Archive for April, 2008
The Source of Inspiration – Paula and RSD
April 30th, 2008 | 
Author: It actually cracks me up how many articles with inaccuracies are published on AC. Do the editors not care about false statistics, misquoted information, or just plain wrong details?
As an English teacher, I tried to emphasize the importance of research before writing. (The kids didn’t always like the research assignments, but I know it taught them necessary skills.) Research is especially important in non-fiction writing where others depend on what you’ve written for their information. When writing some articles about hypothyroidism for AC (links are in the sidebar), I made sure I included accurate information from credible sources. I didn’t want to lead someone else down the wrong road when she was searching for a solution to her problems. No matter what type of writing you do (fiction, non-fiction, corporate, articles), making sure your facts are accurate will lend credibility to you as a writer.
One of the problems young writers (especially students) have is knowing what makes a credible source for research information. The internet contains a wealth of information on any topic imaginable, but is every site a reliable source? Books are also readily available on most topics, but how do you determine which book to read and if the author is a credible and reliable source?
Stay tuned over the next couple of days for the answers!
The idea for the above series of posts actually came about as a result of Paula Abdul’s “mistake” on American Idol last night. Isn’t it weird where we get our information from?
So how did her “mistake” give me the idea? While watching the show, her mistake of critiquing a contestant’s two songs when he sang only once at that point seemed honest to me. The whole format of the show was strange, as Simon said at the end. I didn’t care for it. Of course, Paula’s mistake caused the blogosphere to light up with theories and reasons. I do have to agree that she has seemed particularly flighty or not all there this season, but now (after a little research) I understand why. On tonight’s episode, Ryan addressed the entire situation with some ambiguity but also sternness against those theories and reasons (she’s drunk, she’s on drugs, she’s a psycho, the show is scripted, etc.)
What did my research reveal? She is on medication (no surprises there as this has been rumored). But to me, the surprising part is what she is on medication for. Please understand that I really haven’t followed Paula’s career and life that closely so maybe a lot of people know this. Paula and my husband suffer from the same disease – Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
Paula has had RSD since she was 17 – she’s in her 40s now – however, she wasn’t diagnosed until 2005. She’s also being treated for arthritis.
RSD has no cure. Once you get RSD, you have it for life. This horrible pain disease can go into remission after treatment, but a patient with RSD will forever be on medication.
RSD is a chronic illness. It is debilitating. It changes your life. It alters your sleep pattern. It makes simple tasks difficult. It wears on you mentally.
Compounding the problems caused by the disease are the problems resulting from medication. Even though RSD has been medically documented by name since the Civil War, no medication is designed to treat just RSD. The closest medication at this point is Lyrica (which was really created to help fibromyalgia patients).
Instead, a person with RSD is given a cocktail of meds to take – anti-inflammatories (typically more than one kind), pain medication, neuropathy meds, anti-depressants for sleep – all in hope of controlling the pain. And then there’s physical therapy, topical medications, injections, blocks and more.
These medications can change who you are. Seriously. We’ve actually refused to continue some medications because of what they did to my husband. One of the medications completely changed his personality. He didn’t notice it, but I sure did! It was weird. No more of that med. Another made him seasick – except he wasn’t on the water. He was on solid ground. He spent over a year working on an off-shore fishing boat so I trust him when he says he’s seasick. =)
Based on personal experience and research, I believe that Paula’s mistake was truly a mistake caused by her RSD, medication, the change in format and all that goes with it. Her odd personality this season on AI could also be explained by a change to a different medication. This, of course, is just my opinion.
I hate to repeat myself but isn’t it odd where we as writers get our inspiration from at times?
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Super Savings: CVS
Transaction #1:
6 Post-its (2 each of Super Sticky, Flags, and Markers) – $2.50 (originally $2.79-$3.59)
2 Palmolive dish soap 11 oz. – Buy one get one free – $1.59
Total: $16.59
Coupons: Palmolive 25 cents; CVS $3 off $15; 3M Post-it $3 off 2 (I used 3 of these)
ECBs used: $4
Total oop: 70 cents
ECBs earned: $5
Transaction #2:
2 ALL Free and Clear detergent, 100 oz. – Buy one get one free – $6.49
1 Snickers king size – $1.49
1 Diet Coke, 20 oz. – $1.49
Total: $9.47
ECBs used: $4, $4.99
Total oop: 54 cents
ECBs earned: none
Total amount saved: $36.86 (That means with no coupons and no ECBs, I would’ve paid $38.10.)
Couple of notes about my transactions: I had a 2nd transaction planned with Bounty paper towels and deodorant. However once I got in the store and checked out the paper towels, I really wasn’t interested. From previous deals we have a couple of months of deodorant so the transaction really wasn’t necessary.
I used to use ALL detergent a lot until I switched to Arm & Hammer Essentials (a “green” detergent of baking soda and plant extracts). When I realized the detergent on sale for B1G1 was the 100 oz. bottle, I decided to use up some ECBs. If I had taken the time to go back out to the car, I probably had a coupon or two for ALL that I could’ve used. (The same container of detergent was on sale in K-Mart for $4.99. Mine were $3.24 each but I got them for free!) To keep my out of pocket lower, I added in the Snickers bar and the Diet Coke for my husband.
For more great ideas for deals, visit Money Saving Mom and Centsible Sawyer.
Email, 3 a.m., and Kittens
A couple of things have happened around here in recent days. First, I was without email for 3 days. Our ISP attempted a server upgrade, but it failed royally. Today they finally decided to revert back to the old servers so we could access our email. Do you know how lost I felt without email?
Then at 3 a.m. this morning, we woke up to the pitiful cry of a kitten. Little Girl Cat, a young female that adopted us, decided to have her litter behind our bed (the bed sits diagonally in a corner). As a first-time mother, the first kitten terrified her, so I played mommy for about a half hour until Little Girl Cat had her 2nd kitten and started taking care of it. Thankfully, she accepted the first kitten without a problem after that.
Considering all the excitement, we couldn’t go back to sleep so I watched over the back of our headboard waiting to see how many she’d have. I also had to monitor the other curious furry, four-footed visitors that kept attempting to get under the bed to see what was going on. Two hours later, we were done with a total of 4 kittens. Three orange/white and one (adorable) black/orange/white. (I’ve already been told I’m not allowed to keep it….Sigh. I have a huge soft spot for black cats.)
Of course, I had a nice big box setup for Little Girl Cat and her babies, but the box was too big to fit behind the bed. After much thinking, I figured out the laundry basket would fit behind the bed, so the laundry is now in the box. Oh well!
Super Savings: CVS and Kmart
Transaction #1:
4 Diet Coke @ 99 cents each
I tried paying with $3.99 ECB but my total was a penny short. So I added a Heath bar for 50 cents.
ECBs used: $3.99
OOP: 49 cents
ECBs earned: none
Transaction #2
1 Speed Stick 24/7 @ $3.99
1 bag Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups @ $3.49
1 bag Hershey’s Miniatures @ Buy 1 Get 1 Free
Total: $7.48
ECBs used: $4.99
OOP: $2.59
ECBs earned: $3.99
Transaction #3
1 Alavert Allergy Med, 18 ct. bonus pack, @ $6.99
1 Softsoap Spa @ $4.99
1 Herbal Essence shampoo @ $4.29
1 Herbal Essence shampoo @ Buy 1 Get 1 Free
Total: $16.27
Coupons used: 75 cents Softsoap Spa; $2 Alavert; $3 off 2 Herbal Essence products; $1 CVS (shows on my receipt but I don’t remember what it was for!!!)
ECBs used: $3.99
OOP: $6.21
ECBs earned: $4.99 Softsoap; $4 Alavert
(I had more ECBs that I could have used to lower my OOP, but I wanted to make sure the Alavert deal was working and didn’t want to lose those ECBs if it wasn’t.)
Transaction #4
1 Hershey’s Kisses Special Dark @ $4.29
1 Hershey’s Kisses Peanut Butter (Delicious!!!!) @ Buy 1 Get 1 Free
1 Alavert Allergy Med, 18 ct. bonus pack, @ $6.99
1 Hershey’s bar (filler)
Total: $10.98
Coupons: $1 CVS Hershey’s Kisses; $2 Alavert
ECBs used: $7.98
OOP: 16 cents
ECBs earned: $4 Alavert
Approx Total Cost of Products: $62; Saved $53.35; Paid $9.45; ECBs left $12.99
On a different note, I found a great deal in Kmart’s clearance aisle. Our new home will have a wood-burning fireplace, and we have none of the tools for tending a fireplace. In Kmart I spotted a log holder – you know the things that you sit on the hearth to hold the logs until you need them? This one was cool because it had a removable carrier to transport the logs in. The clearance price was $6. I figured even if it was “cheaply” made, it was worth $6 until we found something better. When checking out, the cost was $3!!! The original price was $29.99. And as an added bonus, the holder is made of metal and the log carrier part is leather-ish so I know it will last for years!!! All for $3 – woo-hoo!!!!!
Dilemma: To Pack or Not To Pack
In a couple of weeks, we’re going to be moving into a new home. (Yippee!!!!) But I have a dilemma…
Our new home will be very close to our current home. Close enough that the dirt pile from the new site is sitting in the old backyard. I’m a horrible judge at distances, but I’m going to say that from front door to front door is about 300 feet.
Now, here’s the dilemma – Do I pack most things in boxes as if we’re moving 300 miles instead of 300 feet? Anyone have experience with this?
I’ve thought about using laundry baskets to move most things. For example, when the new home is ready, unload the kitchen cupboards into the laundry baskets, carry them over, unload them in the new pantry. I like that idea. We can also carry the dresser drawers this way.
But what about things like books? (I have lots of books.) And things that are on pieces of furniture like my desk or the china cabinet or tops of dressers? Do I pack those things?
I want to be efficient as possible so we can move in quickly. I really don’t want to spend a week trudging back and forth between the two places.
I’m the type of person who would rather stay up for 24 hours straight and get the entire move done with rather than stop halfway through to sleep knowing I’m waking up the next day to the same mess. And, yes, during previous moves I have been known to stay up until the early morning hours so everything -the entire house – is unpacked and put away.
Please offer any advice that will help save us time!