tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80250637150230763702024-02-02T05:31:03.205-08:00Greetings from Master PlanistanMusings of an Unreal Midwestern Housewife living in Orange CountyTall Drink of Waterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00035256405270560250noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-83335963947169612042012-05-16T22:43:00.002-07:002012-05-16T22:45:31.701-07:00Bronze AwardFor about the past 5 months, K has been working on earning her Girl
Scout Bronze Award. It is the highest award she can earn as a Junior
Girl Scout. We considered several ideas before choosing to do a toy,
backpack, and gift card drive for the Make A Wish Foundation of Orange
County and the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino counties).
All the proceeds from K's drive will go to fulfill wishes of local
children facing life threatening illnesses.<br />
<br />
K's project
was a companion project to her troop mate M's project. M coordinated a
"Letters to Santa for Make A Wish Foundation" project, where she went
to several Girl Scout troops' meetings and had the girls write letters
to Santa, then delivered the letters to Macy's on "Believe" day. For
each letter to Santa written and delivered to Macy's, $1.00 was donated
to Make A Wish Foundation. But on "Believe" day, each letter was worth
$2.00. Marilyn delivered over 250 letters to Macy's. Way to go, M.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWQ1DqrkkZibCsWQ2XCqBBIzY-aPNtgAqcNQAKZnD-e8_wO_0lOofipFCpykuDajVT10w_S34A8HoZzlQGv0u6zwt7OcA-kr8DMjrOqidu0Az2BIJKUkkgduIdW4gaKVaK9MxGa10Z08/s1600/100_7816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWQ1DqrkkZibCsWQ2XCqBBIzY-aPNtgAqcNQAKZnD-e8_wO_0lOofipFCpykuDajVT10w_S34A8HoZzlQGv0u6zwt7OcA-kr8DMjrOqidu0Az2BIJKUkkgduIdW4gaKVaK9MxGa10Z08/s400/100_7816.JPG" title="" width="400" /></a>The
Bronze Award is essentially a 15 hour service project which requires
each girl to take a leadership role. K, with assistance from Amanda
(her Troop leader), Matt and myself, took this project on. We started
with a timeline for what needed to be done and when, K set goals,
composed a letter to friends and family asking for assistance, helped
design a flyer for her "Afternoon in the Park" event, emailed family
and friends, distributed flyers to friends and family, updated her Girl
Scout troop routinely, wrote thank you cards, planned her "Afternoon
in the Park" event, baked and frosted cakes, hosted her "Afternoon in
the Park" event, and finally delivered the toys, backpacks and gift
cards to the Make A Wish Foundation house in Tustin, California.<br />
<br />
Her
goal was to collect 5 backpacks, enough items (toys) to fill 5
backpacks, and $100 in gift cards. She collected 18 backpacks (!!!),
enough items to fill at least 8 backpacks, and $100 in gift cards. Her
project was a huge success. A rough estimate of the dollar amount of
what we donated today is around $600-650 retail. We are so proud of K!TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-14574008702339780632011-11-07T11:00:00.001-08:002011-11-07T11:00:09.954-08:00Oops<div><p>Forgot to blog yesterday. Actually it was a very busy Sunday. Spent most of the day at church. We had a Direct Service Fair after both morning sevices, some of the non-profits we are partnered with were there to sign people up for opportunities to give back. </p>
<p>After that, Matt and I cleaned up after communion, took down the All Saints Day banners, put up the regular banners, and took apart the candle set up we had done for All Saints Day. It was really cool to give people the opportunity to light candles for their deceased loved ones. And during that ritual, I was able to hold it together, but once it was over, I was in tears. Being intensely emotional and empathetic is really difficult sometimes.</p>
<p>We then had a very late lunch with friends and headed back to church for evening service. </p>
<p>Was completely exhausted by the time we got home.</p>
</div>TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-36849969518441220252011-11-05T15:59:00.001-07:002011-11-05T16:11:08.383-07:00Herb Garden<div><p>Today, the Girl Scout troop had an outing to the Orange County Great Park for a gardening workshop. Our girls got to make a 3 herb potted garden (sage, thyme, and chives). We stayed afterward for a cooking with herbs demonstration. I was pretty impressed with the quality of the presentations, especially since the whole program was free. The girls enjoyed themselves and I think we all learned some new things.</p>
<p>I noticed, on the way to the workshop, that the San Bernardino Mountains have a gorgeous blanket of fresh snow on them. Will need to make a snow pilgrimmage soon.</p>
</div>TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-27294499765824126602011-11-04T20:26:00.001-07:002011-11-04T20:26:47.658-07:00I Got Nothin'<div><p>I am feeling very down and depressed today. And K is fighting off a repiratory bug. Thus endeth today's blog post.</p>
</div>TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-81841045939088808572011-11-03T09:47:00.001-07:002011-11-03T09:47:51.490-07:00Contemplating Sisyphus<div><p>In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, as punishment for his trickery, is sentenced to roll a giant stone up a hill and just as he got it to the top, it would roll back down again and he would have to start over again.</p>
<p>Matt's new job was a nightmare, and they actually laid him off yesterday. So now he is back at the bottom of the hill with the big rock. He is relieved. I am freaking.  He has already arranged an interview for today, so maybe he will be re-employed quickly.</p>
</div>TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-73904155950548536442011-11-02T10:27:00.001-07:002011-11-02T10:27:46.738-07:00Arrrgh<div><p>Just arrrgh. I am not loving life today.</p>
</div>TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-63234094378538618352011-11-01T13:43:00.000-07:002011-11-01T13:43:16.987-07:00NaBloWriMo 2011And thus I will undertake the Blog version of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I am not all that creative when it comes to writing fiction, so I have not even entertained the idea of writing a novel.<br />
<br />
I find it so much easier to write about real life. Gritty, rough, emotional, terrifying, wonderful, and full of beauty. Life has had more of the gritty/rough texture lately. Matt lost his job at a very large mult-national bank back in early September. He quickly was re-employed at the beginning of October, however, the job is terribly stressful and much lower paying than his previous job. He is very unhappy, and it affects us all. I worry about him, about his health, about his emotional state, and about his ability to handle the stress. Yes, things could be worse. There are always worse things in the world. But it would be complete denial to say that all is perfectly wonderful right now.<br />
<br />
K started 5th Grade this year, and so far it has been kind of rough. She works so hard on her homework and then fails to turn it all in. I feel like we are both banging our heads against the wall, repeatedly. I do not know what else I can do. I know she wants to do well, but her brain chemistry (ADHD) puts up so many roadblocks. I am thinking it may be time to entertain the notion of medication, and I really need to think long and hard about it, what options there are, and how it will impact K and the rest of the family. But with our medical insurance up in the air, I am thinking now may not be the most optimal time to begin this process. UGH.<br />
<br />
Right after K started school, I was waking up in the mornings with my left ankle hurting and stiff. The pain and stiffness would go away, so I thought it was arthritis. Until it swelled up one day, and I could not bear any weight on it. So I grabbed the crutches and got my rear end to the Urgent Care, and as it turns out, I stress fractured my ankle. I wish I could remember how I did it, because everyone loves an epic injury story. The fact is, I probably mildly sprained it just doing day-to-day life, and then continued to walk on it, until it broke. I was on crutches for a couple of weeks, and now am on a "walking boot". Let me tell you, that walking boot cost more than any three pairs of my shoes. OY! And it is sooooooo fashion forward.<br />
<br />
There are consequences to this walking boot thing, I have to wear my hiking boot on my right foot to come close to how high the walking boot is on my left, and I am still off by about 1/2 inch, so my back is constantly tweaked, and the boot is heavy so my legs (especially my hips) are achy and sore all the time. Yes I am whining. I hate that I am whining, but I have to get it out.<br />
<br />
I know life gets better, because life has been better. There is an ebb and flow to everything. I just hate being in the ebb part.Tall Drink of Waterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00035256405270560250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-69040210314741198912011-09-13T04:31:00.001-07:002011-09-13T04:31:40.118-07:00When the Walls Come Tumbling Down<div><p>My husband's job with a large financial institution was eliminated last Thusday. To say that I am panicking is an undrrstatement. We have a good community to lean on for moral support, which I am exceedingly grateful for. </p>
<p>I realize that there is a process for handling the emotions. I hate how I feel and would really like to find some peace.</p>
</div>TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-50285476992805498532011-08-08T04:25:00.000-07:002011-08-08T05:02:27.655-07:00My Long Weekend at CampOur Girl Scout troop (through the cookie money and some parental cash) earned a trip to our council's Girl Scout camp. The camp ran from Thursday night through Sunday morning. It was pretty amazing.
<br />
<br />We all met up and began our drive in the mid-afternoon on Thursday, because with traffic it can take up to four hours to drive the ~100 miles to camp. We got within 25 miles of camp when the highway we needed to travel was closed in both directions due to a terrible car accident. When I say highway, I mean single lane each way podunk country highway. We got directions for a detour that in retrospect, we probably would have been better off avoiding and just waiting until they opened the road again. This detour took us around an hour and I estimate covered about an additional 40 miles. And until I got past halfway through the detour, Nigel (I named our GPS) kept telling me to make a u-turn every few minutes. There were also brush fires in the area, and our detour looked like it was heading right to the fire, until it veered off at the end. Nothing like the fear of getting lost added to the fear of being burned to a crisp. We finally got back to the original highway and made it to camp on time for evening program.
<br />
<br />Friday morning we woke up and had breakfast, then headed to our first morning program area...Lake Play!!! They brought out kayaks and windsurf boards (without the sail) and the girls (and adults) could swim, kayak, or paddle the boards out onto the lake. I got my kayaking in for the year, since I was in the hospital for our troop's annual kayak event. From there we went on a hike to a rock formation that was used by the indigenous people of the area as a lookout and where the women ground their grain and acorns for food. There was a rock formation that people could scramble up without any equipment. Then it was time for lunch, which was served outdoors. After lunch we went to the stables for horseback riding and a bead craft. K rode a horse named Ponzo, who, according to K, really just wanted to graze the whole trail ride. I rode a horse named Omaha. Omaha was a dark chocolate brown horse with a black mane, and was a very gentle and patient animal. I had much difficulty mounting the horse and I had to get on the ramp, because I just do not have a lot of strength in my knees and hips. We went to the pool and swam after horseback riding, then ate dinner. Before dinner, our troop was assigned to be the color guard for the evening flag ceremony. K got to be the "caller", while our girls and some girls from another troop were the color guard and the 'singing bridge'. I am proud of our girls' respect and poise. Our troop opted out of evening program (choice between night swimming in lower camp - our cabins were in upper camp, and watching a movie in the dining hall). The girls played games in one cabin, while we adults hung out in the other cabin just chatting and laughing. There were two tarantulas in our camp that evening, and I got a couple of close up photos (that I will upload later). I have never seen a tarantula in nature before, only in cages. Later that evening, one of our girls had a moth fly into her ear (ewww) and would not come out, so I took her and another girl (for moral support) up to the health center where one of the camp staff (I am assuming she is an RN or LVN) was finally able to remove it. The moth was placed into a "lost tooth" box to be taken home to show her family. The same girl lost TWO baby teeth while we were at camp. Best camp story ever!
<br />
<br />Saturday morning after breakfast we were scheduled for 'troop time/nature'. We opted in to the tour of the museum and papermaking craft, instead of staying up at the cabins. After that we were in the pool. They delivered our lunch to the pool for us to assemble. After that we were driven up to upper camp (because the hike to the rock climbing station would have taken up most of our time). The hike from upper camp to the rocks was robust (to put it mildly). I really should have stayed back and really almost did not make it all the way up there. Again, I did not try to climb (none of the adults did), but I truly bit off more than I could chew. From there we were rushed down to archery (back in lower camp - we were transported again) because we were over an hour late for that station. The girls each shot 2 quivers with 5 arrows each, then we needed to rush back up for dinner. After dinner we all headed back down to lower camp (!!!) for the campfire and skits. Our troop did the "Invisible Bench" skit. It was fun to watch all the skits and see the creativity.
<br />
<br />This morning we had to pack up and leave (sad face). There was an optional pre-breakfast hike that our girls opted out of, so we took that time to have our girls pack their bags and roll up their sleeping bags. We had breakfast (our troop was assigned to be the "hoppers" for breakfast, as was another troop - the other troop showed up AFTER our troop had gotten the dining room all set up *grr*). After breakfast we had a closing ceremony, then a short "dance party" in the dining hall. Back to the cabins to load up, sweep out and clean BIFFs and go. The ride back was much easier without the detour.
<br />
<br />I am very tired and yet unable to sleep.
<br />TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-88457008595438018622011-07-06T23:08:00.000-07:002011-07-06T23:17:37.437-07:00So ExcitedI am so excited for the Girl Scout troop that I co-lead. Apparently there is a family visiting from out of the country that has two Girl Guides (Brownie and Junior level) that wants to meet with a troop, and our troop was asked to host them at our next meeting. OMGOMGOMGOMG! I LOVE this!<br /><br />The plans for our next meeting are to meet at A's house (leader's house) and walk to Northwood Community Park to the War Memorial. This visit will complete the last requirement for the "United We Stand" badge. Then we will have a picnic dinner at the park. I think this is a wonderful meeting to have visitors from outside the US join us. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, overly patriotic. However, I think our girls can learn from girls from another country, and they can learn from our girls. The sharing of ideas and experiences is always a good thing.<br /><br />It also makes me happy that our troop is the one that was asked to host. I know it is partly because our troop is one of the very few troops that is active year-round. Most troops go on a summer hiatus. Not us!TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-31245469455192301172011-07-04T23:15:00.000-07:002011-07-04T23:15:47.082-07:00Now THAT'S a First!We decided to go to our city's fireworks tonight. Parking is a pain, leaving is usually a pain, but we went anyway. About 3 minutes into the show, apparently a tree got set afire, and the show continued for about another 5 minutes before it was stopped permanently. At least 5 firetrucks, a few paramedics and the entire police force was dispatched to go all Barney Fife all over the place.<br />
<br />
I hope no one was hurt, but it really was kind of funny in an overly ironic sort of way.Tall Drink of Waterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00035256405270560250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-5547343587149035282011-07-02T20:05:00.000-07:002011-07-02T20:39:19.020-07:00MilestonesThis coming Thursday it will be 24 years since I had my final radiation treatment. Twenty four years is probably about twenty years longer than I expected to be walking this beautiful Earth. Thinking back on that time in my life, I am struck by the paradox of how rapidly yet how slowly the events unfolded. It was too fast for my mind and emotions to process, yet dealing with all the side effects made it seem like it was taking forever.<br /><br />I recently cut my long hair off because I was sick of the bad dye job in my hair, and was also sick of having to put it up to keep it off my neck. Quite frankly, long hair is a heat magnet, I live in a hot climate, I am menopausal and a walking hot flash, and I already am in possession of the world's most active perspiration glands without the long hair. So off it came. I had forgotten about the two different textures that my hair has. The hair that did not fall out during my radiation is thick, coarse and mostly straight with very slight wave. The hair in the area where I lost my hair is very curly (when it is short), finer in texture and also thick. Which makes styling my now short hair kind of an adventure. Hair gel is a gift from the universe, as it helps my two opposing hair types look like they actually belong on the same head. I also did not realize just how gray my hair has become, now that all of the dead dye job has been eliminated. I like my salt and pepper hair. I like it a lot!<br /><br />By this time, 24 years ago, all I could eat was mashed potatoes and gravy, washed down with cans of Ensure. If you ever need to do liquid nutrition, I suggest avoiding the strawberry flavor of Ensure. It tastes like chemical ass. I am actually very surprised I can look a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy in the face, for as much as I was eating them back then. Some people, while going through chemo and/or radiation develop an aversion to whatever it is that they were able to keep down. That certainly is not true in my case. I still love mashed potatoes and gravy.<br /><br />I also remember being told, before the last series of radiation treatments that I would probably be infertile, since my ovaries would be in the field of radiation. I am still laughing about that. I am also so very grateful that the doctors were 200% wrong about that (100% each for my two wonderful children).<br /><br />I am often reminded of that time by the changes my body and mind has undergone. The scars on my neck from the original biopsy (not nearly as bad as they could have been because my Otolaryngologist had training in Plastic Surgery), my long abdominal scar (from stem to sternum), the 10 India Ink dots tattooed on my abdomen and back (to aid in lining up the lead blocks), and my very macabre sense of humor. Thank God for laughter, which got me through until I could really allow myself to cry. I know the grieving process after such traumatic events can be lifelong (because one can only take it in small doses at a time, and it is really hard to get your mind around when your body is utterly failing you like that). But the overwhelming theme in my life, especially after the cancer, is gratitude. Really striving to be and live gratitude for my life, my family, and my circumstances. Not always very successful. But practice gets me closer to perfection, especially with gratitude. I don't hate my scars anymore. I don't necessarily like them, but I have accepted them as part of me, and even sometimes as badges of honor for the battles I have fought. Every day I live is a gift from that hard won war.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-35936699080629758992011-03-17T00:37:00.000-07:002011-03-17T01:08:07.369-07:00Weird StuffThis has been kind of an eventful week. On Monday, we officially wrapped up the 2011 Girl Scout Cookie sale. Made the final bank deposit and wrote the check to council. We are done. Woohoo. K sold a total of 506 boxes of cookies and the troop total was 3276. We netted about $2,200 in profits. Very awesome.<br /><br />I have started to have K walk to school in the morning. I walk with her because it is almost a mile from here to school and we have to cross a street (at a signal light) that has a 55 mph speed limit. So far so good, it is nice to have some time in the morning with K where there is not really any pressure (other than making sure we make it to school on time). I am not walking in the afternoon to get her, because it is already too warm in the afternoon for me to feel comfortable exercising. With gas being ~$4.00 a gallon, any way I can conserve is a good thing.<br /><br />We had our Girl Scout meeting tonight, and it was K's and my turn to bring dinner. Our troop does dinner meetings, and there is a dinner rotation, each girl has an opportunity to be the "dinner hostess". K and I decided to do "walking tacos" for dinner this evening. Only we served them in bowls rather than the individual Fritos bags. What is a walking taco? I am so glad you asked. It is Fritos, taco meat, lettuce, diced tomatoes (we omitted the tomatoes for tonight), shredded cheese, and sour cream usually served in the Fritos bag with a fork or spoon. Dinner was a big hit, most of the girls came back for seconds!<br /><br />Earlier today, I noticed that my right hand middle finger knuckle was kind of sore, like I had accidentally bashed it, but I had not hit it at all. No biggie, or so I thought. Later in the day (right before I was getting ready for the Girl Scout meeting, I noticed it had swelled up and turned red and started to look kind of "streaky". Definitely not a bruise at any rate. I decided that I was going to go to Urgent Care after the Girl Scout meeting to get it looked at.<br /><br />Girl Scout meeting went well. Hustled on over to Urgent Care. Thankfully the wait was not long at all. A bit of background information is needed at this point. I have very low blood pressure, and run a borderline high pulse rate (to compensate for the low blood pressure). At most medical clinics, the Urgent Care we go to is no exception, the first person a patient interacts with is a certified medical assistant, basically has about 6-9 months of school. So they really do not understand the nuances of the low blood pressure/elevated pulse rate thing. No problem. The medical assistant took my pulse, then she took my blood pressure. She kind of grunted/sighed and said that she had to take my blood pressure again. I asked her if it was low and she said it was. I told her that I run low blood pressure and asked her if it was around 90/60. She looked shocked and said yes, that is what it was. She took it again and got about the same reading and she was shaking her head. Yes, I know, people with 90/60 blood pressure usually are dizzy, disoriented, and often faint. But I have had this low blood pressure since I had cancer. It is what it is and I live with it every day. And I know not to stand up too quickly or I WILL pass out. I even freak out a lot of doctors with this blood pressure anomaly. The upside is I can eat all the bacon I want!<br /><br />Well, long story short, I have a cellulitis on my knuckle. I have been given Keflex to take 4 times a day for 10 days, and instructions to come back if it comes to a head, or if, in a couple of days, it has not gotten smaller and more centralized. I may have to have an x-ray to make sure it has not settled into the bone (ugh, don't even want to think about that). I have a free floating anxiety that it might be MRSA, and I really need to block Web MD from my computer. Hopefully the Keflex will be all I need to kill those nasty bacteria. I want to avoid the IV Vancomycin at all costs.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-60501662598958584132011-03-08T20:23:00.000-08:002011-03-08T20:46:05.945-08:00Bilateral Epidural --- L4/L5I suffer from chronic back pain. It is part of my daily existence. Most of the time I cope fairly well with it (as long as I don't try to overdo it), and have occasional flareups that are handled with the occasional muscle relaxer, or if needed a Vicodin. For this pain, I am under the care of a pain management physician, and have signed all sorts of contracts about not doctor shopping, and sticking with one pharmacy. I am cool with that. In fact I am grateful for that. To be quite honest, the Vicodin makes me itchy all over and I really don't enjoy it.<br /><br />Every once in awhile, I have a flare up so bad that I can barely walk, and the spasms twist me up so badly that I cannot even stand up straight. I had one of those flare ups starting in winter of 2009-2010. Went for the requisite MRI, tried several different medication regimens, etc. which led up to having bilateral Facet Joint Cortisone injections into the L4/L5 and L5/S1 joints. Relief from the Facet Joint injections? Not so much.<br /><br />In the past, probably about 11 years ago, I'd had the epidural injections into the L5/S1 space and they were very successful. I had three done in the space of 6 weeks, and they were so successful I did not need to have them for almost 10 years. Since the facet joint thing did not work, my doctor decided to try the epidural injection. I had the epidural last May and got almost instant relief. It did not hurt, I felt no pressure when it was going in, but did get much comfort from it.<br /><br />Fast forward to today. Starting about 6 weeks ago, I felt like my back pain was starting its downhill path to being back to where I was a little over a year ago. I had an appointment already scheduled with the Pain Czar so I decided I could wait. Saw him last week and told him I felt like things were starting to get more painful. So we scheduled another epidural. This morning I went in, and ooooooh doggies did it ever hurt this time. The only thing different that I can think of is the fact that I started on Neurontin last week after my appointment. At one point I practically came off the table from the pressure going down my leg. Not nearly as bad as the time I had a bone marrow biopsy, but whoa.<br /><br />I have been taking it really easy all afternoon (and now evening). Hoping that I feel better tomorrow. Also hoping that because this one was so painful that I will get even better relief from it. Here's hoping...TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-18640746458756054112011-02-10T23:42:00.000-08:002011-02-11T00:11:39.360-08:00UghNot a banner day in the neighborhood here. Not saying that everything turned out bad today, in fact there were a lot of positives today, but stuff just seems to be weighing heavily on me today.<br /><br />K, due to illness, has missed 10 days of school since the beginning of January. Unlike a lot of parents, I refuse to send her to school when she is sick, because she would end up getting sicker, and then bring it home and infect me, with my compromised immunity, and I would end up being down for six weeks. This is the reality of being a lymphoma survivor, catch every damned thing that goes around, and be sick much longer than everyone else when I do get sick.<br /><br />Well today K came home from school, and in her folder was a math test that she had taken today. She had only gotten 4 problems out of 3o done. ADHD strikes again. Apparently the kids at her "table" were talking a lot and she was distracted by that. The whole table set up, while good for group projects, is not really good for taking tests, and doing one's own work. What the heck is wrong with setting the kids up in rows like they did when we were kids?<br /><br />I signed the test paper and made K complete it this afternoon. That part was really no big deal. The big deal for me right now is K's teacher. It is a well known fact that both 4th grade teachers at K's school are less than desirable. Neither of them would win any awards for communication, and they are both so standoffiish with the parents that one could make the argument that both are stuck-up b-words.<br /><br />There were two things that were in K's "communication" folder that have me furious. The first one is the assignment handout for the book reports. I read through the packet, and it is unclear whether she has to read two books or four books to do the reports, because she has to do two oral presentations and two written reports, but because the due dates on these reports are each like 3 weeks apart, I am unsure whether it is two or four books. Plus the handout was not spell checked, and basic proofreading was completely neglected. Is our children learning?<br /><br />The second thing that was in the folder (and this is what I am most livid about), was a "progress report". Progress reports (mid term) are only sent home when there are "issues". Included in the report are what the students current grades for each subject are thus far in the term. So far this term K has all As and Bs. But there was a note on the report about her "falling behind" because of her attendance. I understand that there are things she missed because she was not in class, however, I am also very open to getting her caught up at home, and have stated that to the teacher emphatically earlier this year when she missed due to illness. And quite frankly, as earlier stated, I am not a parent that will send my kids to school when they are sick. And K had strep throat and her absence could NOT be helped. So I signed the damned report and wrote a note stating that if there was something she was not up to speed on, that Mrs. K should send it home so I can catch K up. I know I am being a thorny bitch about it, but I think the progress report, when K is getting all As and Bs is way out of line. Mrs. K is a condescending and pompous ass, in my opinion, and I can hardly wait to be done with her. She should have retired 10 years ago, and I am unimpressed with her attitude that things should run for her convenience and not the students. I really wish I could give her a piece of my mind without fear of negative consequences raining down on K. I can't. And I am getting tired of clamping down on my normally outspoken tongue. So I am blogging about it instead.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-65811702017889555812010-12-22T12:58:00.000-08:002010-12-22T13:14:57.539-08:00Rain - Our Crops Are SavedWe have had steady rain here for 7 days straight. There is a storm system just off shore and wave after wave of heavy torrential rains have been falling, and we have accumulated an estimated 9-14 inches since last Thursday. Today is Wednesday and we are supposed to have the worst of this storm today. I have literally never seen anything quite like this, and have been on the verge of a panic attack for two days.<br /><br />Downtown Laguna Beach is closed due to flooding and mud. The Ortega Highway is closed due to mudslide. Trabuco Canyon Road is closed due to mud. Silverado Canyon has been evacuated, due to mudslide. The airport in Corona is completely flooded. It is advised to pretty much stay away from the canyons and foothills. Highway 241 is closed at Highway 73 for flooding. Some homes in San Juan Capistrano have been evacuated due to mud and rock slide. And this is just in Orange County.<br /><br />Thankfully we are in the flatland of Irvine, and other than the streets flooding over, we have had no real impact here. But I start to panic whenever I have to get in the car and drive in this. Californians are notoriously bad rainy day drivers, and while I am confident in my own abilities to drive in any type of weather condition (and I know when NOT to get behind the wheel), I am not even a little confident in the ability of others to NOT HIT ME. Last Friday, I was getting on an entrance ramp to the 55, and the pickup truck in front of me spun out and almost took me with her. My heart still pounds when I think about that.<br /><br />Under normal circumstances, I enjoy the rain, because it happens so rarely here. But this year has had more precipitation than usual, and the ground is so over saturated that there is standing water everywhere. And the storm drains are totally inadequate to handle the deluge.<br /><br />I know, in my head, I have little to worry about, but my gut has been churning for days, and I finally broke down and cried today over the stress that I am causing myself. I really need to think about something else, but I am not sure I can get the committee in my head to change subjects right now.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-92027894231834938892010-10-21T07:28:00.000-07:002010-10-21T07:39:33.447-07:00VigilLast night, we went to the candlelight vigil for the children who committed suicide as a result of anti-gay bullying. It is so sad, that they gave up and saw no other way.<br /><br />I remember the bullying I received in school because I was tall, skinny, and a "little different". It was painful. I managed to survive a suicide attempt as well. At the time, I told myself that I sucked so bad that I could not even kill myself right.<br /><br />I know this post is kind of bouncing all over the place, but I still have difficulty facing the pain of that era in my life head on. I am not sure if I will ever be able to.<br /><br />We had a conversation with K about bullying. I asked her if she had seen any bullying at school, and she said that she had not. We told her that if she ever did, that she should stand up and say something, and if that did not work to stop it, that she should find an adult to deal with it. I wish more people would stand up against bullying when they see it. I wish that Mr. Wolf would have done something about the boy who repeatedly punched me in the back of the head in high school. I know he saw what was happening, but because Mr. Wolf thought I was a reprobate, he did nothing.<br /><br />For all who are bullied, and are feeling worthless. You are not worthless. You have value, you are beautiful. Don't give up. It really does get better.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-47467086953482916642010-10-01T10:19:00.001-07:002010-10-01T10:33:46.394-07:00Better Mood TodayProbably because it is Friday, and K will not have to do 56 hours of homework tonight. Have I mentioned that IUSD is really big on overloading the poor kids with hours of busy work. Most of the homework is just plain makework to "prepare them for the NCLB" testing and does not teach anything besides how to be a dutiful future paper pusher. In my humble opinion, this is not education.<br /><br />OK, rant over. Last night, I had to kick myself in the hiney to get myself to choir practice, it is not that I did not want to be there, I just did not want to leave the house. Yes, I am in kind of an agoraphobic funk right now. I am so glad I forced myself to go. It was truly what my psyche needed.<br /><br />After choir practice, one of my friends called me to tell me to turn on Project Runway, because it was a really good episode, and I am so glad I did. I am not going to spoil too much of it, except to say that I loved the fabric that Mondo designed (and his inspiration for it) and that if I were like 15 pounds lighter, I would SO rock the pants he designed. I get tears in my eyes still thinking about it. After Project Runway was over, I called my friend back and we had a really cool talk about the show and about life in general. We talked about our sadness over the rash of young people committing suicide lately, and while we did not solve the world's problems, we did get to share what was on our minds and hearts. I love that!<br /><br />This week has been fairly difficult. Monday it was 110 degrees outside and the rest of the week it was in the 90s and kind of humid. I have asthma symptoms when the weather gets like this. But I am glad to see the heatwave break, and as a bonus we had drizzle and lightning last night as well as thunder this morning. I LOVE thunderstorms.<br /><br />Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all have a fun and restful weekend.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-62809770231013107832010-09-30T08:25:00.000-07:002010-09-30T08:39:09.411-07:00No, darling snowflake, your backpack CAN'T ride in the car with you!For anyone who has been reading this blog regularly, you already know that I consider K's school parking lot the swirling vortex of suck. We all take turns driving like idiots, and on some days, EVERYONE drives like an idiot. There are two "lanes" going through the parking lot. The right lane is the "drop off lane", should be self explanatory, the operative words are "should be". The left lane is the thru traffic and parking lane (the left lane has access to the parking spaces). Not rocket science, but you really would not know it by how people behave. It really is a most special place.<br /><br />But there is an affliction that has affected fully 1/3 to 1/2 of the parents dropping their kids off at school. I will call this affliction "No Backpacks Allowed in the Car" or NBAC. For those afflicted, all backpacks are put in the trunk (or in the rear hatch for wagons and SUVs), requiring mom or dad to put the car in park, get OUT of said car to walk to the trunk/hatch, get out the backpack(s), and walk around to the OTHER SIDE of the car and hand the backpack(s) to their child(ren). This is in the "drop off and keep moving" lane. It is not like this parking lot is huge by any stretch of the imagination, but the NBAC people can seriously add 5-10 minutes to the morning drop off time, and it is completely unnecessary. Seriously. WTF.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-7525464052587558542010-07-19T10:16:00.000-07:002010-07-19T10:37:52.726-07:00Air TravelAir travel has been a royal pain in the buttocks since even before September 11th, 2001. But now it is seriously jacked up.<br /><br />I have an artificial hip, a steel plate and a bunch of screws in my pelvis. So I set off the metal detectors even before 9/11. Now, because of all my "hardware", I feel like I have to get to the airport insanely early because I am afraid I will be pulled off into a room and strip searched.<br /><br />When we arrived at John Wayne Airport and went through security, I managed to be screened by a female guard who took her job WAAAAY to seriously. She asked me several times whether I wanted to have a private screening. Every time she was about to frisk me she asked me if I wanted a private screening. I almost replied, "No, do you?" Our flight out was otherwise uneventful.<br /><br />Our trip back was a little bit more interesting. We had a stop in Salt Lake City. We looked before we left for the Minneapolis airport to see if our flight was going to be on time and it was delayed. No big deal, we had a 2:15 layover. We watched the movie "Bolt" before we left for the airport.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">At the Minneapolis airport, I took a picture of the Snoopy statue and the doorway into the Senator Larry Craig Restroom Tap Dancing Studio - Home of the Wide Stance. Our plane was delayed for a very long time. Long enough that when we took off, we knew that our over 2 hour layover was pretty much gone. We landed 5 minutes before our connecting flight was going to take off. Woohoo.<br /><br />Because it sounded like we may still be able to make the connection, we got off the plane as fast as we could and ran our behinds off (ala OJ Simpson) from the end of one terminal to about midway into one of the other terminals. They had not shut the door yet, but they informed us that we had been booked onto a flight into LAX.<br /><br />Um....NO!<br /><br />Then they tried to rig it so we could get on our original flight, but the seats had just been booked that were left. They got us on the next flight to John Wayne in first class (YES!!!!!) and gave us each a $6 voucher for food in the airport for our trouble. I am still very very very very sore from running with all of our possessions through two terminals. It was a blessed miracle to have the first class seats with legroom after that ordeal.<br /><br />Our friend met us at the airport and drove us home. We got our stuff in the house, and I literally fell into bed and slept for 11 hours. The house was hot because we had been gone and the AC was not on, but it was good to be able to rest after the stress of dealing with Delta Airlines' issues.<br /><br />LAX, REALLY!!!!? Hell to the NO! Especially after the extra airfare paid for booking to and from SNA.<br /></div>TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-84561918429387681322010-07-18T00:00:00.000-07:002010-07-18T00:22:41.761-07:00HomeWe came home to Minnesota this past week. While much had changed, the visit cemented in me how much I really miss it here.<br /><br />We got our big thunderstorm tonight, complete with lightning and thunder (and tornado warnings in neighboring counties). Have I mentioned that I like thunderstorms? It was cool seeing the lightning in the sky as we were driving this evening.<br /><br />We got into town on Monday (the 12th) evening. Went directly to Culvers! Yummmmmmm. They really need to open a Culvers in Orange County. I mean really, we ARE getting a BW3 (Buffalo Wild Wings). Monday we pretty much just chilled at my parents' house.<br /><br />Tuesday, we went to see "Despicable Me" in 3D. Fun movie. I want minions! Then we went to Target, so K could do some shopping (Grandma and Grandpa gave her a gift card!). K wanted to have Juicy Lucys for her early birthday celebration so we went to the 5-8 Club. Again... YUMMMMMMMMM.<br /><br />Wednesday, for most of the day, we just hung out at my mom's house, because S broke his leg and needs surgery, and is not getting around very well, and my dad was gone for most of the day. Later we took K shopping for shoes, because there is no sales tax on shoes or clothes in Minnesota. She got two pairs of shoes for $27.98. Not bad at all. Then we left K with my parents and went out to dinner with four of my friends at The Chatterbox in Powderhorn Park. We later went to Bob's Java Hut and watched the people on Lyndale Ave. Good times!<br /><br />Thursday we took it easy until we left for Target Field. My photos of Target Field will be uploaded when we get home. Target Field is a beautiful ballpark. They really did a great job with the details. The Twins were hosting the White Sox (which is always a fun series because of the rivalry). Although the Twins lost 8-7, it was a fun game to watch.<br /><br />Friday evening, we went to a barbecue at my husband's best friend's house in Monticello. It was so wonderful to hang out and see everyone after several years. Tonight we went to a party celebrating two people's long-term recovery and I saw people I had not seen in probably 15 years. We also went to a reunion of the Minnesota Maulers football team and it was fun to see the guys who played football with my husband again. It was kind of weird that I was the only spouse there, but oh well.<br /><br />We go back tomorrow morning (Sunday). I am really sad to leave. But glad that I got to see so many people that I have not seen in so long. It was really a good trip.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-43478377420121484212010-07-06T12:31:00.000-07:002010-07-06T12:31:55.491-07:00Another AnniversaryTomorrow, July 7, is the 23rd anniversary of my final radiation treatment. While the first series of treatments covered more area of my body, I have to say the second series was far worse as far as the side effects went.<br />
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The area exposed in the second series was about a 4" x 10" rectangle along my abdominal midline below my diaphragm. This is when I stopped eating completely. While I was not eating much when I had the mantle (neck, and entire thorax) radiation, because food was too dry to go down, when I had the abdominal radiation, food came back up too readily. To this day, I cannot even fathom wanting to ingest a liquid protein shake. I get nauseous just thinking about it.<br />
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My treatments would have ended a week earlier, but my maternal grandpa died and with my doctor's okay, I went to spend a week in Milwaukee with my family. I did not know at the time that it was going to be the last time I saw my cousin, Gary.<br />
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At that time, Gary, unbeknownst to anyone but his parents, had just been diagnosed with HIV. Apparently, Hodgkins Lymphoma has some very similar symptoms to full-blown AIDS. And Gary, bless his heart, was asking me some rather pointed questions about what I was going through. I was confused as hell as to why Gary was asking me these gruesome questions, especially since Gary had a delicate sensibility. Yes, Gary was gay. But I have known straight men that had just as delicate a personality so let's just leave the stereotypes alone. Anyhow, at one point during our conversation (and I still kick myself mercilessly over this) Gary told me that he dreamed of meeting a nice woman, settling down, getting married, and having children. I wish I had told him to cut the bullshit, that I knew he was gay, that I loved him for who and what he was, and that if he wanted to marry a man and settle down, I would have nothing but blessing for him. I just did not have the guts at that time to say what needed to be said.<br />
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Gary died in the summer of 1990, when I was pregnant with my son. He did not allow his parents to tell anyone until a few days before he died. I did get to talk on the phone with him before he passed, and I told him I loved him, and that I wish I had known sooner, because I would have wanted to do something, anything, for him.<br />
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His death changed some things in his immediate family. Both of his parents got involved in AIDS related charities in Milwaukee. One of the things my aunt (Gary's mom) did, while I was sick, was send me these anonymous notes and little gifts (all containing Hershey Kisses), throughout all of my treatments. We were all trying to figure out who was sending the stuff the whole time. The last little gift came the day of my final treatment, when she revealed that it was she that was sending these things. I know people think I am so strong, but really I am not. She may never know how much the anonymous little notes and gifts helped me get through that time. One of the things she does with the AIDS hospice now, is send the little anonymous notes and gifts to various patients there. My aunt and uncle have served as the Grand Marshals of the Milwaukee Gay Pride parade. My aunt also made a quilt panel to memorialize Gary's life. Here is a photo of his little section:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZu94SLqS_FaJVyv1h8m0HODFX3xv3qUnUcu3pbCBrFWsCH4UEiiF6nGu9U3XbuXemG9PULoi7sVTPOfGoIuYZUdauQixuqS11dEvujB1AbID0vcHWa22WTTUwvC7Vj80q1WcL6a5cXa3/s1600/GaryQuilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZu94SLqS_FaJVyv1h8m0HODFX3xv3qUnUcu3pbCBrFWsCH4UEiiF6nGu9U3XbuXemG9PULoi7sVTPOfGoIuYZUdauQixuqS11dEvujB1AbID0vcHWa22WTTUwvC7Vj80q1WcL6a5cXa3/s400/GaryQuilt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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I still cry when I think of him.Tall Drink of Waterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00035256405270560250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-69862279533633411782010-06-26T16:57:00.000-07:002010-06-26T17:17:16.932-07:00Swim MeetK had her first swim meet of the season today. It was at a pool that we had never been to before, so we attempted to get there early. Thankfully our friends A and S had gotten there and saved us a spot for our canopy next to theirs.<br /><br />Because it was the first meet this year, the procedures seemed to start off a little rusty (all around - not just the host team). Thankfully the rust was shaken off quickly and we were home after the meet before 1:30 PM.<br /><br />K swam in the mixed medley relay as the backstroke leg, the butterfly, freestyle, and the mixed freestyle relay. She turned in personal best scores in both of her individual races. Not bad for having been out late last night. In fact, last night, the nerves got the best of her and she was nauseous for much of the evening. Thank goodness she got over that and was able to swim this morning.<br /><br />I am on the ribbon writing committee for the team, so our family pretty much has our volunteer commitment covered for the season. At one point, the co-president of the team came into our canopy to ask for help at the scoring table. S (who shared our canopy) was unable to go help, so I did. My job for the team has now changed to card sorter and Heat Winner ribbon writer. K and S (the people inputting the times into the computer) had gotten behind, as K, who was trying to log both the Heat Winners and the DQs (disqualifications), before the cards were input by S. I got over there, and was able to get to work on the HW stuff, and in no time we were running smoothly. So the co-pres asked me if I would do that job for the rest of the season. I work so well with K and S, so I said I would. Even though it is quite a longer time commitment (basically the entire meet). I love working with people who are easy to work with. It makes things so much more pleasant.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-60609776376719648932010-06-24T20:36:00.000-07:002010-06-24T20:44:50.574-07:00SummerMy goal for this summer is to get more organized. I am starting with the garage. The garage has gotten to such a state that we can only park one car inside. This needs to change. I figure if I work on it for a couple of hours a day, I should have things back to being manageable in about a week or two.<br /><br />I would work longer, but between the heat, and my back pain, I really can't overdo it.<br /><br />So far, the weirdest thing I have found in the garage is a dog leash. What makes that weird is that I have not owned a dog in my entire adult life. Not sure where the leash came from, but it is going to the Goodwill drop box, since we have no need for a dog leash.<br /><br />I will be making a run tomorrow to the Goodwill dropbox, with about a trunkload of various items we have no need for. May as well offer them up for reuse.<br /><br />One bad thing, somehow a bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap exploded on the garage floor, and I almost fell on my ample arse when I slipped on it today. I am not sure if there is a more slippery substance than Murphy's Oil Soap. Not sure if I want to find that out either.TallDrinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831914226033997854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025063715023076370.post-51551924605148177082010-06-18T14:32:00.000-07:002010-06-18T15:15:24.138-07:00Photos of Plants from the CampoutNot going to do a whole lot of text here, just going to let the photos speak for themselves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruGzZ2L_6NvangQea0bpW85xBhtwBv_ZOyx__zMQ0JXP1L5lNEwUdxrKWvYXT6fyOiYSDQA4Gq4g3Psh24fHT1Q7KJr1PbPdZTYQfvJBz2_Efqr3JmMs8hz0DBnCF9ts_sWee1z0Z3O4/s1600/100_6219.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruGzZ2L_6NvangQea0bpW85xBhtwBv_ZOyx__zMQ0JXP1L5lNEwUdxrKWvYXT6fyOiYSDQA4Gq4g3Psh24fHT1Q7KJr1PbPdZTYQfvJBz2_Efqr3JmMs8hz0DBnCF9ts_sWee1z0Z3O4/s320/100_6219.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484232015493441458" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVO59rmkrxqxXNUqUcCfd9D-f-8uGzt_WShpvN4cxcnHSTQEEQ0C0O7BNS_mNrkXAbxWyw_OEZACDisrP6TAHHe0u-PovIFRv7oLbKIx848Kgp6rj6MikxO1_b76avZahIiQY_-xyJaCo/s1600/100_6217.JPG"><img style="float: left; 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