Sunday, October 18, 2009

Acts of Kindness

I had a great thing happen to me, which is great for this blog too. I was going to write about not feeling very good, and my parents going away for a night (they had a good time!) and how much homework I had. But I knew that probably wouldn't help my mood or the fact that I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with schoolwork.

But then, my dad came in from outside, holding a painting. He said our neighbor had just given me a painting and that I should come outside to say thank you.

I should say here that she moved in a few months ago (rental), and that she is very private. I see her almost every day sitting on the porch, or outside walking, but I haven't really talked to her. She has fibromyalgia as well, and my mom told her at one point that I have fibromyalgia as well. She told us one evening that she is a painter, but she is just getting back into it after a while off because of the fibromyalgia.

My dad was holding the painting, which, I should say, is amazing! I showered her with thanks; she seemed pretty embarrassed. She just said she thinks about me a lot, and wanted to give me hope. I am so touched, and I smile every time I look at it.(That's me on the left, Eileen, the painter, on the right. I just realized this is the first picture you've seen of me...)

Whenever I see someone do something for someone else so selflessly, I am just floored. The ability to touch people so deeply can be very easy, sometimes all it takes is a kind word or a hug. Granted, this probably took a few more hours, but I am very grateful. And it reminds me to look for opportunities in my life when I can help someone.

Have you reached out to anyone recently?

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Quick Update

I just wanted to quickly say how I have been doing before I head off to bed and hopefully get some good sleep. (I've had trouble with that the past two nights.)

A friend came over today; it was great to see her! I might see her again later this week for my birthday, depending on how I am feeling.

My dad is sick with a cold and cough, so both of us are wearing maks, don't they look awesome!?


(That's not actually me, our software stuff is still broken.)

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow that is about an 1 1/2 drive away. Unfortunately, my mom is working, so my dad and I are going to be in the car together for a while. Let's hope I don't get sick!

Gotta go!

Sleep well

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Snow!

This isn't the first snow, but in my book, it counts as the first snow. It is sticking, and according to my mom, the roads are icy, so to me, that means snow. And winter. Which is weird, because it is mid-October.

Okay, so this is seriously wishful thinking.....but two ski areas have opened in the state!

For some odd reason I decided today would be the day I would go outside and walk around. After not going outside for three days. Maybe I have cabin-fever. I wore long underwear, a winter jacket, gloves, a scarf, everything, and I was still cold. I even had a red clown nose to show for it. But I feel a little better; less cabin-fever-ish.

Following up from yesterday post: My neck is still stiff and I feel a little off and shaky, but overall, much better. Which is very good. I hope I didn't freak anybody out with my last post. But let me just re-iterate this: I am fine. I only went to the ER to be safe, and everything they did was to make me comfortable; I was never in serious danger.

I can now say that all the medical shows are for the most part highly inaccurate. There is not that much rushing around and yelling and screaming. Although there was someone whose house had burned down, everyone seemed pretty calm.

I think we are going to start a fire (in our wood stove, I realized that sounded a little odd) later, because it is so cold. Everyone is freaking out about the cold weather only because it is the first day of true coldness. Smokey, our cat, is not happy. She is sort of stalking around the house glaring, and curled up in tiny balls on the heaters.

Over the summer we replaced our carpet with hardwood floors, so she doesn't like not being able to curl up on the warm carpet.

Any plans for the weekend? What is your weather like?
I hope you have a warm, healthy weekend.

Friday, October 9, 2009

A Full Week

 I wrote this yesterday at around 2 pm.

It has been a surprisingly busy week. Well, at least it feels that way. I typed that, and then I had to stop and think and make sure it really has been busy. I'm still not sure, but that should tell you how (not) fast my brain is working which I think answers the question.

Last night for about three hours we were considering homeschooling me. Because my dad talked to a lady at the school who said basically what we were doing was illegal because my parents aren't certified teachers. So we could either do that and hope we didn't get caught or do homeschool. I was strangely excited; my dad, I don't know, and my mom kind of flipped out. To be fair to her I should say she had just gotten home from a long day and had to call lots of insurance companies and then I told her she had to be my teacher so....not the smartest move on my part....

For about two seconds I got really excited and had everything planned out: I would be homeschooled this year, and then next year I turn 16, which means I can legally drop out of school without having to take state mandated exams, and then I would get my GED. Then my mom pointed out that colleges sort of look down on that. Talk about bursting my bubble. But she's right.

But I think we might have something worked out with the tutor. So that's good. Have no fear, I won't give you more unnecessary details.

Something must be wrong with my Netflix qeue because it keeps spitting Star Trek at me. (Not really spitting, just sending them to me the normal way, in the mail. And not that there is anything wrong with Star Trek. I think I am really going to like it. But I am reserving judgment for a few more episodes.) Can you tell I'm a little hyper, or bored, or something? My fingers are really burned, but that doesn't seem to be slowing me down.

My parents like to joke (and yes, they really are joking) that I'm a pyromaniac. I love staring at candles. And playing with the warm wax. And well, sometimes the warm wax turns out to be hot wax. So my fingers aren't too happy with me.

And now an update from today:

It turned out I was so hyper because my head really hurt. So I tried this new medicine. And then I had an "unusual adverse reaction". Again, I will spare you the details. My mom and I were in the ER for about four hours this morning, but I am okay. I will never, ever, ever, be going near that medicine again. 

Here's my hospital bracelet:
Okay, so that's not my bracelet, or hand for that matter. But our picture downloading software died again, so that's all you're going to get.

The tutor just left, and she talked a lot, and I stared at her a lot. But it was good. So I am going to stop and go watch Friends.

Here's hoping you have a much less eventful weekend! Enjoy.

I will tell you more about the hospital visit if you want to know, but I didn't want to dump it on everyone, and I didn't really know what to say, so that was my easy way of sidestepping that issue.

Friday, October 2, 2009

The Beginning of Fall

I am still in shock that is it already October. It has all flown by so fast! I have that feeling where so much has happened, but at the same time, nothing has happened. Every get that? It's weird, and really messes with my sense of time.

It froze for the first time last night. I don't know if that is unusual, but it feels really early. Yesterday I picked all the strawberries and raspberries that were out there, and a few tomatoes. I think my mom and I are going to make a green tomato salsa with all the tinny ones that are left. If we leave them to freeze again, they'll just get weird and mushy.

I also picked most of the flowers that were still blooming on our property. Most of them had really short stems, so I was stuck making these teeny-tinny arrangements. I think they turned out quite well, despite the fact that most of them look like the belong in a much smaller house, with much smaller people.

 
They remind me much more of spring than fall, except for all the yellow leaves that were around them! I love watching all the transitions, and the promise of a new season with new weather. I could never live (just watch, twenty years from now, I'll be choking on these words) somewhere with just two seasons.

While my mom and I have been making dinner together (and adding way too much garlic to the salsa), I asked her about TV shows she watched. The only one she and my dad ever followed was Star Trek. I now have a good understanding of most of the characters and the basic plot. It sounds really fun, and now we both want to snuggle up and watch some Star Trek.

I wish you a good dinner and a relaxing weekend, as I look forward to adding Star Trek to my Netflix list.