Moving On....

I have had so much fun living life as the CHICKEN WING, and it's crazy to think that this wee blog started back in September 2008 - that's literally six years ago!!!!  It's incredible and has been an amazing journey to say the least.

It is with that journey in mind that this post comes to fruition - in 2008, I was a 23 year-old woman trying to get over her almost quarter-life crisis.  There were posts that were really popular, posts that made me laugh, posts that made me sad, and posts that were just silly.

Now, I'm a 29 year-old woman who is married, so much further along in her career and faith, and life is just different.  It's even more amazing, and there are so many opportunities out there!  I'm so excited about the future and I can't wait to see how God's plan for my life pans out.  It seems that He makes me wait and then slowly, when I get impatient or when I get discouraged, He reveals a little glimpse of His plan to me - it's as if He's giving me a gentle and subtle reminder that He's got this!

I will not take this blog down because the traffic reports show me that people do still check in here to see what's going on.  This blog became a labor of love not just for me, but for my faithful followers.  I cannot begin to express my gratitude and the overwhelming humbleness I feel when I see the traffic reports - for some reason, you all support me and you all care about what I have to say.  Thank you.  Thank you.  A million times, thank you!

This will be the last post in The Blog of the Chicken Wing, but if you do enjoy my posts and you want to continue this blog follower relationship, you can catch me over at my new digs, {DUSTYRibs}.

Join me, won't you?

This new blog has become a more accurate representation of my life these days, and I would LOVE to have you follow me over there.  Now that technology has come so far, you can even get your {DUSTYRibs} fix in a   m  u  l  t  i  t  u  d  e    of ways.  Don't believe me????  Make my day! (And follow me everywhere!)

Web:

http://www.dustyribs.com

Bloglovin:

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10463779/dusty-ribs

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/DustyRibs

Twitter: 

https://twitter.com/dustyribs

Pinterest: 

http://pinterest.com/dustyribs/boards/

Instagram: 

http://instagram.com/mrsdustyribs#

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDustyRibs/videos

So, I guess this is it.  I sincerely hope you'll follow me in the new leg of the journey of my life.  With bittersweet emotions, for the last time here, I'll say....

Until next time,

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

"....right round, like a record baby, right round round round."

Okay, I have to disagree wholeheartedly!  I'd change Dead or Alive's lyrics to, "You spin me round and I hate it baby."  I know that may sound funny, and it is meant to be, but I do mean what I said in all seriousness.  To completely understand what in the world I'm talking about, let's start at the beginning.

A few weeks ago, I experienced these really weird dizzy spells.  I really don't have much experience with dizzyness aside from the occasional merry-go-round, or you know, my beloved Teacups ride at Disney.  Either way, it's been years since I've done either of those things, so I really don't have much personal experience to go on.  The first time, it was like a constant state of semi-dizzyness and I chocked it up to allergy season being newly upon us.  Hey, I did have pretty strong sinus pressure in my forehead, so I thought that simply must be it.  The only thing that concerned me was that I'd never experienced dizzyness with allergies before, and it got so sketchy once that day while driving that I felt it best to pull over.

Then, I was good for awhile.  A week or so later, it happened again, only this time was much more scary!  I literally got so dizzy that I almost passed out, and again I was in the car and had to pull over.  I got so shaky and I tried to drink water and eat the chocolate that I just so happened to have in my car, and that did help after about 20 minutes.  By this time, though, I was convinced I had some sort of crazy brain tumor that was affecting my world!  I did the best thing I could think of and called my doctor - I had to have an appointment that day!

The only way I could describe this dizzy feeling I was getting is this:

Yes, that is your Chicken Wing (and the mandatory "We got cows." graphic) in a tornado.

Ridiculous, yes.  As accurate as I can be without actually having ever been in a tornado, also yes.  After several tests at the doctor's office, it was determined that I was suffering from BPPV, or Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.  We call it just vertigo around these parts, to keep it short.  Basically, it's an inner-ear issue that can pretty much pop up and affect anyone. 

There are calcium crystals in your inner ear that dislodge from their normal places and begin floating through your ear canals (you have three in your ear, and they're called the Labyrinth).  While you always have fluid in these canals, the crystals aren't supposed to be floating along, too.  Ultimately, the example my doctor gave me was this:  In a normal circumstance, if I turn my head to the left, fluid flows through the canals and hits the little fibers in the canal.  This sends a message to my brain that says, "Hey, guy, I just turned my head to the left.  In case you needed to know."  (Or something like that).  In BPPV, the crystals slam into the little fibers, and the vibrations that causes are so intense that too many signals get sent to your brain at one time, and your brain has no idea what you just did.  So, you get really dizzy until your brain can figure it out. 

Is this fun?  No.  Does it make you nauseus?  Um, yeah.  Did I find myself army crawling across my bedroom floor at certain points?  You betcha, Sir!  I had to miss two days of work!  That's how you know how terrible it is!  My treatment period of crystal-moving exercises and anti-motion-sickness medication is two weeks, and I'm hoping that I'll be back to 100% after that!  I surely would love it!  The only bad thing about vertigo is that it can reccur later, and there's really no way to know that it's going to hit.  :(  I guess the silver lining, though, is that at least I should know what it is next time, and I won't go straight to panic and fear!

So this has been my journey with something totally random that simultaneously scared me to death and made me feel like a completely crazy person.  I've been shocked at how many people have reached out to me who have also experienced vertigo!  Some folks had mild cases, others had it so bad they couldn't drive for a MONTH, but everyone could easily agree that it's miserable and horrible. 

My PSA to all of you readers out there:  If you're feeling any of the symptoms I did (and am), please make an appointment with your doctor to get checked out.  Then, do the exercises and take the medicine as directed, and please, don't try to be a hero!  Pull over your car if you feel like this!  My doctor said he was so proud of me for not risking my life and the lives of others because your vision and ability to adjust to your surroundings are severely compromised with vertigo!

Have a happy and healthy week!

Until next time,

Back To The Present?

As I look at the calendar, I am amazed.  Simply amazed, y'all.  I can't believe how much time has gone by since my last post.  While I am shocked that we will be entering the month of March at the end of this week, I am also saddened to face the realization of how far removed I have been from my blog.

I've tried to look inward on this, because I used to enjoy blogging so very much!  It tickled me to death and simultaneously blew my mind that people actually cared what I had to say.  At times, I would try to find content to make all of the readers happy because I love the fact that my little blog could provide comic relief, current event "watercooler" dialogue, encouragement, or sheer entertainment - a mental break from their stressful days.  In fact, I must admit that I was filled with emotion - both happiness and sadness - when I logged into this blog today and saw my analytics.  I was overcome with how many pageviews my little blog had seen every day in my absence...it was as if my faithful followers were missing me.  I liken it to a puppy that waits for your return from work every single day.  The minutes feel like hours, and the hours feel like days and they simply wonder if they've done something bad that made you go away.  Then, when you pull into the driveway, the puppy becomes overjoyed and it's as if the absence never occured at all!

That's how my relationship is with a lot of my dear friends who live in areas that are geographically challenging for me.  While we don't see each other (or even talk on the phone) as much as I'd like, and sometimes I get really sad and wonder if we're still as close as I dreamed we'd be for the rest of our lives, as soon as we do talk, everything returns to the way it was!  They were just as busy as I was and they felt the same way about me!  I wasn't absent from their thoughts and prayers, and they weren't absent from mine.

Another reason that my absence from blogging hangs heavy on my heart is that I've always particularly enjoyed writing.  I love the power that words can have and I love how it feels to type furiously on the keyboard and see my thoughts become tangible.  They become something - you can read them or you could print them and carry them with you.  It's a strange sensation, but an awesome one, too.  My husband's response the first time he ever read my blog was to exclaim, "Babe, you should write a book!  Seriously, you have an incredible way with words."  His second reaction was to pass my blog around to a friend of his who loves to read.  (Are there really any better compliments in the world?)  I've always been somewhat of an open book, and my life has had major struggles and major victories, just like everyone else's.  I've always been open to sharing difficult parts of my story because I've always been of the belief that stories have the opportunity to save people...stories remind you that you're not alone. 

In conclusion, here's my challenge to myself.  I'd really like to devote more of my time to my blog - to bring it back to life again.  I want to use this blog as a vehicle in which to inspire people and to make them laugh.  (I'm nothing if not a trip...to the loony bin!)  I want to share my big wins and big losses and I want to encourage those in my realm of influence to journey onward, no matter how hard the trip becomes.

So that's that.  Stay tuned, folks! 

PS - I'm still rocking the red...and loving it!  ;)

Until next time,