good report from pulmonologist

I saw Dr. Bensadoun today, got a chest x-ray and had blood drawn.

My x-ray was "significantly improved" from 11/30/09, which is great news!!

I get to drop my prednisone to 30 mg starting tomorrow morning (two weeks earlier than originally planned!)  I'll do that dose for two weeks, then take 20 mg for two weeks.

I see Dr. B again on February 19.

Until then, continue to pray for healing!  :)  Love you all.

topher's UK interview today

Christopher is interviewing at UK for Internal Medicine residency today!  Say a little prayer for him and wish him luck!

p.s.  he looked so handsome in his navy pin-striped suit.  wish i'd gotten a picture of him this morning...

i sell AVON- please visit my website!

I love AVON products so much that I decided to start selling them!  :)  If you have never tried AVON, now is a good time to start, or if you already know about AVON and need a representative to purchase from, I would love to serve you.

If you are not in Lexington, you can purchase products from my website:
www.youravon.com/swaynick

Shipping is about $3.00- occasionally they run specials for free or reduced shipping costs.

If you are in Lexington, you can also order from the website and select "Personal Delivery," which means you pay no shipping and I bring the products to you.  [Also allows me a larger commission that way ;-) ]

I will not ever harrass anyone to buy anything- I just wanted to let you all know that I'm here to provide AVON products if you want them.  They're so great, they sell themselves.  :-)

Thank you for your business!


Just a few of my favorite products:

AVON Solutions: Maximum Moisture AM and PM cream

Glazewear Lip Gloss

Advance Techniques Intense Repair Moisture Mask (hair)

Glimmersticks Eye Liner

Moisture Effective Eye Make-Up Remover Lotion

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AVON Brands

Avon is a world leader in anti-aging skin care products, fragrance and color cosmetics. Its product line includes beauty products, fashion jewelry and apparel and features such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin So Soft, Avon Solutions, Advance Techniques Hair Care, Avon naturals, mark and Avon Wellness.

AVON Corporate Information

Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company with over $8 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in well over 100 countries through over five million independent Avon Sales Representatives, who earn more than $3 billion annually. Avon has more than one billion annual Customer transactions.

By the end of 2006, total Avon philanthropy worldwide will have raised and awarded more than $500 million for initiatives and organizations of vital importance to women. Voted "a most trusted brand" on three continents, Avon was also selected by Businessweek as one of "The Top 100 global Brands" and honored as one of Fortune magazine's "50 Best companies for Minorities."

AVON Foundation Information

The Avon Foundation is an accredited 501(c)(3) public charity in the US that was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and their families. Now past the half century mark, the Avon Foundation brings this mission to life through two key areas of focus: the fight against breast cancer and support for women's empowerment, including economic advancement and the issue of domestic violence, and more than 300 grants area awarded each year for these important causes. The flagship programs are the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which works to advance access to care and finding a cure; and Speak Out Against Domestic Violence, focused on ending the cycle of domestic violence, with a special focus on children. Avon is proudly the largest corporate supporter of the breast cancer cause, with programs in 50 countries, and the commitment to domestic violence is growing.

Avon and the Avon Foundation also respond quickly to national and international emergencies, raising funds and providing support for women and famiiles affected by incidents such as the attacks of September 11, 2001; the tsunami in Southeast Asia; Hurricanes Rita and Katrina; and the military conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Funds are raised through a variety of events, such as the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series, and the sale of special fundraising products by Avon Sales Representatives. In 2006, the combined global philanthropy of Avon and the Avon Foundation reached an extraordinary milestone: more the $500 million raised and awarded. More information is available at http://www.foundation.org/.

avery loves the snow!

Chris took a few pictures of snow playtime with Avery.  So fun!  Pretty snow!  We love it.  =)

View from our front yard into the street

snow-covered house!

Run, Avery, run!

Avery in the field behind the house

Mighty dog!

hunt for a snow shovel

After eating supper at Calistoga Cafe tonight, Christopher and I went four different places to try and buy a snow shovel.  (I can't get my car up the snow-covered driveway to park in the garage)

Everyone is sold out.  =\  Meijer had a few, but they were the cheap plastic kind that seemed that they would snap in half upon first use.  So we passed.  Better luck tomorrow I guess.

p.s.  I took a couple pictures of our pretty snowfall with my cell phone, but I don't know how to get them uploaded to the computer.  Perhaps I'll try to figure that out tomorrow.

mt juliet christmas

We spent three days over New Year's weekend in Mt Juliet since we didn't get to see the Waynicks at Christmas.  We opened more presents, ate more food, and worked more puzzles.  We also went to see Avatar in 3D with my cousin and his wife.  (Loved it!)  What a great weekend!

Opening the webcam (hurray for Skype!)

New scarf! 

[Great for the 15 degree weather we've been having this week.]

Avery tuckered out from all the gift-opening

Gifts of food! 

[Bob's Red Mill is one of our new favorite food brands.]

Puzzle-working madness

Chris & Michael

Ma excited about her new timer-meat-thermometer!

Merry Christmas!  Again!  :)

yummy black-eyed peas

I'm not superstitious, but I like to follow the yearly tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck.  Since my new diet involves not eating pork, Christopher found an excellent recipe for the beans avoiding the usual slab of ham hock.  Try these out next year, or even as a side dish with a meal!  :)  They were so good!!

1-pound bag dry black-eyed-peas
4 jalapenos, halved and de-seeded
1 medium onion, diced, or cut in quarters (depends on if you want to eat them or not)
4 cups chicken broth
pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp)

Soak the beans overnight.  Drain.  Add all the ingredients, bring to a boil slowly, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 1½ hours.

abram and sarai

Bible-Reading:
Abram and Sarai, also known as Abraham and Sarah. These amazing people loved God and followed Him closely, but they, like us, messed up in their walk with the Lord. Abraham didn't trust God and lied to men in power about his wife and gave her to them, calling her his sister so that he could gain material wealth (well, and so they wouldn't kill him because Sarai was beautiful). Sarah didn't trust God and manipulated His plan by getting her maidservant pregnant by Abraham; hence, the birth of Ishmael and the Islamic nation as we know it. Instead she should have just waited on God a little longer and Isaac would have come along in due time. But now we have a "wild donkey of a man" and all of his decedents. Thanks, Hagar.

When God tells us something and makes us a promise, it is not our place to make the plan happen in our way or in our timing. Things get messed up. God knows best. =)

i got a goat!

Well, I didn't really receive a goat personally, but my parents got me one for Christmas through http://www.heifer.org/ for a family across the world.  I am so thrilled!  Ain't it cute?  (yes, I realize this is not the exact goat...  haha)

Goats Are Great for Families

The gift of a dairy goat represents a lasting, meaningful way for you to help a little boy or girl on the other side of the world.

Goats can thrive in extreme climates and on poor, dry land by eating grass and leaves. The gift of a dairy goat can supply a family with up to several quarts of nutritious milk a day - a ton of milk a year. Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt. Families learn to use goat manure to fertilize gardens.

Goats often have two or three kids a year making it easy for Heifer recipients to pass on the gift of a goat to another family in need. This great investment allows our partners to lift themselves out of poverty by starting small dairies that earn money for food, health care and education.


"He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." 
-Proverbs 14:31

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor."
-Proverbs 22:9

happy new year!

Oh, happy day, it's 2010!!  I really love New Year's day.  I love the idea of resolutions, even though most people fail by the middle of February, including me.  ;-) I love to reflect on the events, blessings, and heartaches of the past year and spend time looking forward to new things in the new year.

I actually don't have any "official" resolutions for 2010, but one thing I do fully intend to do is adhere to my new diet.  For life... and that started on November 1, 2009.  I cheated quite a bit over the holidays with sugar, but that crazy madness will stop once I get back home and away from all the temptations.  It was also easier to cheat since I was put back on steroids on the 18th...  eek.   Side note: My last 60mg dose was today!  I start on 40mg tomorrow morning.  Yippee!

As I mentioned before, I am reading through the one-year chronological Bible- started this "project" last week.  I am really enjoying it so far- I love God's Word and reading new things.

Christopher and I began the P90X workout program on Dec 29.  We don't need to lose weight, but we do need to get physcially healthier and I need to keep from losing any bone mass while on these steroids especially.  Today we did YogaX for about 30 minutes- it was a nice way to start the day.

My cousin sent me a link for a 40-day challenge to begin today: http://www.the40challenge.com/
I don't know much about it, but I'm going to check it out and possibly take it on! It's a short-term project--something I could easily set as a goal and achieve. =)

2009 was a year full of changes for me and Chris.  It was exciting, fun, sad, blessed and troublesome, but we made it.  Hopefully 2010 will be a little more stable and be full of blessings all its own!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Love you all.

Bible-Reading:
Still in Job.  Read chapters 19-21 today.  He is arguing back and forth with his friends about the treatment he has been receiving from God.  He is generally miserable, yet still holds onto his faith.  What a man.
Job has 42 chapters, so I'll be here for a while.