When I first got the self-employment bug, I knew I wanted to do something online, but I wasn’t sure what. I was all over the place. I tried direct sales, but I’m just no good at that. I set up a website selling home decor and various other items, but that went nowhere. I was thinking about trying my hand at selling unique baby gifts when I finally realized that writing was what I should be doing.

I started out writing for an entertainment blog and ghostwriting web content, but I planned to eventually get into writing books. That ended up being put on hold, however, because of the downward spiral I found myself in starting when Hubby got sick. In fact, I almost completely forgot about it until last week.

I’m on Alice Seba’s mailing list, and I got an email stating that she was giving away her Sweetie courses for the asking. I nearly fainted, but was disappointed when I realized that I had missed the deadline. Fortunately she ended up extending it, and I got my hands on a free copy of Information Product Sweetie.

I printed out the guide and read it over at the hospital last night, and it’s full of useful information. I’m hoping that once I get all my medical issues straightened out and get back on track with my regular work, I can add an ebook to my repertoire. A good passive income stream would be very nice. Thanks Alice!

She’s no longer giving out course freebies, but it can’t hurt to watch her blog, because she often gives stuff away. Maybe she’ll decide to do this again sometime!

My back and tailbone have been giving me trouble lately, and I think sitting in this awful chair so much is what’s doing it. But when they start to hurt, I just remind myself that it could be worse.

Every job I’ve had outside the home has required me to be on my feet pretty much constantly. And most of them have had me on concrete or some other type of hard flooring, which makes things infinitely worse. Not only did that make the part of my foot that was injured when I was in high school flare up, it also made the bottoms of both feet hurt very badly.

My feet got in really bad shape when I was working at a factory. Pretty much the whole time I worked there, I had this strange problem with my feet being really painful and tender when I first got out of bed. Sometimes I would barely be able to walk for a half hour, then the pain would gradually subside. But any time I got up from sitting or laying down, they would hurt. A lady I worked with told me that she had a similar problem, and the doctor had diagnosed her with Plantar Fasciitis.

I talked to my doctor at the time about it, and she just gave me some medication to treat depression (which I was having a bout of at the time) and pain. It helped a little, but not that much. I finally just learned to live with it.

I quit having such trouble with my feet when I quit that job. I had two jobs that kept me on my feet all the time after that, and while my feet would hurt after a hard day’s work, it was nothing like it had been at the factory. It had to have been the floors, and possibly the fact that I had to wear steel-toed boots.

Now I don’t have to be on my feet much at all. I could use more exercise, but at least I don’t have to deal with constant foot pain. I know from experience that when your feet hurt, it adversely affects your whole attitude.

Pumpkin is a huge fan of bacon. If I would let her, she would eat it for breakfast, lunch and supper. Every time I fix it, no matter how many pieces I give her, she wants more.

I’ve told her a few times that I was going to get her a bacon of the month club membership for Christmas. Little did I know that such a thing really does exist! I don’t think I’ll be getting her one, because the grease hurts her stomach if she eats much of it, but it would be a great gift for most bacon lovers.

Must make sure she and Hubby (who is a bacon lover too) do not find out about this. Shh, don’t tell them!

As much as I hate the changing of the weather to nice and warm to cold and, eventually, snowy, there’s no denying that fall in the mountains is beautiful. I need to get out and enjoy it while I can, before the leaves all fall off. They’re at their peak right about now, I think.

There is something about the crisp fall air and the bright colors that clears the mind and calms the spirit. I’ve got to quit hating on fall and start savoring the beauty that precedes the dreaded season that starts with W. That’s not to say if someone offered to pay for one of those fancy Outer Banks rentals for me I wouldn’t jump at it, but there’s plenty to enjoy right in my own backyard right now.

I’m going to try to get out and take some fall photos today or tomorrow, before we get the rain we’re supposed to be getting later this week. If I do, I’ll be sure to share them.

Surprise, surprise, Hubby and I are once again broke. Thank goodness his payday is coming up on Friday, and I’ll be getting a mini-payday then too.

I’m going to have to stretch this one as far as possible. We definitely need to pay the electric, phone and cell phone bills, as well as the auto insurance. His truck payment is also past due, but it will have to wait until I get my big payday, after the beginning of the month.

At least I should get paid fairly well next month, if I can get all the work that I have due this month finished on time. I know I’ve been saying that for months now, but I’m trying to remain optimistic. I’m fighting the constant tiredness and inability to concentrate with all I’ve got, and although it often gets the best of me, I have to keep on keeping on. I can’t let myself believe that it’s winning, or I’ll lose all hope. And hope is what keeps me going.

I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of other possible causes of my chronic sleepiness. I haven’t come up with many ideas, but I have thought of some possible solutions.

The one theory I have come up with, and I think it’s something I should mention to my doctor if I can ever remember to, is that it’s connected with mono. I had mono when I was 16, and it made me horrifically tired and weak. I slept all night, got up and went to school (thanks to my then-doctor who refused to write me out), came home, slept a couple of hours, did my homework, and went to bed. Washing my hair made my arms tired and sore, and I couldn’t do anything that was the least bit physically demanding. I was that way for several weeks before I got better. There were times off and on since then when I would get tired more easily than usual, and I often attributed them to that since it stays in your system. I wonder if this could be related?

Now, on to the solutions. The doctor mentioned that ADD meds often make adults more energetic and cause weight loss. Maybe if she decides that I have ADD, she will put me on them and all will be well. Or maybe some weight loss pills would give me an energy boost. I would try something like Orovo and find out for myself, but I don’t have the money to buy anything over the counter right now. So if nothing else, maybe I’ll talk to her about giving me a prescription for something (which my insurance will cover). I have no doubt that it would be easy for her to justify that, because I’m not at a very healthy weight.

I’m not a doctor, so maybe I’m way off-base here. I’m just so desperate to find out what’s going on and fix it. But I guess I’ve just gotta be patient.

Well, I had my sleep study last night. It went much better than I anticipated, and although the tech that was there couldn’t really tell me anything, she said something that gave me hope that there was no apnea present. Still keeping my fingers crossed, though.

She and another lady who was in respiratory therapy but training to do sleep studies came in around 9:30 to hook me up to all those wires. There were 22 of them total! I told them that the whole getup would make a great Halloween costume. They laughed, but said that some people actually brought in a Nikon D90 or other fancy, expensive camera and had them take a picture with all that stuff on them. I considered asking them to snap one of me with my cell phone, but it’s not really something I felt inclined to capture for posterity.

I slept very well considering all those wires and being in a strange place. I only woke up 3 or 4 times, and I went right back to sleep. Then early this morning the tech came over the speaker and asked me to turn over on my back and try to sleep that way for a while. I obliged, but I didn’t do much sleeping after that. I just can’t sleep on my back. But at least I dozed a little, so hopefully that gave them the information they needed.

I got home a little before 7:00 this morning, and I put Pumpkin on the bus and turned on the computer. I planned on going ahead and getting to work after taking a shower to get all that sticky gunk out of my hair and off of my body, but I didn’t even make it to the shower. I ended up laying down, and I didn’t get back up until after 10:00. And I still feel like I didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours last night.

At least I’m a step closer now to finding out what’s keeping me tired all the time. Even if the sleep study reveals nothing out of the ordinary, we’ve ruled something out. And I’m going to make sure my doctor does everything she can to get it figured out. I’ve had enough of being too tired to get my work done and enjoy life.

Tomorrow night is the big night. No, I’m not being whisked off to the Caribbean for the honeymoon I never had. I wish. But I’m finally going in for my sleep study.

I know it’s no biggie, but I’m dreading it. I have a hard enough time sleeping in a strange place, especially without Hubby and Pumpkin nearby. Well, maybe not so much lately since I’m dead tired most of the time, but I doubt it will be as easy as sleeping in my own bed. Especially seeing how they’ll have me all wired up like some sort of sci-fi experiment. Not my idea of a good time.

But worse than all that is the idea of having to use one of those dreaded CPAP machines. I know, not a big deal either, but I really hope it doesn’t come down to that. If it does, we’ll definitely have to rearrange the bedroom. The way it is now, there is no room on either side of the bed for a table to hold it. I’ve actually been wanting to rearrange for some time, I just can’t come up with a feasible way to do it. But I guess necessity is the mother of invention, huh?

And last but not least, I hate the thoughts of having to wear such a contraption. It would probably interfere with both my and Hubby’s sleep, as well as my movement during the night. And it certainly won’t be very attractive. I guess I can kiss those late-night snuggles goodbye.

But I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. Maybe, hopefully, they’ll determine that I don’t have apnea and it’s something else that’s causing me to stay so tired all the time. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.

I’ve been struggling with finding ways to feed Hubby and Pumpkin without upsetting their delicate stomachs. Pumpkin has had mysterious stomach problems for about a year now. Hubby’s stomach started giving him serious trouble about a year and a half ago. He was diagnosed with acid reflux and gall bladder disease, and had the gall bladder removed. Anyway, both of them have trouble with anything that contains a lot of grease or fat. But they’re such picky eaters, it’s hard to find anything that will agree with both their stomachs and their tastes.

That’s why I was so ecstatic when I was asked to do a review of a George Foreman grill on my blog. Yes, that’s right, a George Foreman Grill! I’ve wanted one for years now, but never got around to getting one when I had the money. Lots of people have told me how great they are, how well they get the grease out and make the food so much healthier and it still tastes great, and now I finally get to find out firsthand. Awesome!

Not only will I be posting about how the grill works and how the food turns out, I’ll be documenting the whole thing on video. So if you’ve ever considered a Foreman grill but haven’t experienced the joys of owning one, stay tuned.

I haven’t been to a Christmas party in years. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever been to one that wasn’t just family. Do people even have them any more?

The closest thing I’ve had in my adult life was last year. Hubby invited one of our friends, his girlfriend, and his immediate family over for dinner on Christmas Eve. We ate, drank a couple of beers, and talked for a while. But they only stayed about an hour or so, so I don’t guess that counts.

I’m far from a social butterfly, but I wouldn’t mind having an actual Christmas party this year. You know, invite a bunch of people over, have a potluck dinner, listen to some holiday tunes, and exchange egg nog recipes. I’ve got a while to think and plan. Maybe it will happen.