Sciatica and the Chiropractor

Okay, for the past 3-4 years I've been suffering with this calf/leg pain.  It all started about 3 summers ago when I was driving all over the southeast...Florida...multiple trips to North Carolina to see my dad who had had a stroke.  It is the type of pain that comes and goes.  I never knew when or how severe the pain might be.  This past year it's gotten worse.  I've felt weaker my right leg and have an almost constant dull pain in my calf, sometimes stabbing pain.  For the past 3 months my feet have been bothering me.  Stabbing pain in my big toe knuckles.

Well, in a couple of months, my mom and sister and I are traveling to Europe for a week or so and I do not want to be in pain on the trip.  I was telling my sis and her husband about my leg.  Well, bro-in-law tells me about his "voo-doo" doctor that healed him of a running related injury. He said this doctor practiced A.R.T.  I'd never heard of that, but Jonathan was singing his praises.  He told me to google chiropractor on Lawrenceville Hwy Atlanta.

http://1stchoiceonline.com/ is what popped up at the top.  These are certified sports chiropractors.  Jonathan's guy was Niklaus A. DelFavero.  I called and made an appointment.

As a side note:  I remember that my dad used to visit the chiropractor every now and then.  I have been saying for the last couple of years that I was going to visit the chiropractor for this pain but have just never taken the time to do it.  Two years ago I mentioned the pain at a physical I was having, but that doctor blew it off as a muscle strain.  Last year I did see another doctor.  At the time of making that appointment I was in pain.  But when the appointment rolled around, I had no pain, so that doctor blew it off, but said he would take xrays if I wanted...I didn't.  I had pain again.

So, how did my appointment go?  I'll tell you...

Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower

I think this is the yummiest way to cook cauliflower.

Wash and cut up cauliflower into florets.
Put cauliflower on baking sheet and drizzle olive oil all over it.  Toss around to coat completely.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.  Bake in 350 degree oven until browned along the edges (15-20 minutes.)

Mmm.  So good.  So easy.  Don't ever steam it again!

House Keeping

When Tom found out he was not going to have a job in the new year, one of the first things I had to do was break up with my housekeeper.  She is a dear women who comes to our house every other week to tackle the big stuff (bathrooms, vacuuming, kitchen...)  I am so thankful for her.

This is how we (kids, too!) got the job done.

I would block out 3-4 hours on a Saturday morning to devote to the job of getting the house clean.  I'd put, in a big plastic bucket, all of the supplies I would need to do the job: toilet bowl cleaner, powdered cleanser, surface cleaner in a spray bottle, toothbrush, plastic yellow gloves, swiffer duster, window cleaner, razor blade.  I'd have two plastic grocery bags.  One I'd put about a dozen clean rags in and the other would be for when the rags get dirty.  I'd bring the broom and dust pan with me, too.

Note: Plastic Yellow Gloves...I can do just about any gross job if I have on Yellow Gloves.

Having all of my supplies handy, I head to the first bathroom.  I do all bathrooms first.  Get the worst job over first.  I spray the toilet bowl with cleanser and let that sit while I'll tackle the tub/shower.  I found that a razor blade will get the soap scum off of tile quickly and cleanly.  Sinks/counter tops next.  Spray with surface cleaner, wipe with dry cloth.  As clothes get soiled, I grab a clean one and continue. Sweep and mop last.

While I am in the bathrooms, I send the kids to their rooms to tackle their messes.  They must make their bed, put away stuff, dust with a swiffer (including shutters), and vacuum.

When a child finished the chore of "their room" and have a list of things for them to accomplish nest.  I wrote out nine additional chores on individual post-it notes.  Each child would choose three additional chores.  First come, first serve.

1) Collect trash from trashcans throughout the house.
2) Sweep upstairs hall and stairs.
3) Dust and vacuum mom's room.
4) Sweep guest room, back TV room, and hallway.
5) Sweep and dust piano room and dad's office.
6) Sweep dining room and kitchen.
7) Dust all shutters downstairs.
8) Vacuum living room and back TV room.
9) Dust living room, dining room, piano room.

After I finish the bathrooms, I head to the kitchen to tackle that.  Clean all surfaces and sweep. 

Lastly, I'd damp mop most of the hardwood floors.

All I can say is this is hard work!  And how I appreciate Miss Yelena more than ever!  And that I'm glad my kids got to see first hand how hard it is to keep everything clean.

Miss Yelena- The American Dream

Caroline is now ten and half years old.  When she was a week or so old, Miss Yelena came to work for us.  At that time Yelena had only been in the United States for a few of weeks.  Speaking no English she left her homeland of Kyrgyzstan and headed to the US with her eleven year old son and $200 in her pocket.  She wanted a better life. She is a Christian and was being persecuted. 

I am delighted to say that I was her very first client.  I didn't realize that she really couldn't speak English at all. Over the years she learned how to speak and read English, taking classes and studying. She developed a steady client base and built her business. She faithfully raised her son, even getting to see him play with his high school football team at  the Georgia Dome (Our family attended, too.  She was so proud and excited.) She paid her taxes, bought her own townhouse, sent her son to college and just this past year became an American Citizen.  I was fortunate enought to witness her naturalization.  What an inspiration!

In the beginning of December 2010, we found out that Tom would not have a job in the new year.  In anticipation of the end of this job, I had to let Miss Yelena go.  I was so dreading having to tell her.  Yelena is such a dear person, and I loved her.  I knew I could take care of  my own house, but I hated not to see her every couple of weeks.

So a bit before Christmas I made my plan to tell her.  Her son came with her that day.  (He's such a fine young man; helping his mom whenever he is home from college.)  I told her of our situation as soon as she arrived.  Of course, I cried.  That day, Miss Yelena ministered to me.  She told me that God certainly had a bigger plan for us, and that she wouldn't be gone for long.(She was right.)  She offered her house keeping services for free as a Christmas present.  So dear.

At that point, I decided that I would tackle cleaning my house the way Miss Yelena did.  I would set aside 3-4 hours every two weeks to get the job done, just like she would.  I also included each child, assigning each specific duties. 

Next post I'll outline how we went about our duties.  All I can say is that it's a hard job.

This Time Last Year

This time last year Tom was without a job, therefore we were technically without income because at the time I worked a teeny, tiny part time job. 

Well, all I can say is, "THANK GOODNESS WE LIVE BY A BUDGET!!" and "THANK GOODNESS WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND."

When Tom found out in December 2010 that he was going to lose his job in January 2011, the first thing we did was pull out the budget.  We could look at where all our money was going and make cuts accordingly. 

Of course the first thing I had to do was break up with my housekeeper and my hair dresser.  That was painful.  I've developed relationships with these folks over the years and was going to miss them.  (Of course, the first thing I did when Tom got his next job was to immediately call these folks and get back on their schedules!) 

Next I cancelled piano lessons for the kids.  I don't think they were to sad about that.  Caroline had received a guitar for Christmas, so we had to put off guitar lessons, too. 

Then we looked at every other category in the budget and sliced and diced.  I knew we were going to be fine.  God would provide.  (I blogged about our budget at the beginning of my blog.  Look back and see all of our categories.  It's amazing how much money we spend.)

January 21, 2011 was Tom's last day at work.  We had a celebration that day.  We thanked God for the job that he had given Tom and then looked forward to how He (God) would work in the months to come.  The girls made the cake that's shown above.

At this time, Tom had not had time to really start the job hunt.  He was so busy wrapping up the last job.  He's dedicated like that.  What a great guy.  Didn't want to leave the last guys in the lurch.  I'm sure he didn't feel too much like celebrating, but we tried to look at the good side.

Next post will be about living during the job search.  What did we do about housekeeping that we usually didn't do?  All I can say is that my kids really learned what a blessing Miss Yelena was in their lives.