Author: Jen Rios

Silas & my, “Poop Leg”

It was probably last Wednesday when the events that took place in the middle of the night made me think of book for the first time in about 20 years:

This book had just come out and I was lent a copy of it to read. I was most interested in reading it and waited until Sean was asleep in his crib. This was the first time that I can remember foregoing an entire night of sleep to finish reading a book from cover to cover. I remember seeing the morning sun stream in through the window and I was able to get maybe an hour of sleep before Sean woke up and tended to his needs.

I thought of this book specifically because I clearly remembered a character in it. The details were a little bit fuzzy but I googled: “Albino priest who hurts himself in The da Vinci Code” and then it all came back to me! The character I was talking about was named Silas and he was a priest. He was part of a cultish sect surrounding the Catholic Church. But let me explain the events of last Wednesday night for you to understand why I thought of this character:

It was probably 3 or 4 in the morning and I was awakened from a sound sleep by the feeling of a screwdriver or large needle being driven into my right thigh. Obviously, I screamed and woke my Mom and I asked her to cut my sweatpants off because some thing hurt my leg. Needless to say, my Mom did NOT cut my pants off but we did not find anything on my leg when she took them off. I thought that that was strange because my thigh was hurting so badly even when I woke up in the late morning.

It continued to hurt and it still hurts today, almost one week later. But it no longer feels like a screwdriver or a large needle being shoved into my thigh straight to the bone. Now, it feels like there is a chain around my right thigh, similar to Silas‘s chain. I remember the description when I read the book and it sounded awful and I searched YouTube to see if there was a video representation that showed how it was described in the book.

Oh, there IS one! I will NOT put it on my blog though! I didn’t even watch the whole scene before turning my phone off. It was really gross! But that’s how it feels for me! I feel like there is barbed wire around my right thigh and it is cutting into my skin. At first, I thought it was my compression sock cutting into my skin but there is nothing there! It’s just nerve pain that I will have to deal with! OF COURSE it would be in my “Poop leg!”

I was able to counteract some of the pain with pain medication but I really want to NOT depend on medication to ride this nerve pain out! I posted a meme on Facebook about nerve pain and I talked about it, “NOT being the half of it” because it’s really NOT! It sucks that you can’t see it but I feel like Silas and my “Poop leg” is REALLY hurting!!!

February 2022 Faves: “The Super Bowl Edition”

This is the first February of my life where MY team, (the one that I want to win) is playing in it. Because they aren’t mine because they’re in California and I am in Michigan but Matthew Stafford is quarterbacking for the Rams and I have loved him since 2009 when he was in Detroit so I think that’s okay by extension?

And the BEST Super Bowl halftime show is not available, thanks NFL! It’s supposed to be Prince but maybe if you click on that you can still watch it…?

Or, there is the second best halftime show that I saw with Sean and and it was Bruno Mars’ drumming that impressed me the most! I love drummers!:

Or, I loved watching Lenny Kravitz play guitar but I think I loved it because Sean said that a bunch of girls in his class said on Monday that they didn’t know why or that Cinna from the The Hunger Games could play the guitar!

I remember Adam Levine getting a lot of bad press because of his choice of tank tops but I’dlike to this show because I felt like I was a young adult at a concert when I still had some control over my body.

But I am most excited for this year‘s halftime show!!! i’m not sure what to expect but I’m pretty sure it will be EPIC with the Superstar OG lineup!!!:

#Elated

The second half of last night’s NFC championship game was a little bit intense for me. But, my man and his team pulled it off! I changed my Facebook profile picture accordingly:

Sean sent that tweet to me last night and it was striking how deep it was and I really liked it! Sean always says that I turned my back on the Detroit Lions but really, I have just followed my LOVE of Matthew Stafford! That love has been there since 2009 when Sean started playing peewee football.

I didn’t pay attention to this commentary last night because I was busy texting Sean and my friends about his victory but I loved seeing it again, this morning:

I shared the reply with my friends because I am so happy that Matthew Stafford is going to the Super Bowl!!! I am elated in fact!!! I have NEVER had a horse in the race for the big game!

I don’t even feel bad that this happened once he left Detroit but I’m so happy that it happened!!! I just love him!!!:

Sean and my friend sent me this one which kind of made me laugh but I don’t even want to think about that…:

MyGirlL: Regal

My Mom gave Leia a bath today. I really appreciate that because she smells so good and Leia knows how good she looks! So much so that now that she is almost 3, she’s a teenager and so she has to pose in pictures and that’s what she’s doing. My ‘Kate Moss’ Looks so regal!!!: (AND she smells good too!!!)

Sort of Brown

I feel that I am having somewhat of an, “MS-y” day! I have been working with my speech pathologist and what we have started doing is to have me read children’s books. I understand this because my background in reading tells me that to read books with lots of alliteration helps with speaking. I decided to try this book because it is my absolute favorite and I must have read it to Sean 1 million times!:

I got lost in my memories the first time I read it. I was back living in my Parents’ house and sleeping in my bedroom growing up with a crib next to my bed. It was comforting to read the book and to read it out loud that helps with my speech but it reminded me of reading it to my child! I have decided that if I was going to pick up colors for today it would be brown. I have added the two pages that explain a “Brown day” and I think that’s how I feel right about now…

My speech pathologist wants me to read it aloud daily and I also have to dictate unedited text messages to her. I appreciate all of the work she is doing with me too help me to keep as much of my speech as I can for as long as I can. I still have a lot of work to do today but it is a brown day so I am not motivated…

“She is Gone, but used to be Mine”

I have been listening to this Sara Bareilles song every day for a long while! I only listen to it when my Mom is taking Leia for a walk because she says it is depressing.

for me, it is NOT depressing! It actually is autobiographical. I saw this picture on Facebook not too long ago and it made me think of this song because for me, that girl really IS gone but she used to be mine!

My Mom is out taking Leia for a walk so you know what I am listening to and I am lost in memories of being able bodied…

And somehow, I am comforted with this song in this moment of sadness.

#CONSISTENT

So my man, Matthew Stafford, the quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams, isp in the NFC title game!!!

This is a very strange position for me to be in! I watched these two clips on Twitter before the game this last weekend and I started to get nervous.

And then I saw this one and I really got nervous!!!:

I have since reconnected with a high school friend and we talk football all of the time! Right after the Stafford trade, I told him that I already bought a jersey for Sean. I told John that he hast to wear this for me because I love Matthew Stafford!:

That picture was taken in the summer add my nephew’s graduation party. I knew that was going to be a good investment! Well, I didn’t KNOW that it would be but I knew that I would always LOVE Matthew Stafford!

I was on the fence about becoming a true Rams fan in the beginning of the season and as the weeks went by, he told me that he is sorry but I already AM a Rams fan! He lives in Texas and he sent me this for Christmas:

I talk with one other high school friend who has not been a believer in Matthew Stafford ever and I constantly defend him and put faith in him for the next season!

So the game started and I was flying high with tons of, “Woos” to go around and lots of clapping And, “ I love you Matty!” My Mom had left to go to her house so I was alone to watch the game. I was having a great time until the second half started after I received this text but I already knew it so I was nervous:

And then I received this text from my other friend:

I

And then the game ended and all was well! I texted my Barwis trainer, Adam, (who I called Phil). I had previously sent him my Facebook profile picture where Matthew Stafford won his first playoff game. I actually watched Monday night football with Adam one night at Barwis and so he witnessed firsthand May, “I love you Matty!” Shouts!

I texted him this about Sunday’s game:

And he responded to me with:

My friend texted me this fact that he saw in a twee later in the evening:

And then I share that fact with our other high school friend:

And then I sent him this and here is his response:

I really can’t believe that this is happening! Well, actually I CAN believe it but I really can’t! Then I saw the Tweet from GMFB today which made me happy!!!

And then to hear from the man of the hour! Matty himself!

I am excited because I have never had a horse in the race this far into the playoffs but I’m happy to say that I am consistent! Sean gives me a lot of junk for abandoning the Lions but I told him that I have always been a Matthew Stafford sand and then I’m consistent! I treated this to him after the Game because he KNOWS that I love him!!!

My friend told me to call her husband and talk smack to him about Matthew winning but I was so tired yesterday but a good way!

We

Kind of Morbid?


I clearly remember hearing this song playing in the background as the announcers were talking while I was watching the Cardinals v Rams Wildcard Game. I thought that I would write a blog post about this song because it was so random that I heard it. I remember being 11 years old and buying this single tape with my OWN money because I liked this song so much! It was $2.99 and I felt it was totally worth it because I had my own tape player and I could listen to it endlessly, which I did!

I just read on Facebook this morning that Meatloaf has died. I feel kind of morbid posting this today but I have been thinking about this since that game and I figured I’d share it now: