I'm a Winner!

I found this site through Naked Ovary's site(do I even need to link to her? You all know who she is). I promptly signed up for her e-mail newsletter and was entered into the monthly drawing to win one of these. Well today I got an e-mail from the company and I won! I'm so stoked! I hardly ever win anything(O.K. I won a trip to Hawaii from a radio station once, but that was five years ago). It has been a long time since I won something. I'm so excited! I'm off to pick out which pattern I want. You should sign up for their monthly e-mail letter too. You might just win!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the decorations, the costumes, and of course the candy! I love candy. No big plans tonight. Joe and I are staying home, ordering pizza, and watching Monster House. Yeah, it's a cartoon. We're wild and crazy like that. It's high time we had some children in this house! Someday.

P.S. We have internet at work now and I can check my blogs on my lunch break. Not necessarily a good thing! :)

An Interesting Day

I had an interesting phone call on my cell phone while I was at work today. It came kind of out of the blue and it upset me a little. I'm over it now, but for a half hour or so it really bothered me. My phone rang at about 9:00. I didn't recognize the number, but for some reason I decided to answer it anyway. I don't usually answer my cell phone at work, espescially if I don't know who it is. For whatever reason, I decided to answer it this time. It was a woman. She said this is so and so and I am responding to your inquiry about your birth mother. Huh? What inquiry? I didn't submit any inquiry. She names off a website that she advertises on. It is one of the Yahoo groups I subscribe to. Then it came back to me. I had seen her advertisement on
the group and for some reason I decided to fill out the form. Then I promptly forgot about it. I have a very short attention span. So she calls me today and tells me that based on the information I submitted, she was able to find the name and current address of my birth mother and would I like this information? And I'm not sure what to say. I don't know if I want this information. I don't even know why I filled out the inquiry. I was having a bad night and was worried about my health. I was reading up on the type of kidney disease that I have and was stressing out over the percentage of people with this disease that end up needing kidney transplants. It's twenty-five percent. I know that isn't a terribly large percent, but I still don't like the odds. My husband has already offerred(God I love him), but what if he isn't a match? So I was thinking maybe I might have biological relatives out there somewhere that might be a match(not that they would give me a kidney. They don't even know me). But that's why I filled out the form. Not because I want to find my "mother". I already have a mother. She died ten years ago. She will always be my mother. No one can replace her. But when someone is on the phone with you and they are asking you if you would like to know information that you have wondered about on and off about your whole life, it is hard to know what to say. So the first thing I did was ask "How much?". To which she replies "My fee is six hundred dollars". "What?!!! That's extortion!" (O.K., I didn't actually say that. I just thought it). What I said was, "Well,that's a lot of money and I certainly can't make a decision without speaking to my husband." And then I hung up on her. I felt angry. Really angry. What right does this woman have to know intimate information about me that I can't know? What right does she have to ask me to pay her six hundred dollars(that I don't have) to know this information? It is so unfair. Like I said, I don't even know if I want the information. I certainly don't want a relationship with this woman(my "mother"). I don't even know her. But it would be nice to know of any other health issues that may run in my family. Why do all of the laws protect the birth mothers, with no regard for the "children"? And then I started thinking about Sophie. How it will likely be impossible for her to ever know any information about her birthparents. And the anger turned to sadness. Sadness for Sophie,and for her birthmother, who will never really know if she is O.K. And I though maybe I should forget about this. Maybe it will make my daughter feel better to know that I know how she feels. I don't know my birthmother either. And it's O.K.

Exhausted

No, you aren't having Deja Vu. That was the title of my last post. Only this time I mean it. It's one 0' clock in the morning(well actually two. The clock on the televsion just set itself back a few minutes ago.) It's one o'clock and I am posting to my blog. When I should be sleeping. The problem is, I can't sleep. Don't worry, I won't be taking the cocktail of drugs I took the other night that made me pass out. I have already received a couple of lectures about how that was not a good idea. It actually was kind of an accident. I had taken the Robitussin earlier in the night because I. could. not. stop. coughing. About an hour later I drank the Theraflu to help with the runny nose and headache. And finally, a half hour after that I took the sleeping pill when I took all of my other nightly medication. I didn't even realize what I had done until I became so drowsy I fell asleep in a sitting position on the couch. I realized the next day that probably wasn't such a good idea, and I won't be doing it again. Anyway, back to how I can't sleep. It's maddening. How can one be so tired and yet when I put my head down on the pillow my thoughts are racing, my heart is beating, and sleep is nowhere in sight. What is insomnia anyway? Besides a huge pain. What causes it? How is it I can go months without it being a problem, and then out of the blue it returns and will not go away. Well, I'm going to Google insomnia and see if there are any good suggestions on how to get to sleep. In the meantime, I am watching Saturday Night Live that Joe taped. Come to think of it, that ought to do it. (Ha!)

Exhausted

Yep, I'm exhausted. I left the house at 6:15 this morning and have just returned at a little after nine o' clock. Talk about a long day. This year's Trunk or Treat was a huge success though. It was fun too see all of the kids in their costumes. There were a lot of Pirates this year. Boys and girls. There were a ton of Princesses too. And Ninjas. And Spidermen. I think the cutest costume I saw was a toddler in an octopus suit. So cute! I was going to post pictures, but I am too tired. I'll do it in the morning. Here are pictures of last year's Trunk or Treat to tide you over until then. I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

My Husband is the Best

I'm still sick. Bah. I won't bore you with the details. I left work early and came home and took a nap. That seemed to help some. I am really hoping to feel better tomorrow because I have to be at work at the usual time(6:45 a.m.), but I have to stay until 8:00 at night because I am participating in their annual "trunk or treat" fundraiser. Yeah, I'm gonna be pretty tired by the end of tomorrow. Oh yeah, this post is supposed to be about my hubby. He's the best because even though he just taught two classes back to back, he is at the store right now picking up dinner because I'm sick(even though I have been sick non-stop pretty much for the last three weeks). It's official. He rocks!

P.S. You know a sure way to get a good night's sleep? Take some Robitussin. Then drink some Theraflu. Then take the sleeping pill the doctor prescribed for you because you haven't been sleeping. I don't even remember going into the bedroom. The last thing I remember is turning the T.V. off, and then the alarm clock going off at five fifteen this morning!

I really have nothing to say. I don't even know why I'm posting. I'm sick again. Really sick. Different than the last time though. This one is a head cold. I have never been sick this often in my entire life. It has to be the Prednisone. Maybe the longer you take it the more it affects your immune system. I don't know. All I know is I am sick of being sick. People around me are sick of me being sick. I'm sick of writing about being sick. I'm sure you are tired of reading about it. Signing off now. It's time for my Nyquil.

You cannot escape the brightness

My husband asked for a new alarm clock for his birthday. He wanted one that played C.D.'s, so he could wake up to his music. So off to Walmart I went to find him one. They didn't have a huge selection, but I settled on the Dream Machine by Sony. It had all of the features I wanted, and was within my budget. So I purchased it and gave it to Joe. He was very happy with it, and unwrapped it and set it up right away with the his C.D. So far so good. Until I went to bed that night. I got myself situated, under the covers, hideous machine on my face, etc. and turned out the light. Right away I noticed that the room was not as dark as it usually was. At first I thought maybe I had left the bathroom light on. Until I turned over and realized the light was coming from the alarm clock! It lit up the whole side of the bed. Now this is a problem for me, because I need the room as dark as possible in order to sleep. Not only was it casting quite a bright light, the numbers were huge! Dude, like they were so big I'm pretty sure even somebody classified as legally blind would be able to read them. Ridiculously huge. Here's a picture. The picture doesn't adequately display how huge they are. They are one and a half inches tall!(Yeah, I measured. So what? I may or may not have too much time on my hands) . I tried turning it away from the bed. I could still see the light. Sometimes it wakes me up it is so bright. So I'm not sure what to do. Joe loves it. I threw the box away, so I can't return it. I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it. Either that or get one of these.

Shopping

I have been doing a little shopping over the last week. Shopping that I shouldn't be doing. Whatever. How else am I supposed to celebrate being DTC? Anyway, I picked up a couple of dolls for Sophie. The first one is one she can play with. It's hard to find Asian dolls, and I think she's pretty cute. The second on is for display only. She is porcelin and dressed in the most beautiful Chinese costume. She came with a cute mini snowglobe that has a Panda inside. There were a bunch of dolls from different countries. I looked for one from Norway, but they don't make one. Bummer. I would have loved to have that one too. Both dolls were a steal too. The
first one I found at Big Lots for twelve bucks and the second one was at Costco for seventeen. I love a good deal!

What I am Reading

I have been doing a lot of reading lately. Since I've been home alone so many evenings, I decided to fill the hours with books instead of television and the internet like I usually do. I just finished Light on Snow by Anita Shreve. It was very good. I have read many, but not all of her books and enjoyed them all. I just started reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I have never read anything by her, and am enjoying it too. If a book doesn't catch my interest right from the beginning, I have a hard time finishing it, although I always try to finish a book once I start it. Next on my list is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I have never read any of her books either, so I am anxious to see if I like them. After that I am planning on reading The Blind Assasin by Margaret Atwood. I fell in love with her books in college after reading some of her short stories. My husband brought me all of these books home from work, after I complained I had nothing to read. In addition to the above fiction titles, I have decided to read one book on adoption or parenting or attachment per month until Sophie comes home. I am starting with Twenty things Adoptive Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew. I have only made it through the first few chapters, but am finding it interesting, especially being adopted myself. Lastly, I have pledged(to myself) to read the Bible daily. I received The Daily Bible for Christmas a couple of years ago, but never made it through the whole thing. It's time to pick it back up again. Well, I guess that's it! Looking at the above list, it looks like I better get going. I have a lot of reading to do! So, what are you all reading?

Is it Friday already?

I have to say, this week flew by for me. Even though work is stressful right now. It isn't the kids. It's my co-workers. Why can't we all just get along? I'm tired of the drama. I am also tired of explaining over and over again what is wrong with my foot. I may have to make up something interesting because "I injured it and I don't know how, but it wouldn't stop hurting so the doctor gave me this cast" is simply too boring. I LOVE my new cast. For the first time in two months I am completely pain free. I didn't realize how much pain I was in until it was gone! It's amazing how chronic pain can be so draining. I have many topics that I want to blog about, but when I sit down to write them, nothing comes. My husband and I have decided to stop going to couple's counseling for now. It was a mutual decision. Neither of us felt like we were really getting anything out of it. I think it was simply a bad fit with the therapist. Scheduling it was a nightmare too. Do you know there was only one hour out of an entire week that we could find to meet? Unless the therapist wanted to come in at seven in the morning or eight o'clock at night(she didn't). Joe's schedule should calm down starting next week when his midterm class begins. I'm looking forward to having him home more. That's all I got right now. I'll leave you with this cute story about one of the kids.

Today during story time I was showing the kids my "cast" and explaining what it did. I told them it was a special boot that kept my foot from moving around so it could heal. I showed them the air pump that came with it, and explained how I could pump it with air to make it more snug around my foot. After demostrating this, and showing them the "balloons" that are inside of the boot for this purpose, one of the kids raised their hands and said
"Hey Miss Michelle! Your boot has airbags, just like my Mommy's car!"

Look What I Got!

Am I lucky, or what? Don't be jealous. You know you want one too. Actually, I did want this. I saw the podiatrist again today. My foot was not getting better. In fact, it has been hurting worse since I received the shot(s) last week. It was becoming so painful that it was keeping me up at night. So, he gave me the "cast". Instantly after putting it on the pain went away. Ahhhhhh....so much better! Who cares if it's ugly? At least I won't be in pain anymore, and hopefully it wil give my foot some time to heal. Never a dull moment around here!

I just realized that I wrote a post yesterday explaining pictures that I didn't even post. Oops! I tried, but Blogger wouldn't let me, and then I got distracted(probably by something shiny), and then I forgot. And now I'm too tired. So maybe tomorrow. I'm too tired to write about my doctor visit today too. It wasn't great. The highlight of the visit is that he is not happy about my weight. It took all of me not to say "Really? That's funny, because I'm thrilled with the weight I have gained so far. Now there's more of me to love!" It looks like it's back to Weight Watchers for me. Sigh.

Happy Birthday to Yoooouuuu.....

You live in a zoo. Sorry. I work with five year olds. That's my only excuse. Today is my husband's birdthday. Happy Birthday Joe! He is thirty-eight. Man he's old! This is the seventeenth birthday we have celebrated together. The first birthday we celebrated together he was turning twenty-one. I was a mere eighteen. We just came from a lovely dinner. We went to one of his favorite restaurants, P.F. Chang's. I, of course, took pictures of all the food. It was sooooo good. Check out his fortune! Hee Hee! Mine said something like "You will be a winner". Yeah, whatever. After dinner we came home for some delicious cake. I forgot to buy candles, so that is a shish-ke-bob skewer that I stuck in the middle and lit on fire. Hey, it worked, O.K.? Sometimes you have to improvise.

Pretty Good for a Monday

Yeah, today has been O.K. The house is clean, the laundry done, car washed. Work was relatively non stressful. We have a pretty good group of kids this year. Unlike last year. I am enjoying the cooler weather we are having, even though the forecast calls for much warmer weather by the end of the week. I never know how to dress. I'm either too hot or too cold. And not everything I own goes well with the super fashionable hiking boots that I still have to wear. I'm ready for the weather to stay cool, so I can get out my sweaters(even though cold here is 65 degrees). This is Joe's very last Monday that he'll be working until midnight. His second session class starts next week. Yippee! He'll be home by ten every night. I'm so glad. I miss him so much when he's gone. I hate going to bed before he gets home. Speaking of him, tomorrow is his birthday and I still have some last minute errands to run to prepare. Like buying a cake. I just don't feel up to making one this year. I'm off to make dinner, and then to the store.

Just another Day

I woke up in a funk. Feeling kind of down. As I got ready this morning, I pondered why I was feeling this way. It's the weekend. Joe is coming home early. I'm not sick anymore. I have no reason to feel down. Yet there was a vague feeling that soemthing was not quite right. In the middle of blow drying my hair, it hit me. Wait a minute, I thought. What day is it? No, not Sunday. The date. What's the date? I dig through my jewelery box looking for my watch that shows the date. Can't find it. I get up and go into the family room and boot up the computer. It takes forever. Finally it turns on and I look up the date. October 15th. Oh. It's that day. October fifteenth is a horrible, rotten, no good day. I hate this day. I can't believe I didn't remember it earlier. Ten years ago today my Mom died. Ten years. Is that even possible? How have I spent the last ten years without my Mom? How could ten years have gone by so quickly, and yet so slow? It is unbelievable to me. I'm glad it is a gray, cloudy day because that's how I feel. I miss my Mom. I don't talk about her as much as I should, but I think about her all the time. Almost every day. Soemtimes I still get angry that she's gone. Especially when I think about Cameron and Gracie, and Sophie, who never got to know ther Grandma. It is so unfair. But then those moments pass and I think about what a wonderful Mom she was. What a wonderful person she was. And how lucky I was to have her for twenty five years. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go into the bedroom and pull the covers over my head and wait for this day to pass. I'll be O.K. tomorrow.



I miss you Mom.

TGIF

Thank goodness its Friday. Even if it is Friday the Thirteenth. Mine has been pretty uneventful thus far. Not that I expected anything differently. Last night was wonderful. Joe came home early and we had Chinese food delivered. Yum. We popped open the bottle of chamgpagne we bought while wine tasting a few months ago and celebrated. I feel such a sense of relief. I know the hard part is still ahead(the waiting), but the paperchase turned into such a neverending nightmare that I was beginning to think this wasn't meant to be. For those of you following along that don't know what this means, here's an overview of the process. Basically it means our documents have been sent to China. Next we will await our Log in Date(LID). It is at that point that the actual wait begins. Our agency gives out group numbers. Everyone in your group gets their referrals at the same time, and those are the families we will travel with to China. The letter from our agency states the wait times to be 12-18 mos., but it could actually be longer. There is no way to really know right now. China has slowed down the number of referrals per month and there is no way to know when(or if) they will speed up again. It's hard not knowing, but we are prepared to wait as long as it takes to bring Sophie home. I have faith that God has a plan for us. He got us this far, and I just have to trust that everything will happen as it should.

We Are DTC!

Sorry, just had to say it again. Celebrating is in progress. Thank you for all your nice comments!

The Words I thought I would never type

I was having a truly awful day. PMS'ing, Stressed out, in pain(My foot. So much for those shots)
Scrapbook class was a dissapointment(I didn't expect to win the contest, but my page didn't even get one vote. Ouch) When I got home I found the box for the birthday present that I ordered for my husband on my front porch ripped open, with the contents gone. Someone stole my husband's birthday present, and left the empty box where I could find it! What is wrong with this world? I feel so violated. I live in a very safe neighborhood. I am just heartbroken over this. I hope the company will issue a replacement, because it cost me fifty dollars. It was the only present he was going to receive, and I simply don't have the money to purchase another one before Tuesday, which is his birthday. I am crying as I type this. But even though I was in pain, and crying over the present, I decided at the last minute to walk all the way to my mailbox and pick up the mail. And do you know what I found? A letter from our adoption agency telling us we are DTC. Wait, I have to type that again. WE ARE DTC!!!!
Those are words that I was honestly beginning to think I would never type. And now the tears are tears of relief. I have to say it again, just so it will sink in. We are DTC! And now I am going to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a good day.

Sickness, Be Gone!

I now declare all flu/cold/plague and/or pink eye and/or foot pain gone! That's right, I woke up this morning feeling like a human again. My voice is back, the phlegm is gone, no more oozing eyeballs. I'm cured! Thank goodness. I had a couple of doctor's appointments today. The first was a follow up with the Podiatrist. Do you know what my podiatrist's nickname is? You'll never guess. It's Doctor Rock! How do I know this? it is plastered all over the walls of his office. There are concert tickets and signed programs from bands like Berlin. (Please don't ask me who Berlin is, like the nineteen year old girl I work with. I feel old enough already) Apparently he is the drummer in some sort of band that plays at the Coach House all the time. That's where we saw Flock of Seagulls last St. Patrick's Day. He's really funny. He said to call him if I have more problems with my foot, but not tonight because he has a show. Like I would need to call him. I got a shot in the foot today. I have one word to say about it. OUCH. Actually, I got two shots in the foot. Double Ouch. It was quite uncomfortable while he was doing it, but I'll tell you what, I'm feeling no pain now, and that's a good thing. The pain had not been getting better, despite the wearing of the fashionable hiking boots. The only bummer is, I still have to wear them. I better get used to them, because I have to wear them at least another month, until my next visit. If I am still having pain, I will have to wear the lovely boot until it heals. After I visited Dr. Rock, I had to go to the lab for my monthly bloodwork and urine specimen drop off. On a monthly basis I have to collect twenty four hour's worth of urine. The doctor provides me with this attractive,inconspicuous container to collect it in. I have to take it everywhere I go for 24 hours. To work, to the store, to doctor's appoinments, you get the idea. Because I want to be discreet(there's nothing like a group of five year olds saying very loudly "What IS that?") I carry the attractive inconspicuous container in a small duffel type bag. If I have forgotten that bag, I put it in a couple of white grocery bags to conceal it as I lug it from place to place(having kidney disease is fun!) So I get to the medical building today and I realize I have forgotten my duffel bag. That's O.K., I think to myself. I usually have a couple of grocery bags hanging around in my car under the seat or in the back somewhere. Except today. I tore the car apart, and no bags. At this point I'm not sure what to do. I really don't want to carry the attractive, inconspicuous container into the building and in the elevator up six stories. But I have no choice. So I try to carry it as close to my body as possible, in the hopes that no one can tell what it is. The following is an conversation I imagined the other people having in the packed elevator about me as we travelled up six floors. The first part actually occurred.
Nice strangers in elevator: Oops, hold the door, here comes a nice lady.
Me: Oh that's O.K., I'll catch the next one.
Nice strangers in elevator: No, it's fine, you can fit(everyone moves back a step)
Me: (Not really wanting to get into a full elevator, but not wanting to cause a scene either) Ummmm...O.k. sure. I step into elevator, akwardly holding the attractive, inconspicuous container to the side.

The following is where I start making things up.
Nice lady in elevator: Glances at attractive, inconspicuous container. "Hmmmm...I wonder what that is?"
Me: Stare uncomfortably straight ahead
Nice lady in elevator: "It looks to be some sort of collection device."
Me: Stare uncomfortably straight ahead.
Nice lady in elevator: Ewwww...it holds pee! That woman is carrying a bottle of pee! Gross! (takes a step away from me)
Me: Stare uncomfortably straight ahead and start to turn red, thinking to myself "Floor number four? That's it? This is the slowest elevator ever!"
Nice lady in elevator's four year old daughter: "Mommy, what's that?(this part is true)
Me: Ding! Saved by the bell! This is my floor. Whew! I rush the door, almost running into it before it opens.
As the door closes I hear the lady say to her daughter "It's nothing honey."

It's good to be back in the privacy of my own home, with another month's specimen safely delivered to its required destination. Everything's cool. Until next month, that is.

Wish I had something interesting to say...

..But I don't. And yet I post anyway. They tried to send me home from work again today. No, not because I still can't talk normally. Noooo, not because I am coughing incessantly. Nooo, not because suddenly my "chest cold" has decided it now wants to take over my sinuses too and I have to blow my nose every five minutes. Not because of any of those things related to the flu/cold/plague that I have been home in bed with for the last four days. Why did they want to send me home? Drumroll please! Because I have PINK EYE! Yes, that's right, conjunctivitis.(Caution: gross picture) You know how I posted yesterday that I woke up and my left eye was plastered shut? Uhhhh, yeah, apparently that's not normal. So today I get up and it is considerably worse. When I got to work I went to see the school nurse about it and she said it is definitely pink eye and that I should go home immediately. So did I listen to her? Nooooo......My boss wasn't too keen on me going home sick again, so I made a quick call to the doctor to have him call in a prescription for some eyedrops. A quick trip to the pharmacy and all was well. It feels better already, although it looks really gross. Oh, and he said I could stay at work as long as I didn't touch my eyes and I put the drops in as soon as I got them, both of which I did. I must have washed my hands a hundred times today, and gone thorough a whole bottle of Purell. I am home now, and have decided not to go to Bunco tonight and possibly spread my germies to the ladies there. I'm sure they would thank me. Sheesh, between my foot injury, and the bloody noses, and the cold/flu, and the pink eye, I feel like I am slowly falling apart. Nothing else could go wrong, right? (Knock on wood, or my head, or some other hard surface)

Thanks for the advice

Hey, thanks for the advice regarding the nosebleeds. I haven't had one today(fingers crossed). I will definitely be taking my Uncle's advice, because he is a doctor! Thanks Uncle Svein. As far as I know I am not taking any meds that contain aspirin, and my blood pressure has been fine as long as I take my medication. I will for sure be calling the doctor in the morning. I still can't shake this cold though. I am feeling slightly better, but my voice is still hoarse and my throat still hurts. To make matters worse, I woke up with some kind of infection in my left eye. It was plastered shut when I woke up(this used to happen to me as a kid), and now it is all red and swollen and will only open half way. It looks lovely. When I went to the store today, between that and coughing incessently, the checker looked at me like I had the plague. If it's not one thing, it's another! I think I will get a flu shot. This sickness stuff is for the birds.

Not trying to gross you out, but....

Sorry for so many posts in such a short time. Did I mention I have been housebound for the last three days? Anyhoo, I need some advice. I have been getting a lot of bloody noses lately. Like two a day. And they are bad. I just got through having one that lasted ten minutes. I used up half a roll of toilet paper. Before my husband got me the toilet paper, I filled up my cupped hand with blood. I am bleeding a lot. I don't know what is causing them. They always occur when I am just sitting down doing something like putting on my makeup(this morning) or sitting at my computer(now). I do have a cold right now, but I have been getting them for almost three weeks now, so that can't be the cause. In addition to bleeding a lot, I am having rather large clots come out. Gross, I know. Sorry. Of course I am planning on bringing this subject up when I go to the doctor, but does anyone out there know what causes these? What is the most effective way to get the bleeding to stop? I guess I could just "google" this and see what comes up. But if anyone has any suggestions, please share. Thanks!

Bored no Longer

I was just in the middle of a post about how I'm tired of being sick and sitting at home(although I did venture out to go to lunch with my Dad), when my husband came home with a surefire boredom buster. You see, one of the perks of his part time job is that at the end of the month they remove all of last month's magazines from the racks to replace with the next month's issues. After they remove the old ones, they rip the covers off(they are required to do this. I don't know why) and then the employees get to take the ones they want for free! So he just walked in with twelve scrapbooking magazines for me to read. Twelve! Who knew there were even that many magazines dedicated to scrapbooking? Not me! So now I have something to keep me occupied for at least a couple of hours. Maybe it might even inspire me to actually work on my scrapbooks instead of just reading about it. It could happen!

I have nothing new to blog about, so here is a slideshow of the the kids a month or so ago when they were visiting. I'm stil sick, but starting to feel better. Yay!

Create Your Own!

Mid Autumn Moon Festival

Today marks the celebration of the Chinese Moon Festival. Joe and I had planned to meet at a local park where they were having an event in honor of it, but I am still really sick. I didn't go to work today and I still have not regained my voice. It is so strange. I have never lost my voice before, so I have no idea when it will return. I guess we'll just celebrate at home. I found a local bakery that makes moon cakes, so if I am feeling up to it I'll run over there and get some. Aside from that I guess it'll be bedrest, hot tea and chicken noodle soup for me today.

Blogger's Challenge

I got this challenge off of this blog which is named walternatives. She challenged her fellow bloggers to post where they do their blogging, or their blogspace. Here's mine. Since I got my laptop and we have wireless, I get to blog right from the couch. I love it! The only piece not showing is my ottoman with the super comfy pillow that I rest my feet on when I' m blogging.

Cancer Sucks

I think that pretty much says it all. Today one of the parents came in wearing one of these T-shirts. Although it certainly isn't appropriate for me to wear to work, I am going to buy one to wear around the house. I'm going to get one for my boss too. She has survived stage V breast cancer that spread to the brain, and no one knows better than she does how much cancer really does suck. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so it is perfect timing, since a portion of the proceeds go towards Cancer research. You can purchase them here. Or there are different styles here.

Sickness. Blech.

I'm home sick today. Well, I started the day off at work, but by ten' o clock I was feeling so lousy that I went home. This cold is a doozy! I still have not regained my voice. In fact, it's worse today than yesterday. The doctor called in a prescription for antibiotics that I still need to go pick up. He is very concerned that this could turn into pneumonia. He thought that the last time I had a cold, and this one is much much worse. The bummer is that even though I am exhaisted I can't seem to sleep. I toss and turn restlessly until I can't take it anymore and then I just get up. It's annoying. I'm tired. Not being able to talk is kind of a pain. I had no idea it was so diffuclt to whisper. Really, you should try it. It's hard! Well, I'm off to drink some hot tea and see if it makes me sleepy.

Sick

I've come down with a nasty bug. A really bad chest cold, with wheezing and a barking cough. All the kids have had it. I guess it's my turn. I do notice that I get sick more easily since taking the Prednisone. Today I lost my voice completely. This has only happened to me once or twice in my life. Do you know how hard it is to work with school aged children when you can't talk? It's pretty much impossible. I may have to go to the doctor if it doesn't get better by tomorrow. My foot has been hurting me so bad that I finally broke down and bought those hiking boots that the podiatrist told me to buy and wear at all times. Here they are. Aren't they lovely? C'mon, you know you want some. They are sex-ee! Not. I look like a construction worker! And I'm supposed to wear them all the time. Until my foot heals. I think I will be spending a lot of time in my house. I'm off to take a ridiculously hot shower to see if it will loosen up some of the phlegm in my chest. I know, I know. Too much information.

Pictures from the weekend

Here's a smattering of pictures from this weekend, in no particular order because I am lazy. These are all from our farm visit on Saturday, with most of them being the corn maze. I have never been in a corn maze before, so it was kind of fun. Even though it seems like it took us forever to get out!

Home

I'm home. Of course Joe is at work. Sigh. I'm missing the kids. It's quiet here. Lunch on Sunday was fun. Lisa and I met up with Mary Mia at a really cool restaurant in San Jose called
Straits. Then we did some window shopping and had some yummy ice cream. There was a neat little festival going on that I would have like to check out a little more, but it started raining on us(hard!) and we decided to call it a day. I can't wait until the next time I get to visit with Mary Mia, because she will have her girls! So exciting! Now I'm tired and am going to bed. Five fifteen always comes way too early, especially after a four day weekend.