Author: The real life adventures of a Creole Gypsy

The “Poke” Mandates

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So I have been toiling with this post for months. What to say, how to convey my position to actually make people stop and listen, and not immediately go into attack mode and label me an anti-vaxxer. Actually, that might be a great place to start. Let me make one thing painfully clear, I AM NOT AN ANTI-VAXXER! I am current on all of my vaccines, including some most people may not have. I’m in the medical profession so I get my flu shot every year, have my titers checked, etc. I am also a Crohn’s patient. I have lived with this disease for 18 years. I’ve been on all the therapy drugs, immunosuppressants, steroids, you name it, we’ve tried it. I am fortunate that my Crohn’s falls on the mild side. So after years of personal research, different drug’s and basically just trying to figure out what the Hell worked, I was able to figure out that my diet and lifestyle were the biggest factors. So I figured out what foods were triggers, (it’s a lot of fun ones unfortunately) eliminated alcohol and caffeine (I know!) I’ve been able to control my disease with diet and lifestyle for 10 years. I am not immune-compromised. I will on occasion have a mild flare, (I mean it doesn’t go away.) I’ve just learned how to navigate the autoimmune waters. Now if your wondering why I’m telling you all of this, it’s for a reason. After my first bowel resection, the dietitian came in for a consult post op, and the first thing I asked her for was a copy of a Crohn’s diet. She looked at me and said “there isn’t one.” I looked at her bewildered as I lay there with a 5 inch incision from my bowels being resected due to a perforation, packed with dressing, granulating closed on it’s own. She then followed up with “there isn’t one, because everyone is different!” (Hold on to this statement for later readers.) “You’ll need to figure out what you can tolerate.” After she explained it, it did make sense, what worked for me, might not work for the next person with completely different DNA and anatomy. I mean not one of us humans is exactly the same.

Fast forward to today. September 2021, the time in history that will be remembered for COVID and vaccine MANDATES, and politicians making speeches with “for the greater good.” snuck in there, Which is generally always prefaced with “sacrifices must be made!”(Name one time in history where that political justification turned out good.) Corporations mandating vaccines or face termination, local city governments passing mandates to be vaccinated to socialize in public spaces. It’s like reading Orwell. People have been so indoctrinated with fear, and this perfect political weapon has been yielded with split hair precision, it’s literally divided families! Are you fucking kidding me! Dividing lifelong relationships and families…It’s got to stop!

So remember in that first paragraph above where I mentioned “everyone is different.” Well that’s not fairytale conjecture, that is scientific fact. Let me explain a bit why I’m so personally against mandates. First and foremost, it’s the vaccine itself. There just simply isn’t enough long term effect study data period. Second, for my patient population, Crohn’s, there is 0 study data! This little fact is by the actual admission of the FDA, CDC and pharmaceutical companies. There is no data for me to make a safe, confident medical decision to take the vaccine. We were left out of the initial studies. Let me say that again, THERE IS ZERO DATA. I don’t know how my body will react. It could be mild, it could be violent with devastating results. Anyone up for Russian Roulette? I am not alone, there are thousands of people in my shoes. People who are being mandated out of their livelihoods because they are scared to play Russian Roulette. They’re not anti-vaxxers, they, like me, are scared, and there is no one to hold accountable should the unthinkable happen from the vaccine. I’m furious we are at this point in our society. How did we get here?

My intention is not to make this political. But if you are of the mindset that people who are unvaccinated are selfish, you are part of the problem. If you’ve uttered the words “I don’t know why they just don’t take the damn vaccine!” You to are part of the problem. Let me turn that table a bit, I think you are being selfish for expecting masses of people you know nothing about, stand in line to do something they are not comfortable with, put themselves at risk, just to extinguish your fears. Do you see how that works? It’s a vicious cycle.

I want you to stop for a second and remember “we are all not the same.” And what that really means. I want you to stop judging, and bullying people for trying to hold onto their civil liberties and decide what is best for their own well being and physical person. We have that right. (For now.) Don’t throw that away so easily. If we continue down these paths, with these mainstream and social media poisoned mindsets, we are truly very soon going to be living in 1984.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Don’t judge, stop hating each other. The only people who are going to lose this war is us. Stop the mandates. Stop letting someone else in charge make you think that you are not smart enough to know what the right thing to do is for yourself, your family and your neighbor without being forced. Humanity deserves more credit than that.

Wash your hands.

M.

Big Bend National Park. The Adventure.

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Big Bend has been on our list for some time now. We actually had a river float trip in Santa Elena Canyon booked last year, thanks Corona. We decided at the last minute, (like 9pm on Sunday night) to go for it for New Year’s week. In our past research, we found out that Terlingua was pretty much the go to spot for accommodations. (More on that later) We headed out Monday morning. Let me also say, we were unaware of what Mother Nature had in store in the way of a huge winter storm!

On Wednesday, a massive winter storm blew in that evidently isn’t that common for the area. The roads out of Terlingua were impassable, as well as the roads in the park in the higher altitudes. It did however add a layer of beauty you can’t imagine. We consider ourselves lucky to have witnessed it…even if it meant sacrificing water at our hotel.

The park is absolutely beautiful. We hiked into Santa Elena Canyon and I do regret not being able to do our canoe trip. The Window is not to be missed as well as Lost Mine trail. Boquillas Crossing is closed due to Covid, but we would have loved the opportunity to be able to do that as well. There were some locals selling their treasures at the top of the canyon overlook luckily.

Now, let’s talk about Terlingua. If you’re a National Park enthusiast, you know that gateway towns can be amazing, charming and quaint, or very limited on services. Terlingua is the latter. It’s probably my least favorite I’ve encountered. Very limited accommodations, you can search Airbnb for the quirky ones, one major “resort” in town with motel and RV hookups, Big Bend Resort and adventures, where we stayed. (In my sleeping bag on top of the bed because the room hasn’t been updated since 1992) Very few restaurants, but there is the Ghostown, and the Starlight Theater Restaurant, that are redeeming qualities. There is a grocery store in town that is I swear like a Tardis, you walk in and they have EVERYTHING you can think of! Terlingua’s best quality is it’s about 10 minutes from the entrance to the park. Definitely expect a line to the entrance in nice weather.

Now, if towns with scary infrastructure aren’t your thing, you don’t want to wear shoes when you get out of the shower, and aren’t self sufficient in an RV. There are options for lodging. About 17 miles from Terlingua is the Golf Resort in Lajitas, it’s super nice, and they have a beer drinking goat as a Mayor. What’s not to love. You can also stay in Marathon which is a 40 minute drive into the park, but they have the famous Gage Hotel. Honestly, Terlingua is the most convenient, but don’t expect much. I probably would have opted for Lajitas if I knew it existed before planning the trip.

Overall it was a beautiful experience. As most of the parks are. Honestly, that’s what we’re there for anyway. Just bring a sleeping bag, this is one where anything can happen, Winter Storms, no water, 1992 decor, and beer drinking goats!

Safe travels.

M.

Fall Leaves

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We recently did a road trip from Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole, WY. It’s been a bucket list thing for me to see the leaves change in The Tetons. Mother Nature did not disappoint. It was an amazing, beautiful trip. We discovered a little hidden gem called Alpine, WY and the Bridger Teton National Forest. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Bucket list check. Utah and Wyoming in October are a must see.

Mean Mom’s

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I read an article today, well, let’s face it, Covid times have me reading a lot of articles lately. But this one in particular hit home. With all the down time of empty nesting and quarantine, I tend to get “in my head” a bunch, like I’m sure a lot of us do lately. Sometimes that’s a dangerous place to spend too much time. Especially for those of us who have lead “colorful” lives. One of the recurring themes of self deprecation on a spin around the nucleus of my brain is parenting regret. Certainly I am not the only person who gets stuck on this particular track. It’s a doozy with many tentacles that sprawl out in so many directions. (Insert anxiety attack here.) I’m actually navigating one of these trips now. This one has me triggered pretty bad, so I’m actually writing this to center myself, help me focus, move on and frankly calm the F down!

You see, I never viewed myself as overly “maternal” I didn’t lose my shit when a baby walked into a room, or long for a family as soon as my ovaries awakened in adolescence. I mean I adore my children, but honestly I’m probably still Meh, about kids in general. I always secretly thought to myself during my child raising years, who in the Hell thought it would be a good idea to put me in charge of humans? I’m way to cynical and impatient for this. Having said this, I’m sure you can guess I was not a coddle mom. I wasn’t a fawn over them when they fell…I was the shake it off cause I told you not to do it in the first place, the I’m not taking you to the ER if you get hurt doing that, the I said NO, don’t ask me again! Yes I was a spanker, not a time out mom. Most of my child rearing years I was a single mom. (Divorced by my choice. That’s a whole other blog!) So I had to find the balance between nurture and fear…this is where the latent self doubt comes in. All the regret floods in at this weak spot. Was I present enough? Was I too hard on them, Have I completely ruined them emotionally and they don’t know it yet?

My kids are all successful and what seems well adjusted on the surface (I hope.) We have what I consider an amazing adult child parent relationship. (This was always important to me for reasons I won’t discuss.) They will tell me I was awesome and amazing and supportive. I never saw myself that way. I’m grateful they did. Still I wonder…

I was accused of being a mean mom, and picking on certain kids more than once in my parenting career. Now that they have their own families, (successfully navigating adulthood I might add.) I hope they see that parenting is hard. Some kids require a little bit of a stronger hand than others. It’s not that you don’t love them, you are harder on them because you do. Every parents ultimate goal is raise decent humans who meet their full potential in life. Sometimes that requires a Mean Mom.

So if you’re reading this and it hits home, drop me a little thumbs up of support, I could definitely use it right now. All of my “Meanie” moms (and dad’s) unite. Remember, we’re all just doing the best we can assembling these human units that came without the damn manual.

Stay mentally healthy and safe everyone.

Wash your hands.

Wear a mask.

Check on each other.

M. 😉

The enemy within.

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I have been silent this past couple of weeks. Observing, thinking, analyzing the current state of humanity. I’m a pragmatist, that’s generally what we do, we try to figure it all out with logic, common sense and fact. So after much reflection, here’s what I’ve concluded for our current dire times…

Racism is not the issue. You cannot have a few bad apples and label the whole bushel as spoiled. Yes there will always be extremists in any situation for any subject, for any reason, Racism in our modern society is not one sided. It’s spherical. Yes I said that, it’s 3 dimensional. It’s not white vs. black, or white privilege, every race has it’s own unique form of sub conscious racism. I don’t even think racism is the correct term anymore, it’s more like racial profiling. I mean racism to me is the blatant segregation that was prevalent before the 1960’s when things were actually labeled “colored only” mostly in the South, and that was a sad time of ignorance in our country! Now, I think it’s more the subconscious kind, labels that all races have for each other, whether it be white, black, Latino, Asian, Indian, etc. If you ask any random person of any race what another race is known or famous for, I guarantee they would tell you something about each and every one, including subsets in their own race! So is that racism? According to the temperature of today’s society…yes! That’s also absolutely ridiculous! That does not make you or an entire race racist! The term is used entirely to broadly! To the point it’s lost it’s truly hateful meaning to be taken seriously anymore. I don’t see the color in the George Floyd tragedy, yes it was a fucking horrific, nauseating tragedy, and I hope every single officer within eyeshot of what was happening gets prosecuted to the full extent of the law! But what I saw was an innocent man killed by a dirty cop! That’s where our focus needs to be! If not, there will continue to be more innocent people killed by dirty cops, black or white on either side! Remember they come in all colors!

Unfortunately there are bigger forces at work in our current society. Yes they are political, elitist and evil agendas! They all know that to take down a country, you have to divide it to weaken it. This is what’s happening in our country before our very eyes. The vast majority is falling for it hook, line and sinker, and it scares me. But here’s the thing…those mysterious forces lurking that are manipulating everything with their deep pockets and secret connections are an actual foe. One we will probably never be able to control, not with our current tactics anyway. But they are not the real enemy…

This is the epiphany that finally came to me after my weeks of reflection, my A ha moment if you will.

The real enemy is EMOTION!!! Yes Emotion!

The lack of control of them, and the forces that are manipulating them for personal gain! Think about it, think about the damage one person can do to a single situation when decisions are based on emotion. That email written out of emotion, that text that gets sent, the words that are said out of emotion, the hurtful ones you can’t take back! Now, multiply it times society…300,000,000 people! You now have a powder keg! This is currently where we are. People saying and doing and reacting based solely on emotions and the evil puppeteers pulling the strings know this! If we could all take a breath, and try and gain control of our own personal emotions, we would win this battle currently raging, that’s the new tactic we need to deploy! You can’t control a society in control of the trigger! The worst thing any human can do in any situation is let their emotions get the best of them! Has that ever turned out good for anyone?

Racism is not the issue. Can you honestly look at yourself in the mirror if you’re reading this and admit to yourself you’re a racist because you’re being guilted into doing so? I know I can’t, I won’t! So you see, we have to take the control back from the puppeteers. The people using us against ourselves We do this one deep breath at a time, we have to take control of the one thing we can and it’s our own enemy within…Emotion. At some point we have to say…enough!

Deep breath…logic in…bullshit out…

M.

Enough.

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Things we lost in the pandemic.

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Covid-19…hmh. Where do I begin? I guess I’ll start in the beginning…

January 2020. My husband travels home from Seattle in his old role as an Area Manager for his company, about a week or so later I start with symptoms of what I brush off as “bad allergies” because honestly, that’s what it felt like! Except this was a little different, it progressed to my chest rather quickly. I went to the doctor and was treated for a respiratory infection. I eventually recovered in about 2 weeks. Then, my husband gets sick with the same thing, same symptoms, same recovery time. Little did we know at the time, Seattle was a hot spot, the antibiotics I was given were useless, and we both with absolute certainty had Covid-19. (That was the early days before it was rampant in the media) so we were not tested for it. We both recovered pretty uneventfully. (As did most)

Fast forward to the end of February. My husband only watches CNBC and the stock market news. At this point, Covid is headlines. They are talking about social distancing as a possibility, and canceling large events. I’m standing in my kitchen and thinking “for a freaking respiratory infection?” Is this for real? The flu kills more people every year than this thing! I mean it’s not freaking Ebola! At this point I’m convulsively eye rolling every time a report comes on about it.

March 2020. All major events are cancelled, stay at home orders are in effect, most “non-essential” businesses are closed, you can’t go to church, schools are closed, but you can go to Walmart and Home Depot because they are deemed essential, (oh and liquor stores) the mask/glove controversy begins. The stock market is in a nose dive tailspin…All for a respiratory infection!

April 2020. Quarantine is in full affect with no end in sight, unemployment is around 33 million, the economy is in the worst shape in history since the Great Depression, the mask/glove debate continues, the divide in our country grows stronger between the left and the right, there is no consistency to anything. Reports in the media, our local, state and federal governments can’t get it together, social media compounds everything and makes it worse. Conspiracy theories run amuck, people are trying to be compliant, but are thinking in the back of their minds, something isn’t right! They think of the flu numbers, and the logical part of their brain says “all of this for a respiratory infection?”

May 2020. I get furloughed to 4 hours a day. I have to cram a 50 hour work week into 4 hours a day. But hey, I still have a job (so far) Then, we get the news from my husbands job we dreaded hearing, “you have to go work in the field to get billable. All of the planned projects have been canceled due to Covid. The closest working project is in Utah! For at least a year!” Everything we built and we’re working for changed with one phone call. We’ve lived this life before, we thought we were done with it. This isn’t happening! But it was happening. I know we will get through it, we’ve done it before for 6 years. We are grateful to have a job to complain about. So many millions don’t. So tell me, what is the real tragedy here? Lives and livelihoods lost, our forever altered economy, small businesses that will never recover, our new normal? The even greater divide this has caused in our society? Families that are one paycheck away from being homeless actually becoming homeless? People will argue it was all necessary to save the “at risk” population (before you attack me, remember I have an autoimmune disease and technically am at risk) and to not overwhelm the healthcare system because of ventilator shortages, and to flatten the curve…but still, the logical reason part of my brain screams out… “all for a respiratory infection?”

Covid-19, Quarantine and what not to do with gloves.

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Okay, it’s time. It’s time for me to weigh in on this lunacy known as Coronavirus. I’m not a doctor, I’m not an Epidemiologist, I am however, a CST, a Surgical Tech. No one knows more about infection control and cross contam than we do! I feel it’s time to do a little PSA and maybe clear up some myths that are running rampant out there. Hopefully, you will learn something. Buckle up, this is long.

First let me tell you why I’m qualified to throw this advice around. As a Scrub Tech. I create and maintain a sterile field for all surgical environments, (yes including you when you’re the patient) I have to be excellent at my job, there is absolutely no margin for error. If I am prepping your surgery, you want the best Aseptic Technique trained staff. Your health and well being depend on it. No, this isn’t me gloating, this is FACT! You see, I am trained to see things differently than most, even some doctors and nurses. I am trained to see everything and everyone as contaminated. And yes this makes everyday off duty life an absolute fun house of public ignorance is bliss. The average Joe honestly, doesn’t have a clue the harm they subject themselves to daily just with subpar hygiene…let alone a viral pandemic.

Having said all this, let’s talk PPE. Personal Protective Equipment.

GLOVES– Insert deep sigh here. As someone who teaches Hand Hygiene, this is the thing in all of this craziness that makes me cringe the most! Two words…Cross. Contamination!! Your gloves are not protecting you. Unless you have a box of them that you’re carrying around all day and are changing them after everything you touch in public, honestly, don’t bother. They are a false sense of security. But okay, I get it Walmart Karen, they make you feel like you’re doing SOMETHING right? So fine, wear your gloves if you must. But please remember these rules…DO NOT TOUCH your child, hair, face, cellphone, shirt, adjust your pants, tie your shoes, dig in your purse, touch your wallet, credit card, keys, and Jesus take the wheel, eat with them on! (I’ve witnessed this) Refer back to the two words CROSS CONTAMINATION! If you do any of the aforementioned things while still wearing said gloves, you have done yourself no good.

WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN

DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE

MASKS-The CDC has issued a statement for everyone to wear a mask in public. The only masks that are rated to effectively block droplets and particles are N-95, (95%) and only if worn properly. So here’s a little enlightenment. All healthcare workers are actually fit tested for the proper size N-95 that healthcare facilities are required to provide easy access to. The straps need to be placed and worn properly, they are extremely snug and not at all comfortable enough for the general public to walk around in to grocery shop. So, when I see Walmart Karen wearing one, and it’s covering everything but her eyes…yep, you guessed it, useless! Not to mention a waste of masks for people who really need them, frontline healthcare workers! Now let’s back up a minute to the whole CDC mask statement thing. Remember when I said that I was trained to see everything as contaminated? That’s basically what the CDC is saying in issuing that order. They are assuming everyone is contaminated if they are symptomatic or not, and the masks are to help control the possible ongoing contamination of surfaces and aerosol droplets from coughs and sneezing. (And breathing) so the masks are for the person next to you and behind you (6 feet hopefully) protection. They are not protecting you from breathing in anything. Masks are designed to be single use. If you are using handmade cloth masks, wash them daily.

Daily Decontam at Home- Okay, you’ve ventured out to get milk and eggs or formula and done a TP recon run, now I’m back home. Now what? First and foremost, SHOES STAY OUTSIDE! Shoes are gross without a full on pandemic. Why would you track everywhere you’ve been into your home? If you have an attached garage and won’t scar anyone for life by stripping down before entering, do it. If not, remove your street clothes ASAP and do not sit on your furniture. Shower (especially if you live with someone who is high risk)

Daily you should wipe down all touch points with a bleach solution. This includes door knobs, light switches, refrigerator, stove, microwave handles, pantry and cabinet doors, tables, counters, washer and dryer panels, anything with touch screens, toilet handles, faucets,etc. mop floors daily.

Quarantine-Do yourselves a favor, turn off social media for a while everyday and just do something else, read a book, go for a walk, anything. Your sanity is going to depend on it. Get your stats and info from the CDC. Those are the only numbers I trust. Stay home! That’s all I have to say about that.

Well I think that covers lesson one “The Basics” Please if any of my medical colleagues think of anything I’ve forgotten or have anything to add, please do and share.

I hope this was helpful.

I know these are crazy, scary, unprecedented, uncertain times. I promise we will all get through this together……(6 feet apart)

Stay healthy and safe everyone.

M.

PS. No Karen’s were harmed in making this blog! 😉😷

Jacob’s Well

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I have to admit, I have a pretty long, adventurous bucket list. Believe it or not, this has always been in my top ten.

I must say it did not disappoint. Now I will say, it doesn’t look like all of the Photo Shopped images you see on Pinterest or Insta. Those are clearly taken in the right light at the right angle, with the right filter. But it is still beautiful in real life unedited.

Jacob’s Well is located about 10 minutes from Wimberley Texas. About an hour North of San Antonio. Wimberley is a quaint little town with I’m sure no shortage of Airbnb’s, so for lodging, Wimberley is the destination. You absolutely NEED RESERVATIONS! You can do this on the Hays County website. It’s a whopping $9 per person for 2 hours. (Trust me, 2 hours is plenty.) The area is only open from May-October, and it books up fast.

Now let me give you the real lowdown. This is a natural spring fed Well/Cave System. It’s 68° degrees consistent. It’s cold. The river is slippery in spots, it can be slippery on the rocks you jump off into the Well. There is not a lifeguard, there are no facilities, this can be a dangerous outing. So be careful. This is probably why alcohol is not allowed. But Ice-chests are allowed. Oh and if you pack it in, pack it out! No litterbugs please.

This is not that big of an area. The pictures you’ve seen are deceiving. So don’t bother with rafts, tubes, or FOR. THE. LOVE. Pool noodles! Leave them at home. This is all about the jumping (not diving.)

Overall this was a great day trip. I highly recommend it. It’s a beautiful little place.

Bucket list check!

M.

http://visitwimberley.com/jacobswell/spring.shtml