Parkes Family

Hopefully the weather mellows out along with my sinus infection.... blah blah I need to be up and running for Super bowl celebrating!! Go Sea Hawks! I'm kinda excited about some new recipes like homemade avocado dressing and other shennanigans!

My dog is never sick so I needed to look the expression and this is what I found: It took me awhile, but I finally found it. It's "sick AS a dog," not "sicker than a dog." As soon as I found that out, it was simple: Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it's fitting to describe someone who is not feeling well as being "sick as a dog." Arf!  Anyways, apparently my rheumatoid arthritis fuels any infection due to its inflammatory nature... So I manifested a sinus infection in half a day! I went from kinda ok to sick AS a dog by nighttime!!! On top of getting a steroid shot and antibiotics I'm still sucking down uber healthy smoothies although the blender sound doesn't quite agree with the sinus pressure headache... I hope all of that plus tea and spoiling from my husband and mother-in-law will help!  Otherwise feeling ok- I have had a normal mammogram and ultrasound despite severe breast pain lately-

Super Allison is SUPER amazing. She loves to save me! The muscles are unreal!  She doesn't think she needs to exercise anymore!!! Lol I asked her if she wanted to come work out with me and responded, "Does it look like I need to work out, Mom?" 

I absolutely love this!!! I feel so blessed! If you can't tell they are outstretched arms and it says, "I love you this much!"

Is there anything better than holiday celebrations with family, friends, traveling to wine and dine with those so close to us!? I am so blessed to have done this for nearly three weeks in a row! Allison is spoiled rotten now because she has probably been to 10 homes with Christmas trees and asked, like all three year olds would, "Is there a present under there for me?" Only to be answered with a delightful, "yes." ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? ok. ok... she's not the only one being spoiled around here! I can't help but think that each Christmas season beats the next- there's no other reason for that except people because the holiday itself doesn't change only locations (Michigan-California) but it's changing because bonds are deepening and relationships are growing... I have experienced some hardships in the past few years- starting with giving birth to Allison. I struggled with severe postpartum depression resulting to constant feelings of guilt that