Aw, Erin I really wish there was something I could say or do for you. Crappy luck to be sure, I truly hope the shingles will clear up soon and not cause anymore problems for you. I likewise hope your now ex gets struck with them right where he's acting like. As they say if you can't have vindication there's always vengeance.

Going back to the PT issue, is there a YMCA in your area? They usually have instructors who can work with health concerns, and are also generally inexpensive and still offer financial assistance on top of being cost friendly. There are a variety of different programs available depending on the Y, but around where I live the nearest one offers a kind of personal coach and nutritionalist program, water aerobic of all different levels, and a seniors/limited-health exercise class.

The one in my hometown offered tons more but also included the YWCA so there were also crafting classes, cooking courses and such to go along with a nutritionalist of course that was also 20+ years ago. However, it's not only affordable but also a decent place to meet decent people generally. And you really shouldn't run into many "lunks" there. Nor should you feel "pressured" by the folks there, but again every place is different, this is just my experience at 5-6 Y's along the eastern seaboard.

As to the bad luck you could try placing a line of salt along your threshold. And definitely toss some salt out the door after your ex drops off the computer. Hope to find a penny to pick up, then put it in your shoe for every step you take good luck will come to you, since your luck seems worse than what a pinch of salt over the left shoulder can fix. If your Catholic you could pray to Saint Geneviene patron saint of disasters... or Saint Jude for the medical, trust me you don't want to mistakenly pray to St. Patrick the luck of the Irish is an ironical saying, and he's the patron saint of engineers anyways.

I'm not sure what other religions offer exorcisms or like rituals I know they are practiced by Catholics, Shinto, Buddhists and I believe the Jewish have something very similar... But an option perhaps or a priest's blessing again not sure if ministers, preachers or rabbis offer the same type thing or what they might suggest in such a situation. Forgive me if I offend anyone it's just my ignorance of religious practices outside of what I've studied/practiced so far.

Other than that, try your best to smile at least three times a day, at least once in the morning, at least once in the afternoon and at least once before bedtime, it really helps to keep the blues at bay even if you have to reach up and push the corners of your mouth up into a smile.

I don't want any vengeance on him. I'm actually going to attempt to stay friends with him. Not sure how long that's going to last tho. I'll make the attempt at least.

The rash showed up last night. On my head, and then I found a couple of blisters on my leg too. Which confused me. I thought shingles rashes stayed in a specific area, and followed the dermatomes. The dermatome on the head, isn't anywhere near the ones that follow the leg.

Side of my face hurts today. On the left, around my ear. Pretty sure that's part of it. Annoying as heck. Hope that stops soon.

I'm five pills into the prescription. 16 more pills to go. Can't wait to get to the last one. This stuff is kind of making me a little queasy feeling. Not quite as bad as antibiotics do, but enough that it's just kind of adding to the yuck of it all.

I swear, the Bad Luck Fairy is stalking me.

It's 130am, and I'm sitting here waiting for the plumber to come fix my toilet.

gonna get a restraining order on the Bad Luck Fairy, because this is starting to annoy the bleep out of me.

and there goes my closet remodel.

Just had to buy a new toilet.

Erin, I'm so sorry you are having a stretch of bad luck.

Sometimes when it rains it pours.

I hope things turn around for you soon.

my mom had some good luck today.

She hurt her elbow several months ago. Her arm has been hurting pretty bad for months. She's gone to several doctors, including my personal doctor, to find out what's been going on. My doctor thought it was either tennis elbow, or she had some sort of injury inside the elbow bones that needed an MRI. He suggested the specialist.

She finally got in to see a specialist today. (she's been on a wait list for about a month)

Seems she broke her elbow several months ago. There's a chip of tendon inside the elbow that broke off from the epicondyle .

He said that if my mom were 40yrs younger, he'd have her scheduled for surgery tomorrow to fix it. He doesn't want to do surgery on her because of her age (74). Didn't want to take her in and put her under an anesthetic. He thought that it's close to healing tho. Said he thought it would be healed naturally within the next month or so.

At least she finally knows what's wrong now, and can calm down.

I'm trying to figure out which fall it was that she'd hurt the elbow. She falls a lot. I think it was one of the two falls she took in the front yard. There was one that she fell on her side, and another one where she fell backwards. I think it's one of those two, or both. It fits the timeline of healing.

So, there's one good thing for my mom.


As for me...

yesterday, I took my parents to the grocery store. I had been sitting out in the car waiting for them. Yesterday I decided to try to walk in with the walker, so I did that. Got a Powerball ticket, a ton of junk food. New toothbrush. My parents did a lot of the fetching of junk food for me while I sat at the Starbucks counter.

My dad, who is kind of half blind at the moment, was driving the store scooter over to where I was sitting at a table. He ended up hitting the table, and nearly killed me. The scooter was pushing the table into my ribcage, and I was trapped in between the wall of the Starbucks counter and the table. A store employee managed to get my dad to stop before anything on me broke. I have a bruise on the side of my ribcage tho, and scared to death that I was nearly crushed between a table and Starbucks. (that would have made the papers, I'm sure)

Seriously. The Bad Luck Fairy is stalking me.