I thought the President had a good State Of The Union address tonight. He should have been a little more out spoken in a couple of areas. However, he was very forceful in some areas that involves our security and the need to finish the job in the mid east despite some in DC wanting to retreat. It was good to hear Cindy Sheehan was escorted out in handcuffs. I dont understand how she could have gotten in there anyway. I listen to some of her speech on C-Span. She sounded as if someone has put sand in her vaseline. What a waste of time.

Judge Alito has been confirmed, now the likes of Kennedy, Reid and Polosi can crawl back under their rocks. The vote was 58 yes and 42 no. Thanks to those democrats that saw fit to confirm this man. My two(2) state senators did not see fit to vote for him but that was to be expected since they seem to be Kennedized.

I feel much better tonight since Damien Williams turned Florida down and committed to the Razorbacks. He along with Mitch Mustain were the most sought after players in the country. If they do at Arkansas what they accomplished at Springdale, we should see a big change at Fayetteville in the next couple of years. Their coach at Springdale is now a coach for the hogs. The decision Damien made today eased the pain of the loss yesterday in Kentucky.

I am really disapointed that the razorbacks let Kentucky come back and win that game yesterday. Arkansas has just a good team as Ky. but the hogs just dont have the killer instinct. It seems to me they let down in the second half on defense and did a poor job of keeping Ky from scoring. Oh well, the sun came up today but maybe they can get things going our way.

Made another visit to the Med Center today for Mom. Nothing new to report at this time except some adjustments in medication. She has a 4 member team that takes care of her and will be with her during the process. Met today with the nurse and social worker who both are real personable as well as the Doctor and advanced nurse. They decided to wait and see what occurs next Friday at the pain management Doctor in regard to any possible treatment. It was suggested today that we both be thinking about having powers of attorney to handle or make decisions in our future to make medical decisions for us. Maybe we are older than we think we are by suggesting that. We are not worried about that but i feel they want to have all bases covered in cases of emergencies. I read your comments about my keeping on blogging. Will continue if i can think of other thing to share with you all. Maybe i can expand it further than daily activities. My problem is i dont know how to insert anything except what i type. Maybe i can get some help with that.

Well, i started the walking process again today. I can tell already it will take me a few days to get back to where i used to be. Started with 1.9 miles but will get it back to 3 miles but on a gradual basis. I have been thinking about this blogging process and have about decided that since dont have words of wisdom to share with you and only about our aches and pains, that i will probably stop doing it. I do enjoy reading other blogs that have a lot more to offer so i will keep reading yours. The latest info on our Minister search is we hired Greg Clark from Broken Arrow OK yesterday. He will join us on March 5th.

Went to my heart Dr. yesterday for my checkup. Everything seemed ok per him except for my bad cholesterol, it is 86 which is good but he insist that i get it down to 70. Wow, i will have give up more of the good stuff and try to meet his goal by my next visit. He could not give me an answer to my problem of not being able to relax. Just get into a exercise routine so i suppose i'll get back into the walking routine. I told him that i'm not sure i can get back to the mile in 13 minutes but i'll give it a shot. The good news is the Transfer board made a blunder in Steve's case and readily admitted they goofed. I will attend their Board Meeting on Thursday just to talk to them on getting another 5 and 0 vote. I am getting disgusted with our governor who has time to run all over the country and now Iraq rather staying home and taking care of business. I told you guys up front im very opinionated and say things that i should keep to myself so that is another project i will be working on. Mom seems to be easing up some from the pain in her arms. We have an appointment with the pain management Dr in a couple of weeks. this is the one that can give injections into the spine so maybe surgery can be prevented. Take care till we meet again.

The Razorbacks was able to win a road game today at Auburn. At times we look pretty good and other times we play poorly. Just maybe we can start playing like we are capable of playing. It would be good if we could win at Kentucky next week. They seem to be having a down year this season. You never know in SEC who will come out on top.

We went to the orthopedic Dr this afternoon to have him determine what route we should take with the torn rotator cuff. Th Dr said he would prefer to avoid surgery if other measures could solve the problem. Today he suggested cortisone shots in each shoulder. His other suggestion was some pain management in the neck to eliminate pain in the lower arms that is probably caused from arthritas and some problems with degenerative conditions that is associated with age. He stated that her age is a factor that doing the surgery would be very hard on her. The other pain management will have to be done by a different specialist. She can have cortisone shots about every 4 months if they seem to be working on the shoulders. Incidently, the rotator cuff damage is in both shoulders. Please overlook my spelling on some of these medical terms . I tend to spell like the Dr writes.

Called the orthopedic doctor today to see if they might have some cancellations and could see Mom before the 31st. It happened they had one today and could see her at 2:oopm. Will take all the film etc and hopefully they can determine what needs to be done. Keep us in mind while we are going through this situation as well as Steves ordeal. Have been waiting on a phone call from the Board to see what the problem is and hopefull we can get that corrected.

I cannot understand how the Razorbacks could mess around and lose that game to Alabama. Come on coach and develope a killer instinct in the team. You have the talent there so start playing like they are capable of.

We went through the process of another visit to the imaging center for the last mri and then to the neurologist office with all the evidence. After 9 doctors, 6 visits for film and all the waiting for results we finally got an opinion on what is causing all the pain in her arms and neck. The neurologist said the film shows a torn rotator cup in her left shoulder. He did not look at the film for the right shoulder but indicated the pain could be a result of the left shoulder damage. He reccommended a orthopedic doctor today and the nurse made us an appointment for the 31st of Jan. We are hoping now that this doctor specializes in work on the left shoulder so we dont have to look for a specialist based on which one is involved. It seems now that doctors have a very specific area of the body to work on which requires many trips to and from offices that really like the insurance money available. I recall years ago when i worked for Nabisco they had two vice presidents in charge of fig newtons. One for the bagged and one for the boxed. We are truly living in a specialized society. One last tidbit, we will wait and make judgement on Mitch Mustain and his future at Arkansas.

Went back to the imaging center today to see if mom could stand the pain long enough to get the film done on the shoulders. She was able to get the left shoulder done but could not last long enough to get the right one done. Will go again tomorrow at 9:00 am to complete the MRI's finished and to the neurologist at 1:15 with the film. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe we can find out something that will be a solution to this long ordeal. We both are about to the end of our rope and really in need of a solution to the root cause of her pain.

I did not think the Steelers would get past the colts. I am glad they did even though i had some hope for coach Dungy. I also like Denver but i will be pulling for the Steelers to win out. Needless to say i do not care for the Mannings so this was a good win for me. I also want the Bus to go out with style if this is last year to play. He has truly been an asset to the Steeler organization.

My Razorbacks did me proud today by winning big over Vandy. They came out and played like they are capable of playing. Maybe we can get the season going in the right direction. It was good to see Kentucky get beat for the third time. Tubby had better watch out. Watching Denver and New England in the play offs. Dont really care this year who plays in the Super Bowl. Will be for Dungy to win if they make it even though i cant stand the Mannings.


























































































m

Well, yesterday did not get done what we had hoped for. Mom was in so much pain they could not do the MRI. We have rescheduled that until Monday and cancelled the surgery on Friday. Went and had the nerve testing done today, will do the MRI Monday and then to the neurologist on Tuesday. I am really disapointed with my Razorbacks and the loss to LSU. Will see what happens on Saturday with Vandy, if we lose that one we might as well give up.

Great to have a good rain last night. Maybe my rain dance was just what we needed. Don't know if i will ever get my back straightened out from doing the jig. Took mom to Baptist Hosp. today for pre-op surgery on Friday. Will be there at 6:00am on Friday. This is a special note to my sweet granddaughter Chloe. Yes Chloe there are lots of hogs in Arkansas but they are not scary. We tend to be gentle and do all we can not to hurt anyone, we just want them to know that this is Razorback country and want respect from all who enters this state and we always expect to win. Tomorrow, Tigers will be coming into the state and we want them to know that our hogs take no prisoners.

We are starting off the new week really not feeling up to par. I suppose between the shingles and the medication being used leaves everything tasteless and blah. Went out for a short time on Sunday to worship. I presented the new yearly budget at church or i probably would have stayed home. Hopefully this week we can find out something about mom's pain and cause. New MRI's on Wednesday, Nerve testing on Thursday and back to the neurologist armed with the film and results from the nervecenter. Really disapointed Saturday that my razorbacks lost to Miss. State. Sure hope this is not like last year when we lost nearly all of our road games. Also tired of the Mitch Mustain situation. If he wants to go elsewhere, goodbye and good luck. Will be doing rain dances the next few days in hopes of bringing in some rain. Maybe rain wouold give us a new outlook on life and clear the fog from our minds.

Wellthe trip to the neurologist yesterday did not turn out as well as we had hoped for. The Dr. looked at the mri film and decided we needed more mri work done to include the shoulder area where he suspects a problem may be. Then after that on next Wednesday, we go to St Vincent hospital on Thursday for nerve testing and then back to the neurologist with the new mri film. On Friday mom is scheduled for hernia surgery at Baptist Springhill. Next week, we will contribute a lot to these Doctors retirement fund. Just kidding, i am thankful that we have as good a medical program and good Doctors as we have in our area.
Made the trip to Rogers and Bentonville yesterday and spent Friday at the Rogers high school editing their food program for students. Wow, what a school complex. This is one of the premier schools in the south. North west Arkansas is i suppose one of the fastest areas being developed in the US. With the new airport, Wal-Mart and other nationwide businesses moving into that area, this will someday be a showcase for this poor backward state that some people think it is. Incidently, its predominantly Republican. I just threw that in at no extra cost. Keep us in your prayers.







after that

Things have been busy the past few days. Another trip to the Doc. yesterday for another round of steroids. ( I hope these do not mess up my athletic career) While there the Doc looked at my swollen eye and rash on forehead and determined it was shingles. Am on some medicine that requires a home loan to pay for it. So my new years resolution is to get rid of the shingles also known as herpes. Things are slowly getting back to normal after the holidays. It was great to have everyone here for a few days. I was sure supprised to get a laptop for christmas. It has started me on my blogging career. Who knows what might happen in the future, it may lead me down paths not dreamed of.
Tomorrow, Mom goes to the neurologist to see if they can determine the cause of her severe pain in shoulders and arms. Please remember this visit and pray they can determine the root cause and get it corrected. I will journey to Rogers tomorrow afternoon and do a school check on Friday to see what they are feeding school kids for breakfast and lunch through the free lunch program funded by the USDA.
Sometimes i feel like the two drunks crawling down the railroad track. One said i believe this is the steepest stair way i have ever been up. The second replied that is not whats bothering me. Its these low handrails.
















9

Well, the holidays have passed and now back to the process of everyday living. I am 78 years old and have been around the block a few times. This blogging situation is very intresting from the stand point of so many experts out there in computer land. I will really be on the outside looking in to see if i can grasp some of the expertise that seems to be very abundant. I enjoy seeing how other bloggers deal with different situations. I am kinda oppinionated on certain subjects like politics and everyday living so i will try to keep things in the proper prespective. We can enjoy what we are doing by having some humor about us as we go along.