Meningitis strikes back....

One of the most nerve wracking aspects of Sjogren's Syndrome is that there is no predicting when the symptoms will strike and how bad they will be. I woke up in the middle of the night last night shivering and feeling horrible.  I had a fever, my head was pounding and my neck hurt.  I was still able to bend my chin to my chest but it was painful.  Hubby hopped right out of bed and made a mad dash for the medicine cabinet (which is quite well stocked in our house) to get me the Prednisone.  This has definitely been my worst "attack" since I was hospitalized in April and my poor husband is a wreck.  I woke up feeling a bit better this morning (the joys of steroids) and my temperature is back to normal but I am completely wiped out.  Purely exhausted and there is no energy or motivation to be had.  This makes me so thankful that I am able to stay at home.  No boss to get angry if I call in sick...the worst that will happen is that the daily cleaning & laundry may not get done.  I am so blessed to have a supportive husband and great kids who will pitch in and help out when I'm laid low by my SJS.  

Now on to updates on monthly grocery shopping and the homemade journey.  On Monday I attempted to make a few loaves of bread for use in French toast and sandwiches.  The texture was wonderful but I'm going to have to get used to the fact that the homemade stuff isn't going to be the same size & shape as the store bought stuff.  Does anyone have any suggestions on getting it to turn out more like the store bought stuff?  

The rest of this week will be relatively easy on the homemade front.  Today I will whip up my first batch of homemade laundry detergent.  Tomorrow I need to make some buns for the hearty Italian sandwiches I will be making for dinner.  Friday I will do the next week's desserts...I'm thinking homemade Thin Mint cookies.  Num!  

Here are a few of the crafty projects I've undertaken recently.

Mason Jar Mummy

 This was a super easy project that simply required Modge Podge, a mason jar, sterile medical gauze and googly eyes.  I have a LED tea light in the jar.

Thankful pumpkins

 I still think these would have looked better with white pumpkins but I couldn't find darker letters.

And finally, Aidan's winter scarf for this year

Oh and a grocery shopping update:  I didn't plan well enough in regards to shredded cheese & peppers so when I make my run tomorrow for milk and eggs (in the last week & a half we've gone through 4 1/2 gallons of milk and almost 34 eggs!) I will have to pick some up.  It'll be another $30 added to my grocery bill for the month but still much better than the $600 I would have normally spent in the past!