo jobs come up and every little bit helps to pay for the car repair (hope the jobs keep coming too). Thanks to Dan for letting me drive Big Blue this week (the farm truck, Dodge 2500 desiel), it cost more to dive then the Bug, but glade to have someone to help me out and loan me it to me to get back and fourth to work! Thanks to everyone and most of all God Bless! Remember on bad days to pray and keep your hope up, it will get better in time.

(Sorry if spelling is bad, if you know me you know I can't spell and then just my luck the spell check on here isn't working right now.)

Living with Mono... Somedays easy, somedays not

It's been a while since I have wrote and there is a few reasons for that... one been busy with lots going on in this busy time of year and then the fact that when I have free time all I want to do is sleep and I get to say thanks to Mono for that.

For a long time I have struggled with being tired, but this winter it got to the point I struggled all day to stay awake and all I wanted to do was sleep. When it got that bad I decided it was time to go to the Dr. and find out why. Well the good news was all the things I thought could be causing it, was good and then he told me I have Mono. I thought wow, ok so what do I take and then the Dr. informed me there is nothing to take just need sleep and he gave me suggested vitamins to take. I have heard of Mono, but didn't know anything about it. The Dr. told me a little and then suggested looking it up online and read about, so I did and continue too.

The week he told me I took off work early and went home to sleep getting about 12 hours or more a day and was feeling better, but not ok. After that first week life had to go on, since then I try to go to bed early and it keeps getting earlier and earlier (between 8pm and 9pm is normal these days and anything after 9:30 is late and I pay for it the next day). I have upped my vitamin intake based on things I have read and take a nap when ever I can, not much else I can do, problem is not much time in my life naps. I found out around the end of Feb. and March is a busy month for Farm Bureau stuff, conferences, meetings, dinners, trip to DC, etc. Then next is spring planting time and working in a seed warehouse you don't get time off in Spring and now we are going into summer, witch means, 4-H Camp, Steam Show and fairs coming up.

In the last few months I have experienced many different things and the more I read and research Mono, they are all because of it. I will be thinking I am doing better and then one day it just knocks me down again... Easter weekend I had two shoots and a wedding on Saturday, felt fine then. Sunday at church and Easter dinner it was all I could do to stay awake. But it's not just the being tired, a few weeks ago I woke up on a Thursday and my glands where swollen and then the next day, Friday, my spleen was hurting to the point I couldn't sit comfortably. The Dr. explained to me about the spleen being enlarged and need to be careful around it, but that day it must have been trying really hard to fight the infection. From day to day I don't know how I am going to feel or what to expect. The things that I have to deal with almost every day is tried, sore throats and stomach discomforts... yep I have had bowel movement problems, bloating and stomach upset from it too. Not that I want to talk on all that but I thought can all this be from Mono and the more I read, yes. I also thought is it normally to take this long to get over and  once again from what I read yes. I am thankful for the Internet and medical website, but also for blogs and discussion boards where I have been able to read about what other have gone through and know I am not the only one.

For now I am about to fall asleep, I look forward to the day I am over this and back to normal... till then if you wander why I don't go out or go to bed early, this is why.