Monday, October 22, 2012

Where Have You Been, Young Lady?

Have you ever said that to your child? Perhaps you've even said it with index finger pointed on one hand and other hand on hip, visually displaying your displeasure with some apropos body language. I feel like that may be what you're all saying to me these days, "Where have you been, Everyday Underwear? You'd better have a good explanation, young lady!"

First of all, thank you for calling me a young lady in my fantasy chastising. Actually, a few of you have contacted me and for that, I'm grateful. I had no idea that people would miss me. I am so pleased to know that you noticed I was "missing." I do have a good explanation, I SWEAR! It wasn't my fault, I SWEAR. My life has been a whirlwind. Hmmmm, shall we do a bullet list? I think we should.

  • As you all know from my last post, I found out recently that I am in late stage Lyme disease. This kept me from writing for a couple of reasons. This thing kind of consumed my life for a period of time, I must admit. And it may again, but I hope not. I miss writing. I miss you guys! I spent a great deal of time researching Lyme after my diagnosis. I learned that I don't want it. I learned that it may be difficult to drive out of my body. I learned that it is controversial. I learned that there is a lot to learn. I could already write a book about what I've learned. Hey, I'm a writer! Gee, what luck... I just might do that. In the end, I have been taking antibiotics for nearly a month and am feeling a bit better. Lyme cycles and moves around your body as well, so lucky me, the writer, it attacked my hands and lower arms for a while! Yay. Not. Please pray that my symptoms stay at bay. I am enjoying almost a week of feeling somewhat normal and I could get used to it. After all of my research, I have decided to treat my Lyme with a combination of traditional and alternative medicine. More on that later, homies, in another post with less bullets.
  • I had a litter of puppies. To clarify, my Great Pyrenees, Penny, had a litter of puppies. Look!

  • Go ahead and tell me how cute they are... I'll wait... They are so stinkin' cute! Puppies are a lot of work, though, and so I am busy getting up in the night to check on them, seeing why they're fussing during the day, making sure their bedding is washed and changed, and cooing, oohing, and aahing appropriately. This is her biggest litter so far. She had eleven and nine survived! The most we've had in the past is six. We almost lost five of these, but set up a little doggie hospital in the house and nursed them back to life from their near death state one night and only lost two. One we lost even got mouth to snout in a last ditch effort. Don't judge. They're $300 puppies.
  • My aunt died recently from an extended battle with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She died during Breast Cancer Awareness month, which makes this even more impactful. I will be traveling to Kentucky for services this week and will get to see my family there, two remaining uncles and some other extended family. My two aunts and my grandmother on my father's side have all passed in the past two years. Cancer ravages our family. My grandmother lived a good, long life, but my father and my two aunts died before their time on this earth should have come to an end. I miss them very much. They were all great role models and such wonderfully funny and nice people. I couldn't be prouder to have such heritage.
  • I've been out of commission every weekend since the weekend after Labor Day helping my husband run his food stand at his parents' flea market. It's completely exhausting and I don't have the energy to spare most days because that's a symptom of Lyme I deal with. Hickerbilly's Food Stand is open 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday & 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sunday. We need to get there early to prep, stay late to clean and close, and it's 40 minutes from our house. I have no life on the weekends because of Hickerbilly's, plus I have to do the shopping, ordering, errand running, and books for the business. This is a business I was supposed to have nothing to do with. I suppress my emotions about this issue well most days. Sometimes I drown in them. Luckily, it closes for the season after next weekend. Perhaps I'll be able to resurface.
  • My oldest daughter's health has been as bad as mine. She missed five days of school due to stomach trouble (she's had it on and off for years with various diagnoses) and we finally had a CT scan done on her abdomen. Clear. Then she got a sinus infection and missed more school. She missed several games and couldn't cheer. I had her tested for Lyme also because she is always exhausted and has mystery illnesses sort of like I had. Clear. She doesn't have it! Hallelujah! We are still faced with getting her well, though, so I am still struggling to figure out the best treatment method for a problem that cannot be pinpointed. Hmmm. Another mystery illness case, Chris Dean! As soon as her stomach troubles went away, she got a sinus infection... and missed more school.
  • In the meantime, my other daughter managed to fall and hit her head on concrete and get a mild concussion, so she missed two days of school and had me a little worried for a while. She's all good now, though. Sweet patoot is planning her birthday/Halloween party with which I have also been busy.
  • Soooooo, my oldest then decided she wanted to home school. Yes, you heard me right. She asked, no, begged, for me to home school her. As you can imagine, this was a difficult decision for us, but in the end, it has already been a smart one. She felt she could not keep up at school, as much as she is sick and she also felt she could get a better education out of the public school system. She really cares about her education, unlike some children. So I pulled her out of school and am homeschooling her. My other daughter remains in public school. She has no desire to leave. I've been researching high school home study programs and would appreciate input. We do not require a religious based program. I'd actually rather prefer a secular one. This wasn't a religious decision. I'm proud of her for making this decision. She isn't in trouble with boys, she isn't pregnant, she isn't bullied. She wants a better future and knew her health was making it difficult to achieve her goals. For a fourteen year old Freshman popular cheerleader to make that decision, how could I say no? So... I'm a little busy with all that entails.
  • We're refinancing our house, so I've spent a ton of time researching that and finding the best deal, taking care of the paperwork, meeting with and talking to the lender, and preparing for the appraiser. I had to call in backup to help me clean before she came. Thanks mom. I love you!

Holy moly, I'm just tired, people. I need an extended vacation. I feel very overwhelmed! I feel like I'm a month behind on everything and can't pay proper attention to anything, yet I must.

Oh, and then there's that whole writing career I'd like to have. What? Oh yeah, if I have time, I still want to write! Oh my, that is what I miss the most. I am literally at the point of tears about not having time to write. It's my passion and I must make it my priority again, but how? How? I'm waiting for my busy season to be over. I will sleep sweet, blissful sleep (if the Lyme buggies leave me alone) and write late into the night and early in the morning. I'll entertain. I'll make people laugh. I'll grow my position as a writer. I will, I will, I will. I. Will.

I have had a couple of good things happen on the writing front. The anthology I'm going to be in is getting closer to completion and I got the Reader Appreciation Award from Chris Dean. Thank you, dear. I shall answer the required questions now. Then I will not nominate 15 people. If you are in my Top Commenter section, you are tagged for this award. I appreciate reading all of you!
  1. Who was your favorite childhood mentor and why? Easy. My band director, Mr. Icenogle, lovingly known by all as Mr. I. He taught me to love learning, love discipline, love structure, and proudly excel at something. Yeah, I was a proud band geek.
  2. If you could go back to school, what would you study and why? Writing. Duh. Because I want to write real good-like.
  3. What is your idea of the perfect date? Fresh, chewy, no pits.
  4. What is the most stupid baby name you've ever heard? Moon Unit. No, Dweezil. Mmmm, yes, both Zappa children.
  5. What is the best advice your parents ever gave you? I didn't take their advice until it was too late and by then, I couldn't remember it anymore. Somehow, I still grew up fine, though, so they must have had some good words of wisdom to impart and I'm sure it's stuck in the old brain somewhere.
  6. What is the worst advice anyone ever gave you? "Here, I'll show you how to steal those. It's easy." Oh and then there was, "You should blow off work tonight to hang out." Both of those pieces of advice came from the same girl and got me into a lot of trouble when I was young and stupid. Needless to say, we are no longer friends.
  7. If you could re-live one day in your life, which one would it be? My wedding day to my current husband, "The keeper," not the first husband, "The practice husband."
  8. If you could be rich or famous, which would you choose and why? I would be rich. Fame is different for everyone. Besides, I've already been famous. I did the local Becker Wash-n-Dry Laundromat TV commercial. I got recognized on the street.
  9. If you could only travel to one place in your lifetime, where would you go? Italy. And I would drink the wine and eat the food with pleasure.
  10. What is the one thing you'd want your children to say about you after you're gone? I was lucky to have her for a mother.
 
I also got a little mention in the SheWrites newsletter for my entry to "In Six Words." The SheWrites community submits their answers to a question or idea, but are limited to six words. The challenge was to describe my favorite food in six words. They liked my entry of "Gastric orgasm of sinfully luscious proportions." Yeah, I write food porn. I'm just kidding. That's the closest you'll ever get to seeing me write porn!
 
And now that I've updated you all, how are YOU?