Disneyland with Chris and Connie!!

We went to Disneyland with Chris and Connie on December 14th.  We had so much fun.  Suprisingly my hip did pretty well.  It only seems to really bug me when I sit for long periods of time or if I stand in one place.  We had fun and can't wait until we get to go again!!  Chris and Karson got new beanie/hats since it was so cold.  I bought some mickey gloves that go nicely with my mickey scarf.  We also had a scavenger hunt me and Karson were doing for the muppets.  The whole thing started when Marcel and Roni told us about the Muppet experience online.  We went online and signed up.  A few days later they emailed us with a link.  When we went to the link it told us all about a time machine and time traveling that the muppets were doing.  Well it turns out the muppets were lost in time and we had to help get them back.  The first part was done online-it was really hard! After we were done with that they sent us what we needed to do at d-land.  The reward?  Knowing we got the muppets back into our time....and a cool map of what California Adventure is going to look like with all the changes they are planning.  They are adding a light show where the lagoon is, building The Little Mermaid ride, making a new CARS land and redoing the whole entrance to the park.  Everything is to be completed by 2012.  I can't wait to ride the little mermaid ride with sofia and Grase!!!!

We had a great time and of course can't wait to go again!  Thanks Chris and Connie!!!!  Enjoy the pictures!

          

Updates

It has been awhile since i have written any posts. We have been really busy. We have gone to two baby showers for Grase. We helped alot for the first one. The second one was the family shower. Unfortunately we couldn't help as much because I was exhausted from moving.
We have settled in our new house. One complication is the tile floors really make my pain worse. I did not expect that! We still have quite a few boxes to unpack but all the important stuff in unpacked.
My hip has been killing me since we moved into our new house. I went to the Doctor again for my hips and they told me that the other Doctor had diagnosed me with Hip Bursitis. Most of my pain is in the pelvic area. Basically I am to avoid too much activity but try to do water arobics to get rid of it. I just got a stronger pill than vicatin and I guess whats next is steroids or needling and releasing the liquid. So I have been mostly in pain for a week or so now. At work there are stairs, no elevator, so this only makes my problem worse. Also I sit most of the day at work. The Doctor I saw said I would probably need hip replacement when I am 55 if I am starting with these problems at 29. Lovely. I finally got approval for an MRI which should give them a better picture of what is going on. My theory is adhesions (scar tissue) is the cause of ALL my pain. We will see what the results are. I am a little scared of the MRI because I heard you have to stay still for 45 minutes in a tunnel like machine.
This weekend we have yet another gathering to attend. Then Chris and Connie are visiting and we are suppose to go to D-land on Sunday. I might end up in a wheel chair though!!!
Hopefully I can get some pictures when we go to D-land.
I am on so many meds right now it is not even funny.
Karson fixed up our hot tub so we went in it for the first time and it was sooooo GREAT! It is like bieng pain free in the water. Well until next time......
Dez

Busy Day

Well, it did not start off busy. We slept in due to me getting home at 2:30 am from Rosemead. Then I got up and started reading a book, and Desirae started going thru boxes. We broke down the boxes and put them outside and Desirae started Swiffering the house. (That brand has created a new word) We really wanted to go see a movie because we have not gone out together to see one in a long time, but we had stuff to do. I had somewhere to be at 3:00 pm and daylight was burning unusually fast. We were running out of clean cloths and needed to pick up the washer and dryer that our friends the Cruz's gave us. The appliances were in Redlands. So I borrowed Jimmy's truck, picked up my dad and drove out there. Got back, dropped them off, gave Jimmy his truck back, and dropped off my dad. I think it was about 5:30-6:00 pm by this time. I went to go take care of that "other appointment" I had at 3:00 pm and then had to go to Home depot to get a dryer vent. I barely made it, they were closing as I got there. They close at 7:00 pm on Sundays. I went home, and by this time Desirae already did two loads of wash and was waiting to dry them. So I installed the dryer vent. Then just when I think I am done, I find that the plug on the dryer does not match the one on the wall. :( At this point it is 7:23 pm and Home depot just closed at 7:00 pm. I went online to find that Lowe's is open till 8:00 pm, so I rushed down there. I got ditched by one employee that did not know anything about electrical and then another got me to finally purchased a new outlet for the wall. By the time I was done installing it and turned the power back on it was 9:30 pm. We ate Panda express and watched Stargate: Atlantis. Then we went to bed. Thank you for reading this boring blog ;)
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New Address

Call us for our new address if you don't know it yet.

We don't have a home phone anymore. If you need to reach us please call us on our cell phones.

Update

We went to see WICKED this past Friday at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. We got out there early so we went to have an early dinner at Canter's. The tour was before the show so we got to learn some cool stuff about the production. The show started at 8pm and our seats were perfect. The show was great!! It was even greater because we knew some of the secrets of the show because of the tour we had. I thought it was great and very funny too! I wish I could sing as well as they do!!
On Saturday we had our dedication for our new Kingdom Hall. The first hour they gave a history of Moreno Valley with some interviews, history on the planning and finaly a video of the build. The second hour a brother from Bethel gave the dedication talk. It was very good and very encouraging. He mentioned some things I have never heard before. The whole thing was so encouraging. It made me sad I was not part of the building of the hall but we did do security so I did help a little. I think it was awesome because I learned more about the history of Moreno Valley and I heard a very good dedication talk. There are not many who can say they had a part in building a whole new KH!! Karson was born in Sunnymead, which is what it was called before it became Moreno Valley. The interesting thing is since there were no hospitals in town yet there probably is only a handful of people who were born in Sunnymead. Karson is special...he was born at home. I think it is neat to be part of a city that has seen so much growth. There has been 4 KH builds in Moreno Valley. Karson has lived through 3 of them. That is so neat to me. It might be the norm out here but in L.A. KH builds are scarse...there are mostly just remodeling going on.
Sunday we went to meeting and had a suprise-Brother Frias gave the talk and he brought his family. I went to pioneer school with Brother Frias and my brother was close to that family. It was nice to see them! The rest of the day we just did nothing. We packed a few boxes...but we really are putting it off because we dread it. I hate moving. At least this time we are getting a year lease.
FYI-our congergation is having a talent show/gathering on Dec. 20th. I am brainstorming what to do because I have so many talents to display...ha ha!
Next Saturday is Grase's shower!!!!! There is only 2 months left before the arrival of the new Caringella girl-SOFIA.

Dez

Picture of Caringella/King Family

Bad news....but good weekend

We recieved bad news on Friday. We were given notice that we have to move out of our house by Dec. 1st. Our landlord has to move back into her house so we have to leave. One month is not much time to find a house or pack. We are trying to house hunt and I dread the packing. Thanksgiving falls at the end of the month so at least we will have four days to get our move done. We were suppose to go to San Diego that weekend but we just moved our visit later in the year. It started off the weekend bad but we had a great weekend. On Saturday we hosted an Anniversary dinner for my parents and the whole family came, as well as Jim, Cheri, Keri, Jimmy and Kelly. We had a nice turkey dinner. Cheri made her awesome mashed potatoes and Kelly made homemade stuffing. All the food was great. My parents really enjoyed it. They loved the gift we gave them. We had done a photo shoot with all the family (besides my mom and dad) at one of our childhood parks. We made my mom cry so we were really happy. The pictures came out great and I will post some later. Sunday we just relaxed and looked online for houses. We are not looking forward to the moving part because it seems like we move every 6 months!!! We wanted to stay at this house but we don't have a choice now. This coming weekend we have our one day assembly and I am looking forward to that.

Thats all for now.
Dez

Hip pain....pain and more pain

There has been a new development in my ongoing pain. I now have extreme hip pain. This hip pain started about two weeks ago and just got worse and worse. It hurts the worst after lying down for long periods of time. It hurts at the end of the day or if I walk alot and if I go up stairs. Karson took me to urgent care on Friday 10/24 because I woke up with extreme pain. The pain is in my hips but also radiates through the scar tissue pain. I know it is all related but the Doctors have to check my hips to rule out any problems with the bones first. I was referred to physical medicine who will look at my hip x-rays and probably order me an MRI...how fun. I have a CT referral but they have not called me for that either. I am convinced it is all related to my surgery. I am sure my growing cyst is causing problems as well. I feel bloated and crampy and I keep gaining weight. I feel miserable and I feel depressed and all I want to do when I am in pain is eat. I don't know why my body sends me those signals. Pain equals the urge to eat bad. I have another trigger point injection appointment tomorrow. I think the scar tissue is deep and the trigger point is not helping much...but I have to keep trying. I feel completly exhausted and I want to sleep all day. At work I try not to go up and down the stairs but I really can't avoid it. Stupid victorian house!!! If only we had an elevator!! Karson has the flu right now so we are both miserable. I hate this. I felt at least a little better while I was doing physical therapy. Now all this added pain has made me feel like I am back at square one. They bounce me from Doctor to Doctor and all the while I have to pay the co-pays and still no solutions. So tired of the pain. It is not comforting that EVERYONE i see says "you're to young to be having these problems"... Thanks that really helps me!!! It is nearing the one year mark for my surgery and I just feel like nothing is getting better. URGH!!! Depressing blog...I know.

Dez

NAMI Walk 2008

Thanks to my family and Keri for coming out to the NAMI walk on October 25th. We raised $345.00!!! We had fun and had a good walk. I won somthing in the raffle too!! A free facial at a spa in Hemet!! We had so much fun. I hope more can join us next year.

Disneyland Pictures-King Family Trip 10/12/08

Shake the Disease

Im not going down on my knees
begging you to adore me
Cant you see its misery
and torture for me
When Im misunderstood
Try as hard as you can
Ive tried as hard as I could
To make you see
how important it is for me

Here is a plea
From my heart to you
Nobody knows me
As well as you do
You know how hard it is for me
To shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue
In situations like these

Understand me

Some people have to be
Permanently together
Lovers devoted to
Each other forever
Now Ive got things to do
And Ive said before
that I know you have too
When Im not there
In spirit Ill be there

Here is a plea
From my heart to you
Nobody knows me
As well as you do
You know how hard it is for me
To shake the disease
That takes hold of my tongue
In situations like these

Understand me

-Depeche Mode

WICKED!!!!

GUESS WHAT!!!! WE ARE GOING TO SEE WICKED!!!

My sister in law, Keri, bought us tickets for our anniversary (yes it is still in Febuary). I am sooooo excited. I love Wicked and have for years even before it came to L.A. It all started one evening when Marcel and Veronica thought I would like to hear the soundtrack. I fell in Love and bought the soundtrack the next day. That was in 2005. Finally we get to go see it. Not only that but she bought us a behind the curtain tour for before the show! We are going November 14th and I just can't wait.

WICKED!!!!!!

A very excited Dez

Fun and full Weekend

We had a full, fun Weekend. We went down to Rosemead for the whole weekend. We got to help with painting the soon to arrive baby Caringella's room. The color is very nice-misty lawn. It is kind of like a light mint green. The room will be animal theme...like noah's ark kind of. We painted and painted and......got paint all over ourselves-some more than others!! Grase took pictures so hopefully those pics will be up on her blog soon. We made a bunch of tissue paper flowers for the baby shower too! We had such a good time and can't wait to go back and help some more. The big baby shower is November 22nd so we have a little more than a month to go. Another highlight is that we got to go to Chris and Connie's newly remodled hall for meeting (well I did I forgot to grab Karson's suit when we left-sorry Karson). It was very nice. I grew up in Rosemead and their hall (Monterey Park) was one we visited off and on. It looked totally different!! They worked hard and it really looked good!! It is really small but they had to work with what they had since there is no room anywhere to try and build a new hall. We really are spoiled since we got a whole new Kingdom hall. There are a lot of places where new halls are just not possible. The baby was kicking during the watchtower but when I put my hand on Grace's belly she stopped!! :( One of these times I will feel her kick!!! It is still a 70% chance it is a girl but I really hope it turns out to be a girl! I have big Disney plans for her outfits!!!! Grase is afraid she will be spoiled but what can you expect-she is the first Caringella grandchild!!
We also had a great homemade meal from Chris on Sunday. He is a really good cook!!!! How come two of my brothers can cook better than me???? I am very proud of my brothers who can cook though!!! It was a busy weekend and I am sure I am leaving out some things but I am sure Karson can add to this blog. Until next time!!

Desirae

_

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I don't think that there is much more to add... Although I think it was to be more like a jungle theme, than a Noah theme. But I can be wrong. I too really like the color of the room. I ended up painted longer than the sun stayed up on Saturday. Then, as Desirae said, we made those tissue paper balls, and watched The Fiddler on The Roof; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler_on_the_Roof_(film))

because Connie had never seen it before. But every one either fell asleep or left before it was over, accept me and Grase, as usually. Light weights. As we where heading to bed Grase and I took one look at the first coat in the room, it had to dry over night before we could put on the second, and she says: "We should paint the doors too." Well, I was thinking, Better do it now or it will only get one coat of paint on it if it is done tomorrow. So, When she went into her room I snuck back into the babies room and painted the doors. She was so happy in the morning when sh saw that the doors where painted. It made me feel good, Plus I was glad that it was done with.

Yes, too, as Desirae said I did not have my suit, wah wah wah. So I took the opportunity an empty room and did all the high painting, since I ended up being the only one who could reach this location. So now I get tho sore arms, and neck... But it's worth it. We did not get to go to Portos like I've been wanting, since I am the only person who has not been there, but there may be other occasions I guess.

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Full Weekend

We had yet another full weekend. On Saturday we went down to Rosemead to pick up some furniture at Toby and Grase's. We were going to help them clean out the soon to be baby room but plans got changed and instead I went to visit my mom. My mom is still doing fine. She is just very tired and sore. Karson spent some one on one time with Quinton and I got to visit with my mom, dad and Jason. When we got home Jimmy was kind enough to come help Karson unload the truck (which we borrowed from him). So now I have a full dinning room with the hutch, the gold curio, and the fish tank. It looks nice. On Sunday we went to Disneyland with Karson's family. It was nice because the whole King family was there. It was an exhausting day. I had to recover from it on Monday which was a holiday for the County so I was at home. I was able to put all the china in the hutch and all the shot glasses in the curio. It looks so nice now.

Next weekend we are going to try and go down to Rosemead to help with decorating the Caringella baby's room. October 25th is the NAMI walk and also a gathering we are going to. November 1st is busy, November 8th is our one day assembly, November 15th is the dedication ceremony for the Cactus hall and November 22nd is the baby shower. Phew what a busy schedule! Too much to do in so little time!

Thats all for now-Dez

P.S. And too much traveling... Especially when One of us cannot drive a stick shift.-Karson

Update

I went to visit my mom last Friday. She is doing okay. She is still having pain and is just trying to take it easy as she should. We are planning to go to Disneyland on Sunday with Kris and Erica (Karson Bro and sister in law) and a couple from their area. Monday is a Holiday for me but Karson has to work. We were invited to Disneyland that day but Karson does not get it off. We have gone before on Columbus day and it usually is not busy. Also this weekend we plan to go down to Rosemead to pick up some furniture and help with moving stuff at Toby and Grase's. So we have a busy weekend ahead of us. I have not been feeling well and the pain is still off and on. I just got a call from Kaiser for Acupuncture. I guess I am going to try that for the pain.

Thats all for now.

Dez

NAMI Link!!!

Here is a link to the NAMI page:

http://www.nami.org/namiwalks08/RVS/kking

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NAMI WALK!!!

I am writing you today to tell you about an upcoming event that I am participating in that is both very important and very exciting to me. It is NAMIWalks for the Mind of America, NAMI’s signature walkathon event that is being held in Hemet, CA at Diamond Valley Lake on October 25th 2008.

As most of you already know I have personal experience with Mental Illness. I am an active supporter of inspiring hope to those who have a mental illness. Mental Illness is not something to be ashamed of or hide. There is hope for people living with mental illness especially with all the advancements in medicine the past couple of years. I am involved in this walk for many reasons. First of all I walk for and with my husband of almost 7 years who was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder shortly after we were married. My husband, Karson, is open and honest about his illness and has learned to manage as best as he can with this illness. Through the years we have learned together just how difficult it can be to deal with mental illness. We know it will never be an easy journey but at least we are on this road together.
Second I walk for my family. I have many relatives who suffer from some form of mental illness. I walk to honor them and to let them know they are never alone on this journey. Last but not least I walk because I am part of Riverside County's Department of Mental Health family. I work for Detention Services as a Secretary to the Manager. In my work I have seen just how bad stigma and non compliance can affect not only the person who is mentally ill , but their families as well.

I would like to ask you to come and walk with me or to donate to support my participation in this great event. Visit my personal walker page to sign up: http://www.nami.org/namiwalks08/RVS/desiraeking. It features a link to my team's page where you can see who else is walking with me or join my team. Click on the name of my team, Walk the Brain, to get to our teams page. There is also a link so you can donate directly to me online. Donating online is fast and secure, and I'll get immediate notification via e-mail of your donation. I hope all who signed up for my team last year can join us this year. We still have the T-shirts we did not get to use last year due to the move in the date of the walk. We raised over 700.00 last year so hopefully this year we can go for 1.000.00! I appreciate anything you can give or even if you just give up your time to walk with us.

NAMI, the Nation’s Voice on Mental Illness, formerly the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, is the largest education, support and advocacy organization that serves the needs of all those whose lives are touched by these illnesses. This includes persons with mental illness, their families, friends, employers, the law enforcement community and policy makers. The NAMI organization is composed of approximately 1100 local affiliates, 50 state offices and a national office.

The goals of the NAMIWalks program are: to fight the stigma that surrounds mental illness, to build awareness of the fact that the mental health system in this country needs to be improved and to raise funds for NAMI so that they can continue their mission.

NAMI is a 501(c)3 charity and any donation you make to support my participation in this event is tax deductible. NAMI has been rated by Worth magazine as among the top 100 charities "most likely to save the world" and has been given an "A+" rating by The American Institute of Philanthropy for efficient and effective use of charitable dollars. NAMI has also been given 4 out of 4 stars by The Charity Navigator for short-term spending practices and long-term sustainability.

Thank you in advance for your support.

DESIRAE KING

I'm a Honda S2000!

You live on the edge, and you live for the adrenaline rush. You don't need luxuries, snob appeal, or superfluous gadgets. You put your top down, get your motor revving, and take all the curves that life throws at you at full speed. So what if you spin out occasionally?

DEZ

News

I finished up my Physical Therapy and now my only hope is the trigger point injections or acupuncture. I got the results of my follow up tests. The small growth on my remaining ovary has grown a little bit. It is now about the size of a quarter. At this size it should not cause any pain or twist my ovary. They will continue to watch it and of course if it continues to grow eventually they will have to take it out. It seems to be growing slow. I wonder how long it took for my other cysts to grow-years? It is weird. I guess I should be happy but really it only prolongs the inevitable right? Well it is better than having no ovaries because then I would have to take more hormones. So I am not going to focus on that. I am going to focus on resolving my scar tissue pain issues.

My mom is resting and is doing fine. Thanks to everyone for caring so much for my mom and for me.
DEZ

P.S. When i write it is in RED. When Karson writes it is in GREEN

I'm a Mazda RX-8!

You're sporty, yet practical, and you have a style of your own. You like to have fun, and you like to bring friends along for the ride, but when it comes time for everyday chores, you're willing to do your part.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

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Mom's Surgery

My mom was scheduled to have a laparoscopic surgery. For all who do not know what this means-it is when they do an incision near the belly button and use a camera and smaller instruments to do a surgery it involves filling the abdomin with air so there is better viewing. My mom was scheduled for 5:30am check in. I drove down Thursday night. Friday we, me my mom and dad, woke up at 4am. We got to the Baldwin Park Hospital around 5:30am. There was a huge line for check in. My mom was called at 6am to the pre op holding room. They gave us a vibraiting beeber so when the buzzed us we knew certain things. We got buzzed around 7am and went back to see my mom in the pre op holding room. This room is where everyone is prepped for outpatient surgery. My mom was in a gown and had the IV in her hand. Grase came around 7:30am and joined us with my mom. We waited there for an hour because her surgery got bumped due to an emergency. They finally started wheeling her away at 8:05am. Those of us waiting decided to go down to the cafeteria to have breakfast. We really liked the food!! Chris joined us, then Jason and Quinton came. We hung out at the cafeteria then headed back up to the waiting room. We waited...and waited...and waited. Me and my dad were worried. At 10:45am they buzzed us so we knew she was out of surgery and her doc would soon come to talk to us. I was so anxious every time the door opened I jumped. Finally the doc came out around 11:10am. She had pictures with her. She told us that she had to do the full incision (like mine) because she could not get to the cyst. The cyst on the left ovary was full of adhesions and was too sticky for her to get out. She removed the cyst and ovary. Everything else looked fine. So she informed us that since she had the full incision she would have to stay in the hospital. She told us we would be called when my mom is taking to her room. We waited again......finally at 2:00ish they called us and we saw mom for the first time. She was out of it and had no idea what happened. We informed her she would be staying in the hospital. She was suprised. We got her to her room and she was still groggy. She settled in and we, except for my dad, went down to have lunch at the cafeteria. We went back up to my mom and everyone left except me and my dad. I stayed the night with my mom. They had a chair that converted into a bed. It was freezing in my moms room!!! Saturday and Sunday I spent most of my time with my mom and dad. Karson came on Saturday and me and him slept at my parents Saturday night because my dad stayed with my mom that night. My mom was released on Sunday and she is now at home resting. Bieng in the hospital and seeing my mom's incision made me think of all the pain I have had from my surgery. I am still having scar tissue pain that I fear will never go away. My surgery was 9 months ago!!
I am so glad my mom was not in pain like I was. She is not in much pain and I think she will recover better than I did. I guess if my operation was not an emergency it might have went better.

That is all ......more later.
Dez

Pain In Blood

Why is it that I must endure this? We are told that we are given only as much as we can handle… Then why do I often feel like I can’t. It is definitely imposable for me to explain what goes on in my head. I have those moments though, those negative times. I am having one of those times now. It’s not just in my head. It’s painful too, all over. The strangest is in my blood… My blood hurts. It drives me insane. I cannot concentrate, and I cannot survive forever like this. You cannot talk to me, you cannot touch me. If you talk to me you strain my concentration. If you touch me you will cause me pain. Is this pain only in my head? When I use to cause pain I would tell myself it is only pain, just a translation in the brain. But this, if it is caused by my mind, I don’t feel it in my mind. I feel in my blood. Don’t talk to me, don’t touch me. Touch me, and you will cause me pain. My soul is thinning. How long will I last? How long before I begin to fade? How long, before I am gone completely? It hurts, oh it hurts. But not to worry, it passes. No, that’s not right. I hide it, or rather forget it. If I can be busy enough with something else… sometimes I can forget it. But it makes me weak. It takes so much out of me. No superhero am I. My Kryptonite is in my mind, and has poisoned my blood. Terminal is what my disease is, for there is no cure and it may be the death of me. It’s true; the stress and strain cannot be good for my heart. My blood, my blood, oh how it hurts. Not to worry, for I can forget it, it’s just a matter of time.
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Another Weekend gone!

Another weekend has come and gone. Saturday we cleaned and relaxed a little, I got my grocery shopping done too. On Sunday we had our friends, Kelsey and Nathanial, over. Callie came over too. They have three young ones who were at grandma and grandpa's until around 4pm then they picked them up and came back over to our house. The kids are so fun to be around. Once they get comfortable they like to play with you. The range in age from a year an a half to about 4. Gabriel, Olivia and Abigail. They call Olivia Oly and Abigail Abby...they are so cute. Three little ones can be a handful but with all of us there it was no problem. We have fun with them and they invited us to go to Six Flags in the beginning of October....we will think about it.
Our weekend went well and we had fun.

This coming Friday my mom is scheduled to have surgery-outpatient. She will be off of work for probably 2-3 weeks. Hopefully the surgery goes well and she will be on the road to recovery. I will probably be out there Thursday night and the whole weekend. Karson probably will join me on Saturday. I will be helping my mom but it is always nice to see the whole family.

Marcel is doing well and is at home recovering. Veronica is taking good care of hime, what a great wife! We visited them Friday night and I stole Veronica away while Karson "babysat" Marcel. Her mom, Ruth, and Marcel's sister, Lavinia, joined us to see the movie "Women". It was a real chic flick and sooooo funny. There were other sisters there and the theatre was filled with women and a few men. When we got back to the house Marcel and Karson were busy playing bomber man on XBox 36. Me and Veronica played for awhile then we left. We had a nice visit. We will probably visit them again beofore this weekend.

Well I guess that is all for now....I will make sure to write an update after my mom's surgery.

Dez

Marcel

Marcel's surgery went well and he is currently still at the Sunset Kaiser and should be released today or tomorrow. This past weekend we also helped my parents move. It was sure alot of work for all involved. I put some pictures from the District and our Disneyland trip on the Blog. I hope you all enjoy!! Dez

Some Pictures to share

What a Weekend!

Well the long weekend has come to an end. We had a great time in Long Beach at the Convention and at Disneyland on Monday. The District was so encouraging...we loved it. It was so nice to have my family there at our Convention. We found out Grase is having a girl!! (70% it is a girl) I am so excited. Finally a baby girl in the Caringella's!!! I took pictures at the convention but my batteries died on Sunday so I only got a few on Sunday. The Drama went super well and everyone did a great job. I got pictures of Karson lifting furniture. I used Grase's camera so I hope she sends them to me soon. Monday we went to Disneyland. We got there right after it opened and we stayed until it closed. We had so much fun since we had a good size group. It was me and Karson, Stephanie, Callie, Marcel and Roni, The Tomlinson family-Chris, Erica, Chanel, and Kaylee, and Roni's parents Ruth and Aarron Chavez. We had so much fun!!! Stephanie, Marcel and Roni all upgraded their tickets to annual passes. We are so happy because Marcel and Roni have not had passes in awhile. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back again. We went on the new ride at California Adventure-Toy Story Mania-it was soooooo fun. It is kind of like Buzz lightyear in that it is interactive but it is very different as well. It was so fun....well worth the hour wait. The parks were not as crowded as you might think for a holiday and we did not wait that long for the rides. All in all it was a great weekend. I will add some pictures later from the convention...for now enjoy the Disneyland ones. ....Dez

This week is Crazy!!

So this week is going to be crazy!! I had a migraine yesterday so all I really did was sleep but I did get some wash done. Now the craziness begins....so much to do before the District. Me and Karson are working on Thursday so we have to pack everything up on Wed night. We will leave straight from work (one car of course). So I have two days to do everything!! I did get a few things done this weekend. My Friday off allowed me to go get a haircut and dye my hair and do some grocery shopping. We went to a BBQ/pool party for all involved in the drama on Sunday early evening then Jimmy, Kelly, Meagan (someone we met through them), Marcel and Veronica came over and Kareoked until around 10pm. We should get to our Hotel, The Hyatt, around 3pm just in time for check in. We want to get a room on the lobby floor and you get a better chance if you get there early. We will settle in our hotel and probably just relax maybe go swimming in the hotel pool. On Labor day we are going to Disneyland and so are Marcel and Veronica, Callie (Karson's cousin) and anyone else who wants to join us. We are coming home Sunday night then driving to Disneyland on Monday. Marcel and Veronica are staying at a hotel near Disneyland.....we just could not afford it this time. We will still have so much fun. Marcel and Veronica (Roni) are our best buds and they were our Disneyland buddies up until they decided not to get passes. We have not been to Disneyland with them for over a year...maybe even close to two years. It is going to be fun.
Speaking of our best buds-Marcel is going to have major surgery on September 5th at the L.A. Sunset Kaiser. We will definitly be there to support Roni and the whole family. Please keep them in your prayers since surgery is always risky. Speaking from experience I think Kaiser will do a great job! We will most likely be in the L.A. area Sept 5th weekend. Good thing we have family we can stay with!!!! They were both there at the hospital as soon as they found out about my surgery and it really made me feel good to have such great friends around. Really you find out who means the most to you when something like that happens. Who was it for me? Of course Karson's family, my family-mom and dad, jay came as soon as they could while I was in surgery, when they were informed Roni came as soon as she could and Marcel came as soon as he could. More of Karson's family, Stephanie, and Jimmy and Kelly came to visit me in the hospital as well. I realized those were my close friends and family and I really appreciated their presence. It really makes a difference when you have people who really care about you around during such a time. That is why me and Karson want to be there for Marcel and Roni. They will have family there as well.

Well I guess that is all for now...we probably won't write again until after the District and Disneyland. Oh and we finally get to learn the sex of T&G's baby this weekend too!!! This weekend is going to be great. See you all there! ..........Dez

Odd Dream

I don’t usually dream, or I don’t usually remember my dreams. So what troubles me most about last night’s dream is that I remember it, I remember a lot of it. I mean it, I never dream. I dreamt that I was in a plastic house. Everything was plastic. This does not make sense to me either but that is how it was. It was a single story house and had many many rooms. The rooms where spacious and had a lot in them, sort of cluttered/complicated, like Sherlock's rooms, but still all is plastic. Now there was a small group of us there, and now that I think about it I don’t remember why we were there. Now there was a man that owned the house and he was there but not with us, he was somewhere else in the house. And he had a daughter but she also was not with us, she was in another room, dead. She had been murdered, and somehow I knew that. And somehow I also knew that it was her father who had done it. So I left the group and was searching all the rooms. And that is how my dream was spent, me going from room to room looking for a dead girl. Another weird thing is that I knew that when I found her, her father would know that I found her and kill me in a horrible painful way…

I woke up before I found her, but with a strange feeling. Strange dream though, huh?

After thought: I am no expert but I assume that the house and everything in it was plastic because I was aware that it was all fake. In fact that is what I think about through out the day, every time I hear a voice that should not be or see a movement or shadow when I am alone, I keep telling myself that it is not real, its just my damaged brain manifesting something onto my senses. As for the need and urgency to find the dead girl. That alludes me. My view on the dead is that they are conscious of nothing, so why would I need to hurry and find her. I could have just told everyone. I guess that would not make for a good mystery. Or it feeds my need to be the hero. But I knew he would kill me. I don't need any interpretations I just wanted to share.

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The +21 Brothers Brew Festival Getaway

I really did appreciate that I was invited to participate in this +21 Caringella Brothers Brew Festival, And was also able to invite my brother Kris and so just making it: “The +21 Brother Brew Festival Getaway” Of course this name was not official, it is just something I came up with.

For us in La county & Riverside county it started on Friday. Jason, Tobiah, and Christopher came over to my house that evening and brought a variety of beers for us to try. One of them was depicting a picture of an old truck, as if we were drinking the oil from it. The other beers I do not remember, but that they were stout. I personally did not like stout beer. Jason went to bed early, and Tobi, Chris, and I stayed up till 12:00. I had stayed up alittle later because I had a project for work to do.

On Saturday I got up at 5:30 and started on my project again. Now the guys had mentioned that they were thinking of getting up at 6:00 and so I figured I would work until they got up. But none of them got up. None of them had set their phone alarms. Well I guess I could have woken them up but when I get drafting I just get into it. But I finished at 6:50 and then started making noise and it woke Chris and Tobi. They were alittle sore for me not waking them, but we got on our way around 8. We got to the Stone’s 12th anniversary Festival two hours early. So we ate at Denny’s. We still had time so we went to the Fry’s, because I wanted to check it out since I got to see the blueprints and development pictures a long time ago. It was really cool. The theme was Atlantis, and it really did look like it, complete with fish tanks. I would put the pictures of that but the managers said that we couldn’t even take pictures because all the sculptures and art was copyrighted or something like that, etc. Then the Festival. It was fun, hot, but fun. We each got 10 beer tasters. I liked the mead but only until Kris said it tasted like mouthwash, then that was all I could taste. I think though we all agreed that the best one was the Verhaeghe Duchesse de Bourgogne. But I have never seen it before anywhere. After the Festival We went to the Port brewery, I didn’t do anything there since I was the driver for the trip, but the boys said that the lady there was a real witch to them and they wanted to leave right away. So next we went to the Stone Brewery. This was a cool place. We missed the 6 tour so we had to wait for the 7 tour. So we ate at their restaurant. The beercheese soup was good. And then took a walk in the garden they have there. After that it was time for our tour. The tour lasted for 45min. I liked it, And Kris did, since I have never done this kind of tour before, but I don’t think the others did. After the tour, they gave us four free beers, but only Tobi and Kris had them… Well Kris only had two; I think they were to stout for him. We ended up filling three Growlers, and getting a fourth one almost full for free. The plan was to go back the hotel and swim in the pool and open a Growler, but when we got to the Hotel, the pool was full of kids and we were very tired so we just ordered pizza and went to sleep.

On Sunday we went to Coronado Island to go to the Coronado Brewing Company, and their restaurant. My brother Kris did was not with us this day. All of the Caringella boys kept saying, “This is how a brewery is supposed to treat you.” And “We are never going back to Port Brewery.” It was very nice and the service was excellent. We all had a beer and I’ll admit it is the earliest I have ever had a beer. I even had two so that I could get a Souvenir glass. Then we went to all the shops and walked around for a few hours. Long enough for the beer to pass through the system.J After that we started for Mo. Val. With a quick stop by Kris’ to exchange some items, and so he could give all the Caringella’s a parting gift. When we got to my house we opened one Growler and drank it. We made plans to maybe see a movie, or bar-b-q, or just get food and open more Growlers… But somehow they all just ended up leaving. :’( O-well, you can’t have everything. All in all it was an awesome weekend. One of those that did not pass by too quickly. I am glad I was included and Kris said the same thing. I hope that I get included next year.

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Pain pain and more pain?

Yesterday was a really bad day for my pain. I did not take my pain pills Sat or Sunday. Yesterday I was in so much pain I had to go home from work early. I slept until 7:30pm then got up ate something watched some T.V and went to bed by 9pm. Today was my Physical Therapist appt. I was in so much pain when she massaged me. She was puzzled since last week the pain seemed to be better. It felt almost as bad as it did the first time I went to see her. She kept saying I was a mystery. She asked me to go back to my OBGYN to make sure I don't have anything going on inside me to cause the pain. I told her all my Doctors called me a mystery. All I could think is that without pills I would be in this pain every single day. Does this mean I will be on painkillers the rest of my life? Its not like scar tissue can just go away on its own. My PT did solve my pelvic muscle problem so I guess I should be grateful for that. She is sure it is scar tissue in my fascia (thin layer that covers my muscles) on my abdomen. Scar tissue can pull on your nerves, organs, and etc. Basically scar tissue sucks!!! The funny thing is my doctor said she has seen patients who have had multiple surgeries with WORSE problems that GOT BETTER after she treated them. URGH!!! My troubles continue....the pain continues.....
All my Doctors ever did was keep passing me to someone else and now my PT is doing the same thing!!! It is frustrating not to have a solution for the on-going pain. I just have to be thankful for the good days where my pain is at a 3 on the 1-10 scale of pain (10 bieng the worst) They might send me to the Chronic pain clinic now since it has been 8 MONTHS since my surgery. After 6 months it is called a "chronic" problem. All my posts are negative!! So sad! :( Dez

Last year we went to Disneyland and Las Vegas with Toby and Grase. We have had no trips this year yet :( Didn't we have fun!

I know some of you want to see all my poems and that is great but I don't think I can ever show all of my poems. I use poetry to express my feelings even the bad ones.....anger, hate, etc. I do like to read the ones I wrote for Karson because it makes me feel the feelings I had when I wrote them. This week I did so good on Weight Watchers and I gained 1.3 lbs. I am so frustrated!! Maybe I drank too much water? Oh well I guess that is the way it goes. I am still going to keep trying maybe this week I will lose alot. This weekend is the "Beer Weekend" for my brothers (except Quint) and Karson. They are going to San Diego for a festival at a Brewery. Hopefully my parents and Quinton are still coming to stay with me because I hate being alone especially at night. My recent physical therapist appt went well. I was not in so much pain when she was massaging me this time. She did work more on my problem area located on my abdomen on top of my left hip bone. That still is so tender and it has to be the scar tissue because my pelvic muscles are doing good now. She gave me a new excercise to do that hopefully will help. I have only 4 more sessions to go. She says if the pain is not gone by then it probably won't go away. :( I hope it does go away. I am such a party pooper these days. I am out by 9pm if not sooner. Some nights I can stay up longer (like last night) but it still makes it hard to get up. I did get up today and was on time! Well not much else going on so I will write later....Dez

Thank Goodness for Friends and Family!

The Narrow road

The darkness is all around me
It surrounds my entire life
I can’t see in front of me
I hold something in my hand
It gives off just enough light
Enough light to get me through the days

I see my feet walking slowly
I see what is in front of me
The light gets brighter, I see a little more
I become more confident in the darkness
A little light goes a long way
I keep walking straight without falling

Suddenly someone is standing in front of me
The light helps me see him
Everyday I see him a little more, day-by-day
Suddenly I realize he is blocking my road
Then one day he is no longer there
He is gone; I am alone in the darkness

Walking the light gets a little brighter
I can see a little more around me
Suddenly I realized he never left me
He is standing right next to me, supporting me
He slowly reaches for my hand in the darkness
As he grabs it the light becomes so bright it blinds me

Our two lights become one in the darkness
Together we walk following the road
Our light keeps us alive and well
The darkness no longer bothers us
We have the light and we have each other
The world is dark but our lives are bright

By Desirae-Written in 2001

Although this poem was written for Karson I can't help but realize that me and Karson sometimes are in the dark together and it is our dear friends and family that help us through on our journey together. Our friends and our family are so important to our everyday lives. Sometimes we don't tell you....but you are. You are our light in the darkness.

Weekend

This weekend I really did relax. Friday I went to the Dr to find out why I was having wierd fluttering in my ears. Turns out it is TMJ. So he gave me more meds that make me drowsy so basically I am out of it all the time. We had a really good talk on Sunday about making Jehovah your Stronghold. It really made me think about things. I am so tired I don't even want to write anymore. I hope Connie and Grase were able to secure a hall for the baby shower in Dec. I think they went on Sat to check some out. I guess that is all for now....D

Untitled poem- Written 2001

Heartless people fill this earth
I watch them pass me by
In a sea of thoughtless humans
It’s very hard to keep dry

Trying to be different
Trying to have a heart
I want to help others
I want to have a part

Yet the sea overcomes me
And pulls me down
It’s so hard to stay afloat
It’s hard not to drown

I wish I could fly
Above the heartless sea
But life is the same
For him, you and me

We all have to fight
Through the turbulent waves
The waves of hate and fear
The waves we face for so many days


I know I can survive I guess we all can
In this sea with blank faces
I guess we are all just imperfect humans

Bad Day

Today is a bad day. I am not feeling good because I had my Physical Therapy yesterday and because I had to get to work early to make up some time I took off. I am also feeling depressed for some reason. I hate money. Why does it make us stress so much? I am tired and grumpy and my boss is really bugging me today. I just feel like yelling at everyone today and I keep thinking of more and more things that are bugging me with everyone. I just want to say my feelings and feel better...but I can't and I won't because they are hurtful and selfish. I usually write things out and then I feel better. I keep a notebook to write all my feelings down so I can just get them off my chest and feel better. This helps alot!!! I noticed in my family we all express our feelings through art. Some are muscians, some are poets, some are painters, and some are all of these. In every instance it seems like expressing ourselves comes much easier if we have this outlet. I know for me my journals and my poetry really help me with my emotions, especially with the negative emotions. Even if I want to talk about something important I feel much easier doing it in writing. It is much easier to write than to say something. If i talk too much all the emotions just bubble out and I end up sobbing and bieng even worse than when I started. I have had my share of confrontations and I am not afraid to handle these situations ...but it takes so much energy to have to do it in person. I would rather write. I have over 150 poems I have written since High School. I would have more but some of my earlier writtings have been lost. I have always kept a journal and I always write as if I am writing to someone else. This makes me feel better. My poems express my true feelings and i feel bad that i never expressed them verbally. I don't know if anyone really cares that I write poetry or if anyone would like to read any of them. I will include some in my posts for a little glimpse.
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Weekend's Over! :(

The weekend is over! This weekend we were suppose to just relax but of course that never happens!! Friday night I got to relax a little. Saturday I cleaned and Karson attacked the huge tumble weeds in the backyard. He even did the side of the house and probably more because when he came back in he was soaking with sweat so I know he worked hard. Our stupid vacuum was not working and we had the hardest time unclogging it. Finally we just used the hose to flush out a huge ball of cat hair and other yucky stuff that all started just because of a clothes tag!! Gross! Sat afternoon we went to eat lunch at the Spaghetti Factory, which was nice, just the two of us. Then we decided to check out the Riverside Museum that is located in Downtown Riverside (near the Spaghetti Factory). It was free so why not? It was interesting. They had a Quilt and a Peanuts(charlie brown) exhibit. They also had a bunch of stuffed animals and bugs and skeletons. It was really neat. We saw a cactus skeleton! We then headed over to the huge Antique store in downtown Riverside. We were there awhile but just looked because nothing caught our eye (that we could afford). We then headed home. We made plans to watch the new Stargate movie with Keri so we had to pick up the movie. Kelly Thornton called and asked Karson to come by the Milligans new house (her mom and dad) to help set up their computer. We went by there. They live in the area we use to live in when we were in the apartments on the golf course. They moved into a Senior Community so it is very quiet and nice! I want to live in a community like that when I retire!! We went to watch the movie with Keri and Jim. The movie was GREAT of course. Keri made some awesome spaghetti! It had pancetta (spelling?) which is an Italian ham almost like bacon. It was low in fat....and good! On Sunday we went to meeting and then to lunch with Jimmy and Kelly at Chili's. We then went to their house and learned to play peanuckel (spelling?) It was fun.

It was a busy weekend even though we were trying to relax. All our weekends are practically full until the District. The picture above is when we went on our cruise. We had a huge drink in Catalina. Until next time....Dez