Author: Jen Rios

Unsubscribe Already!

I got this email a few days ago and let me ‘splain ya:

I have been shopping at Kids Footlocker since I started buying shoes for myself in high school. I didn’t get this email address until after Sean was out of kid’s shoes.

But, after problems with my feet in 2022, I changed to a different pair of shoes. I think that will be my last pair of shoes because I’ve had them for over a year and they still have not been on the outside sidewalk.

I clean out my email folders every morning when I wake up and I got a different email from kids footlocker but I just put it in the trash. When I see emails with Shelltoes on it, it makes me feel nostalgic and I remember rockin’ those shoes for years! I tell myself every time, “Unsubscribe already!” But I can’t seem to bring myself to do it…

Just for Show

I changed my bag of floss packs the other day. At the beginning of the year, I bought four of them because I cannot control my hands enough to use bag of 150 floss picks (because my hands are small) so I change them out every time I change out my toothbrush head I am changing out tomorrow morning.

So a few days ago, I ran out of floss picks, so I got a new bag of 75 because I will change out the head to my toothbrush tomorrow because it will be three months tomorrow. I cannot control my hands enough to use a manual toothbrush anymore.

My Mom knows that I have to have things done a certain way so the other day when I was changing out my floss pick bag, I was making sure that it would tear open at the perforated line. A few months ago, I tried doing that and I couldn’t so my Mom had to open it for me. Then, I keep my bag of floss picks semi-opened in the box with the remotes for my TV because that’s where I sit to brush my teeth because my chair won’t fit in my bathroom.

She tore off the top of the floss picks bag at the perforated line and handed it to me. I tried opening it up, but I could not even do that. I squeeze my therapy putty every day for 17 minutes and I think at this point, as much as it pains me to say, my hands are just for show.

Ned’s Declassified

I heard this sound coming out of my kitchen a couple nights ago, and I started to laugh, and immediately thought of Ned’s Declassified!!!

let me ‘splain ya:

I read this article a few days ago and sent it to my Mom:


I sent that article to her because she was talking about an increase of drain flies in both my kitchen sink and my tub. She told me something like “Well that’s in New York.” I told her that we are closer because we are five minutes away from Canada!

That statement made her think and she decided to do something about them a few days ago. My Mom knows that I am chemically sensitive so she decided to do something natural. She decided to pour a mixture of baking soda, salt, and vinegar. She started it in my kitchen, and as soon as I heard the fizz, I thought of Ned’s Declassified!:

I started to laugh when I heard her yelp! Baking soda, salt, and vinegar, is a science project!!!

That’s what made me think of Ned’s Declassified! Sean and I used to watch that all the time on Nickelodeon when we lived in our second apartment!

As for the drain flies, my Mom is going to do another science project tonight. She has done it for two nights, and the flies are lessening. I was looking for a picture for Ned’s Declassified. And I think it’s crazy that they are so old now.! Well, Sean was like 6 and he’s 21 now?!:

Big Brother is Betting 1000!!!

The writers strike is taking too long and last night while perusing YouTube, I watched this interview:


She has been popping up recently in my feed, and I waited a moment after watching that video and then I scrolled a few videos down and big brother is betting 1000!!!

I don’t know how many times I sang in this song in the bus with Girl Scouts or basketball, but we sang it all the time!!!

I’ve Decided to Fight

I did not sleep well last night to say the least! Abut waking this morning was not much better either. This weather ain’t no joke! Having MS for 22 years ain’t no joke either!!! Sitting an air conditioner doesn’t matter when it is so hot outside and I am in need of new windows.

I have never felt like this before!!! I am quite scared!!! I heard this song last night as I was playing Triple Tile 3-D and I heard this song and I have decided that in desperation, I have sent for a warrior. I really don’t feel like a Hercules and these tears just keep coming…:

3:51 a.m.

My sleep schedule is completely wonky in this heat, and after having MS for 22+ years so, with the writers strike continuing, this is the video I was forced to watch at 3:51 a.m. this morning:

I thought that Seth Meyers singing Since U Been Gone was hilarious, but I have never seen this video before, so I watched it today:

NOT as Effective

The weather was awful when I woke up, and I think it was during an audio rosary and just after I counted five of the biggest cracks of thunder in my life when I closed my eyes and got into the Power Stance.

I held my fists to my hips for a long while, as my eyes were closed as I tried to muster some kind of strength. But then I felt a tear threaten to creep out of my right eye. I tried to lock my jaw to make it stop, but then my right eye started to threaten a tear. And then the tears just started to fall.

My shoulders were shaking uncontrollably, as my face was completely drenched with tears, but I just let them fall. I did that until I couldn’t stand all the wetness on my face, and I needed to blow my nose.

I told my Mom that I have never felt like this before in my life because I haven’t and something tells me that a power stands with tears streaming is NOT as effective…

July 2023 Faves

I’m still on my Sara Bareilles kick, and here is what I am listening to right now:


And then there’s my WALKING song, which I will ALWAYS LOVE 🧑🧑🧑;


And then there’s this one which I think is my new fave after my life and my abilities have changed so much!!! 😒😒😒:

Existence Mode.

Yesterday, I graduated from Speech Pathology. But, like all of my graduations, there was no fanfare for me. When Sean graduated how he did in 2020, I did not even get to go to that, I told him that he came from my body, so my curse as part of him.

So now, I am just in existence mode until July 19. I can catch my breath now. I have been listening to Sara Bareilles a lot lately. I have this song in my head because I really like it:

Gold Star, A+ Graduate

I had my virtual Speech Pathology appointment today. And at this point, my Speech Pathology appointments are basically just talking to each other. I remember that Meira said that that’s what she would do and she is assessing me as I talk. Today, she let me know that she can no longer justify having me on her schedule.

I asked her if she was breaking up with me, and this is a real break up now, and she said that she is choosing to think of it as a graduation. Then she let me know that I am a gold star, A+ graduate!

I really liked hearing that, but I am so tired now! I took my contacts out right after my appointment to let my eyes rest because with my air conditioners on, it’s a fight to reach homeostasis now.

It is so tiring! I will not need to leave my house again until July 19 for my haircut and then again on July 24 for my eye appointment with my optometrist. I don’t see my neural ophthalmologist until next year.