Author: Jen Rios

“Quarantined”

I had written probably about two weeks ago about Sean being sick and us having to have a red X on the door or a skull and crossbones because there is sickness in our house. I began to feel under the weather then.

Sean did not even finish watching the Super Bowl with me so he stayed home from school on Monday and went to the doctor. It’s the weirdest thing for my son to be seeing an internist instead of a pediatrician. He had developed a cough and got medicine almost a week ago. I had noticed that his cough wasn’t getting any better even though he was taking the medicine religiously.

When he decided to go to bed before the end of the Super Bowl, I told him that when he gets up in the morning, if he does not feel well, he should not go to school and should go to the doctor. Something about his cough didn’t feel right. I told him it sounded really wet even after all the medication he had taken and I said that he needed to go to the doctor to make sure it’s not pneumonia. He had pneumonia when he was four years old.

Growing up, my Dad had pneumonia a number of times and I learned that once you get it, you are predisposed to get it again. Well, 14 years later, Sean got it again. So now, I think the red X on our door should be replaced with a ”Quarantined” sign. Sean is really good about taking his prescribed medicine but I will say that as a mother, it kind of pains me to hear my baby cough so ferociously!

I am at a loss also because I have MS and I have had it for the past 19 years. I feel like I should be placed into a plastic bubble so as not to get pneumonia myself. My Mom is doing an excellent job making sure that I do not get it as well. She lets me know that that would be a really bad thing for me to have and I know in my soul that it would be bad as well.

So, it’s not like Sean is sick and he can lounge on the couch while we watch TV together, he’s seriously sick and stays in his room mostly so as not get me sick. It’s kind of sad to me but the medicine won’t make things better for at least three days. So, here I sit, mostly in my kitchen, and I am helpless when I hear him cough so vigorously! I feel terrible!

When he was four years old, I brought him what he tells me was, “A million balloons“ when he had pneumonia the last time. I told him that I couldn’t get it for him this time and he let me know that he’s grown now and doesn’t need that. That also hurt! He will ALWAYS be my baby!

“Jenny from the Block”

I had a huge memory come back to me on the first time someone saw me fall. It was a ridiculous MS fall. The one where you trip over nothing and fall to your knees. Well, the first time I did that, I think I was 20 years old. I was walking with the teller supervisor back to my station and I fell right by the first disabled window.

I remember feeling my face burning and I was told that it was really red. I got a laugh then when it happened, but it wasn’t a mean laugh, as he was there, Matt (I called him, “Matty”) told me that I looked, “Really cute!” I was SO embarrassed and wondered what I tripped on and I didn’t know that that was the beginning of the end of me walking.

Anyway, I had forgotten about this memory until I saw yesterday’s halftime show:

It was J Lo‘s first song. I had completely forgotten about this for almost 20 years. It was her first song, or rather, the first part of the medley:

I had worked with a guy named Matt Davis. He was a year younger than me and I think he was hired shortly after I was. it wasn’t until after I had my son that I experienced that first fall and he is the one who witnessed it. I started thinking of this memory when the halftime show was just about over.

in a conversation once, and let him know that are used to be called, “Jenny” in high school. Now, most people call me, “Jen.” Back when I was working at the credit union with Matt, I was called, “Jennifer” because that was the name on my name tag. From the day I told him that I was called, “Jenny,” he would sing the J Lo song, “Jenny from the Block‘

in the mornings, all of the tellers would wait in the parking lot until one of the administrators unlocked the front door and that is where we would enter the credit union and wait downstairs in the break room until just before opening. Every time I got out of my car, I would hear Matt singing that song to me! He did it all of the time! I didn’t realize how endearing was until now that I was reminded of that song in watching yesterday’s Super Bowl.

I haven’t seen or talked to him in about 17 years. I’m sure he has kids now and I often wonder about him as I have memories of working at the credit union. I know that he has to live somewhere nearby and I’m sure someone I know knows where he is and I think I would like to know that!

i’m sure if I talk to him now, he would sing that song to me again! When we worked together, I just kind of rolled my eyes but I think now, I would laugh. I will tell him that I still have, “A little” but I don’t know that he would recognize me now in my wheelchair.

Entertained OR I’m with Kay, Von, and my Mom!!!

Watching GMFB this morning, I was thoroughly entertained! It started with a picture I saw on Twitter last night. I laughed throughout the entire segment that they showed this!:

But then they had the first GMFB Bodybuilding Contest:

I don’t like strawberry milk but I absolutely love that Peter won!!!

Ah yes, finally, a Nerd Bowl!:

I’ve waited all week for their picks so I can solidify who my pick was. Keys interview of Norma hunt really got me in, “The feels!” (As “The kids” say these days):

The storyline I have light the most is about Andy Reid and I get that he deserves a ring but then Kay made her pick.. I have to stand with her because I Tweet her all the time that we are the same person! We are both left-handed and both 5 feet tall with brown hair!:

Van Miller chose the Niners to win and my mom who is not a football fan at all chose them as well because Jimmy Garoppolo is cute. I think MJD and Kirk Cousins chose them to win also. I’ve been leaning toward the Niners to win but it really doesn’t matter. It’s going to be some good football! Sean calls me, “Rob Lowe”:

Tune #58 and #59 Inspired by GMFB

Sean didn’t get me out of bed today until 715. I missed a little bit of GMFB and when I started watching it, Kay and Kyle were saying the lyrics to this song:

And right after they spoke the beginning lines, Kyle started singing Gloria Estefan and she was with the Miami Sound Machine. He talked about it when they were in the studio in New York and I shared a picture of her abd the song already. It reminds me of my aunt Rita!

Ever since Kyle got to Miami, he was saying how he wanted to meet Robb Van Winkle, aka Vanilla Ice. I hope he gets to meet him before they are gone. When I was in Florida, we drove down A1A and a head to sing the song!:

49ers?

Sean got me out of bed this morning so I could see the beginning of GMFB because since they are in Miami for the Super Bowl now, there was only one broadcast. I really wanted to see what the breakfast table was wearing!

It was still dark in the morning but I got to watch them walk onto the set. Kay said something about all of them looking beautiful. I Tweeted them this:

They haven’t made their pics to yet and I am still trying to decide who I want to win. I think I’m more like Rob Lowe still because I don’t watch either team during the regular season. They had some guests which I really enjoyed seeing:

I really enjoyed seeing Von and I love that they played the clip of his opening sack and subsequent touchdown in the Super Bowl! I remember watching that game! I still have a bronco T-shirt somewhere.

I remember that tweeted four years ago, “VON FOR PRESIDENT!!!” after he got the Super Bowl MVP. He chose the 49ers to win but then he added that you can’t count the Chiefs out, so…

I also liked watching Derek Henry on the show. I really wanted the Titans to be in the Super Bowl!

I’m going to wait until tomorrow to talk about my pick after I find out what the breakfast table thanks but I think it’s just going to be some really good football and I have already budgeted for B dubs. Sean is going to watch the first half of the game with me because he says that I treat it like it’s, “A Holiday.” Well, it IS!!!

I asked him if he was going to either have time show?! He told me that he is going to watch it here at our house because he wants to watch me watch it because I have been jammin’ to both J Lo and Shakira. I hope they play those songs! I wasn’t even mad at Maroon 5 for last year‘s halftime show. I really dug it! If felt like I was at a concert and I can no longer go to those. #MSsucks!!!

Pain Care

Over this past weekend, my tens unit died. It was already on it’s last leg because two of the patches were wonky because the cords that send electricity to them were not working. My Mom picked me up a new tens unit today.

It’s different looking than my last one and I don’t dzeal well with change. This one had a name on it even though the old one looked cooler! “Pain Care.” It is helping with my constant knee pain but I feel that I will have it for the rest of my life. It felt so good when my Mom turned it om today! It was so good to have four patches sending electricity to my knee! Because in broke over the weekend, Binson’s was closed. I still I’m trying to get better from the sickness that I’ve got from Sean so today was the day my Mom got a new one for me.

Tune #56 & #57 Inspired by GMFB

This morning, toward the end of the first broadcast of GMFB, there was a new segment, “Name That Number” where Kay was asking so guys what a number she gave them meant. I don’t even remember the question and I don’t remember the whole answer but one of the options for the answer for the guys to choose talked about J Lo and her song, “Love Don’t Cost a Tthing.”

That song was my jam! It was my first time living away from my home by myself and my freshman year at WMU. I remember watching that video in my room all the time and it was back when I used to work out at the REC every morning. It was back when I used to be able to do that kind of stuff.

Well, Kay started singing it and it made me laugh and took me way back to 20 years ago. I haven’t stopped watching the video and singing the song in my head because it no longer is able to come out of my mouth. #MSsucks!!!

I was completely satisfied to hear this gem! But, at the end of the segment, and maybe as a tribute to the halftime performers, Shakira was the answer for the question. Hearing Kyle Brant sing it made me laugh so hard!

I chose the remix with Wyclef Jean because I really liked that one when I came out. I ended up tweeting the show and tagging both Kay and Kyle:

Just a few things about this tweet. I really wish you could edit then your posts like Facebook because I missed the, “M” in “them.” I also should have added a couple emoji‘s. 😍😍😍!!! would be nice I think. I also want you all to notice the lakes. Yep, it’s 23. And the retweets, I never get retweets for some thing I have posted that’s original. Kat even retweeted my post! So, I’m kind of a big deal… 😜

To be fair to both J Lo and Shakira, or maybe it’s to Kay and Kyle. I’ve listened to both songs repeatedly since this morning!

Tune #55 Inspired by GMFB

I swear that I have shared this song on my blog the floor but I searched through about 30 pages of posts in my, “Tunes” Tab on my blog and I searched all the way back to my “#1 Tune Inspired by GMFB” and I did not find it but I am still sick so I may have glossed over it unknowingly.

Today, on the segment titled, “Miami Dice.” the guys were rolling days to answer a question regarding the Super Bowl because it’s in Miami. when it was Nate‘s turn, he said it. I can’t believe that I haven’t posted about that before because I swear I have heard him or someone else say that and the show but he said, “Shake ‘em up, shake ‘em up, shake ‘em.” Who even added the, “7-11.”

so I had to search for a clean version of this song but I am finally found it:

Also, Kay was asking the questions and at the end of the segment, she was told to roll the dice. She stood on the left side of the screen and she rolled the dice with her left hand.

Now, I am also left-handed but I feel like a roll of the dice with my right hand Periodically. It may be years of not having any accommodations for left-handed people or the fact that my entire house growing up was nothing but a right handed people. Even today, Sean is right handed so my house is still nothing but right handed people. (my mom will stop by to take care of me and she also is red-handed) I’m really questioning it right now, “My kingdom for some dice!” That’s a Shakespearean reference by the way…