We struggled for much of this past year.

We weren't prepared for Darin to lose his job.

We were still fighting for my disability.

Now, things are looking up for Darin as more opportunities are finally coming his way and I have my disability. Plus, some other things have come my way.

First, I received approval for partial Medicaid. They will pay the $100 monthly premium for Medicare and the 20% for doctor visits that Medicare doesn't pay for.

Secondly, because I have both Medicare and Medicaid, I automatically qualified for the Extra Help program for prescriptions. I don't have to worry about a premium, the coverage 'gap' and the cost of medication is only $2.50 for generics and $6.40 for brand name drugs.

And yes, my pain meds are covered! That means I will pay $5 for what I have been paying $150! How awesome is that?

Finally, the ladies at Assumption Mental Health have really worked hard to help me get better. They did applications for 3 of the meds that I take and now I will receive all 3 for FREE for the next year.

I can say that I have been truly blessed and I'm grateful that there are people working to help me get better.

And it's nice to know my gram and grandfather are looking out for me from up above. I really wish my gram was here so I could tell her about all the blessings coming my way finally. She would be so happy for me.

Thank you to all who have been praying for me. I know many of y'all have been :)

We have a big deal going on down here.

Darin is flying out to Denver for a job interview.

Now, the job isn't the same level he was at before in Biloxi, but the pay should be about the same general bracket and there will be room for advancement. Plus, it is with a large National company, so if they do want to move him up in the future, there are plenty of places for him to go.

I won't go into detail because I don't want to jinx it.

Please, please, please send out good thoughts for him on Monday and Tuesday. We really need something like this!

Well, I figured it is time for an update for y'all. I know that I didn't blog much this week because I have been down with a head cold. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for a sniffle to become a full blown cold, complete with a wonderful cough.

Some of y'all may remember that I was to have a breathing test this past Monday.

I never want to do that again!

Basically, the test is just like the Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) that I did several months ago. The PFT is actually quite simple - first you breathe in deep, then blow out quick and hard for 6 seconds and then take another quick deep breath. You do this a bunch of times and it's over. Not quite with this new test. With this one, you do the same as the PFT but you also have to breathe in a medicine called methocolene before each round of breathing. The medicine tastes a lot like chloroseptic - without the pleasant cherry flavor.

Once that awful test was over, I asked the test giver's opinion. They were looking to see if I would react to the medicine. The test cannot tell if I actually have asthma, but it can tell if I don't. According to the test giver, I didn't react until the final round and even then I didn't react that much. So, it looks like my doctor was right about my breathing.

I don't have asthma.

But, then ... what is wrong with me?!?

Well, if you're a regular here you may have noticed that there is a new widget over there on the right hand side.

This is a ad for my friend Becky's site over at the Pampered Chef. If you click on that button, any order you make with go towards Becky's sales.

You know you wanna help her out by buying some awesome kitchen items.

Go ahead.

Click it.

No, really.

Why aren't you clicking??

Well, I'm sure you'll check it out. Thanks y'all!

I'm not sure if I think this is silly or not.

In Atlanta, they use primary colors to name their transit lines. How could that be controversial?

Apparently, using the color 'yellow' is how to make it controversial.

I know, it's not red or blue and that is scary, right?

Turns out that the Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority decided to name the new transit like yellow. Problem is, it runs through the heart of the city's Asian community.

It's now called the Gold line.

Does anyone really think that the Transit people were being racist? Red and blue were taken folks. I think some people tend to take stereotypes too close to heart and call anything even remotely close to them racist.

Am I the only one who thinks they took this a wee-bit too far?

A Massachusetts man was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Why?

He stole a hot dog.

Police say Antonio Judd grabbed the hot dog after flashing what appeared to be a gun in a park in Worcester, MA.

He devoured the hot dog, spraying mustard all over himself.

At least now in prison he won't have to steal just to eat.

Maybe it's better that he will be in jail for a year or so and won't be wondering when he'll have his next meal.

Today was my first appointment with a new pulmonologist.

I had seen my primary care doc a few months back about my breathing issues and I *finally* got to see the specialist today. Nothing like waiting 3 months to breathe well, huh?

I was prepared to hear a lot of things from the doctor but I was not prepared for something she did say.

Let me point out that I was the chubby, asthmatic kid. I was always puffing on an inhalor during gym classes and never really got any relief from them. I was the kid who had to sit out of most sports and never got to play sports outside of school because of my asthma.

I found out I may never have had asthma.

What?!

Yep, that's what the doctor said.

Given my childhood, you can probably see why I was dumbfounded at this news.

Seems that during the pulmonary function test (PFT), they didn't see anything to indicate that I had ever had asthma. The doctor is leaning towards some other defect that presented as asthma all those years ago. She is thinking that we're seeing it progress so much now because I'm stuck in bed so much and not being nearly as active as I used to be.

So, more tests for me. I will be going down to New Orleans to have a test done that is similar to the PFT but this time they will inject me with a medicine that will make me wheeze. Great huh?

Hopefully we'll know more soon.

If you haven't figured it out, I'm talking about tonight's Super Bowl.

I'm not sure if people outside Louisiana know just how important this game is to the morale of not just New Orleans but also to that of the entire state of Louisiana. This is something they've been waiting 43 years for down here.

We need something to cheer about down here. People are still recovering from Katrina and Gustav. This is something big that has brought people together into a common bond. Just look at the French Quarter after the NFC title win - it was insane chaos - BUT - no crime.

So, lets cheer for those SAINTS. The Colts don't need this like we do!

WHO DAT? WHO DAT?

Well, today was the day when we got the results of the testing on the cyst I had removed.

Fortunately, they found nothing.

No cancer, no anything.

Weird, huh?

But ... I'll take it.

I'd managed to go the past two weeks without thinking the worst - which is a big accomplishment for my psyche these days.

On top of this, we still haven't heard anything about the possible new job for Darin. So please keep those prayers going!

Well folks, it's time to cross your fingers and start saying some prayers.

Darin is up for a great job.

Two weeks ago we got a call about a great job in New Orleans that we didn't think we'd hear from since they hadn't called yet. Plus, we figured that they'd have tons of applicants for the job, just like all the other jobs he has applied for.

Anyways, the call came and he interviewed last week with the Chef at the hotel (not saying which so I don't jinx it!). That part went great and now he is doing a tasting for the Chef, Food & Beverage Director, General Manager and I'm sure a few others. He is down in New Orleans today prepping his food for the tasting and tomorrow he will be going back down to cook and serve his food. The menu he choose sounds awesome and I know he will knock them out with his cooking.

Hopefully by this time next week he will have an offer for the great job and he'll be much happier!