Transportation Complications

I am back. I have so many things to report, and write about, but today I’m going to talk about the social life for someone with limited mobility.  This has been such a hot button topic in my family over the years that I figured that some others may or may not be dealing with the same or similar issues.

First let me start by saying that here limited mobility means limited means of getting out and about, not necessarily physically. My type of Cerebral Palsy, I got lucky that I can walk fairly well, and even long distances with the walker.  But I still can’t drive, or otherwise  get myself places without asking for someone to take me somewhere.

This has limited where I can go to socialize and meet people my age with my interests. Oh I have friends, but even they are getting tired of driving me, even with offers of gas money and other things.  So I’ve been brainstorming.

Hope isn’t lost for me, I realized. I just have to finance myself a bit better than I have in the past, and when I do, I will be able to go out and do things.  Services like Uber have made getting out much more convenient for me, and at no time was that clearer than yesterday when I really needed to get out.

I was able to take myself to the movies and saw two great ones. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 and Beauty and the Beast. (More on those later!) And I didn’t have to ask to be taken. I just got my stuff together and went. It was a freedom I quite enjoyed, and will be doing again in the future. The price for that freedom? 12.00 even. Of course it would’ve been 24.00 if Mom hadn’t offered to pick me up after my second movie. (But that’s different. I didn’t ask to be picked up. I would’ve paid the fare to get back.)

I want my freedom so badly, guys. But it always has a price tag, and sometimes I can’t afford it. Not when I have an impulse spending problem when my anxiety/depression kicks up. (more on that, too, I promise). But I have decided that I needed to choose what was important, and go back to what I was doing before. Choosing the two most important releases whether they be Blurays or books, and then putting money in a  sort of savings account with Mom and using that to fund my outings. I will be talking to Mom about that more when she wakes up, and on the way to the library today.

Anyway, these are just some thoughts I’ve had over the last few days. I promise there will be talk of California, the movies I mentioned, and other things as the days go on. I’m just slowly trying to get back into the swing of things. 🙂

Thanks as always for being here….. it makes writing so much easier when I know people are interested.

Heather

Drowsy Day

Today is going to be one of those days where I am drowsy and out of it most of the day. I slept very little last night due things I don’t wish to discuss. I finally took a melatonin pill around 2am to force myself to sleep.

I got woken up about four hours later by the cat who demanded her soft food. Fed her and went right back to bed until about 8. That was fine. I didn’t intend to sleep all day today, anyway.

I’m trying to get a hold of Jeanette to see if she wants to try and hang out today. Either at her place or mine. I’m not too picky at this point. Personally? I’d rather go over there. There’s nothing for me here.

Correction. Just heard from her and it looks like I’m going to doing things solo today. Not going to explain because it’s not my place. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit upset about it. But I should see Jeanette on Tuesday if everything goes alright. We’ll find out, and I’ll keep you guys posted.

So my focus today should be finishing my glittery dragon scale “chain mail” headband, trying to get the border of my Thomas Kincade Disney puzzle done, and just relaxing since today is going to be mostly a down day. We’ll see what happens.

Going to get off here, finish the dishes and work on some of that now.  Talk to you guys soon.

Heather

The Stomach Bug and Some Thoughts

I lost an entire day on writing and Rainbow Looming yesterday because I had a pretty bad stomach bug. I don’t know if it was a real thing or if my body went into shock from the bad news I’d gotten the night before. Either way, it was pretty awful, and I felt awful.

When I couldn’t sleep last night I started thinking about how I could better the business. The things I came up with were thus:

• Advertise by wearing. I do this already, but maybe I need to wear more of my newer designs, and less of my older ones.
• Refresh the shop with fresh designs. Put newer designs in the shop. I will work on this this weekend.
• Continuously learn new designs and improve upon others.

These are just some of the thoughts that crossed my mind. I am hoping that doing this will help me expand and get some sales finally. I also bought myself a Nook Book on selling on Etsy in hopes that it will give me some guidance in how to do this. I just need to take some time out to read it and not pussy foot around with it if I truly want to succeed.

Anyway, I’m going to head off here now because I have a  few other things I need to catch up on before I leave for my friend’s house. See you guys next entry.

Dealing with Chronic Pain

Today I am dealing with some aches in pains in various parts of my body. It’s pretty annoying because I have things I want to do. One of those things was working on some new headbands to put on my Etsy shop.

So what I am doing instead? Instead I am working on fan merchandise for YallWest. I am going to be able to go and represent some of my favorite fandoms. One of them is Dorothy Must Die, and I am working on a headband for the Order of the Wicked. I am using green and black to represent that.

Though I am in so much pain it is hard to focus on the headband to begin with. I am hurting in my back, legs, and most immediately, my one tooth that desperately needs a root canal that I can’t afford and insurance won’t cover. It’s throbbing like a heartbeat.

Other than that, I found out that a family member I am somewhat close to had a stroke and is in the hospital in a medically induced coma. It’s not looking good, and I’m not sure even sure I’ll be able to say goodbye.

There’s not much else to say right now, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something for tomorrow.

Feeling Energetic

So I woke up feeling so energetic this morning. Even though it was only 6:30 EST.  I don’t know why my cat insists on waking me up so early, but today I’m kinda glad she did. I must have slept just the right amount. I can’t check to find out because I forgot to put my FitBit back on after the pool at my neighbor’s last night.

This has had an interesting effect on what I do. I cleaned my bathroom, vacummed both my room and my craft room, and I finished up the dishes. All of this in a span of 2 hours.

I forgot to mention a couple of entries back that I started writing a new, interesting piece that came out of a recurring dream I was having. I won’t give details here, but trust me when I say that I will probably post a snippet in my writing section of the site soon. I am getting a lot of positive feedback from those who have read what I’ve got for now.

Jeanette and her fiance came over again yesterday. We had some fun, listening to different music and looming. I made a new bracelet in the linked closure style. I used solar bands to do it so it changes to purple when it’s in the sun or in bright light outside. It’s so cool looking, and the kid in me loves watching it change into different colors.  I attempted to take pictures of my newest creation, but not sure the solar one came out well enough to post.

Okay, so it did turn out. That’s great! The only thing you don’t see is exactly how purple it gets. I will try and get another picture while I am out and about today. I am going to the clubhouse to do some uninterrupted writing on my stories. And some uninterrupted reading, too.

Well, I still have a few things to do before I go, so I’m going to end with saying that my life seems to be picking up from a few months ago, and I am glad! I feel like I finally belong in Florida instead of having been dragged along because I had no choice. I have a life here now, and I’m loving every second of it.

Heather

Ugh

So frustrated with myself, my body, whatever else I can blame for my current state of affairs. Went to the doctor this morning as those of you who read my previous blog know.  The news wasn’t good. I have so many referrals and appointments to make, and I’m not looking forward to any of them.

First and foremost we got to the bottom of my foot issue. I have a bunion on the bone of my right big toe. This is probably going to require a surgical removal. I’m not doing that until after my vacation to California.

THEN. Then, he pulls out my blood test results for Mom. Just hearing it all again gets me upset and depressed. Higher than normal cholesterol, very  high levels of blood sugar. It just doesn’t make sense with everything I’ve done. But I have to remind myself these were before I started making all the changes. Yet, I’m going to make the final push to eating healthier, leaner foods. I have to. I wish I had stuck with it when I was eating healthier last Summer, but that’s okay.  I will make that push again. This  time because I have to, not because I want to. I need to save myself. I don’t want to die early.

I just feel like I have to start all over and I’m tired of doing that. What did I even do to deserve this? I’ve been a mostly healthy eater my whole life . I have a few food vices, but who doesn’t? Currently, I don’t feel like I am good at anything healthy. Everything I want to do I can’t cause there is something in the food I’m not supposed to have. I wonder what our ancestors did to prevent diabetes and other food related health issues. Hmm.

I’m just ranting and raving this entry. I’m going to be okay. I just needed to put my feelings down somewhere, and I consider my blog my safe space.

Heather

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Issues

It’s a truth that whenever one part of my body is feeling decent, something else will go wrong. This was never more true than last night. It’s 6:18am, and I should not be up for another 20 minutes or so. But I couldn’t sleep well anyway, so why not? My Carpal Tunnel Syndrome had me up for more than half the night.

I swore I was going to start icing my wrist before bed every night, but when you’re dead tired you’re not really thinking clearly. I’m lucky when I remember to take all my meds at night when I’m that tired. Turns out icing wasn’t what my wrist wanted at all anyway.  It just kept throbbing, and throbbing, and finally I took four Advil, and went back to sleep. But it was a trying night.

If the doctor wasn’t so focused on my right foot right now I’d be insisting on another Carpal Tunnel test and other alternatives for my hand/wrist. His only suggestion at this point is to start using my right hand more. That’s not so easy when my cerebral palsy is on my right side mostly. I mean, I definitely cannot loom with my right hand, and right now that is a main focus.

Here’s the thing. I don’t know if there is much else they can do for my carpal tunnel syndrome at this point. I’ve had two surgeries on my left wrist, and my right wrist got messed up with it’s surgery so I don’t think I want to go that route again unless I really and truly have to.

Today I am going to get an x-ray on my foot to see what’s really going on. Mom and I both think that it’s my Cerebral Palsy progressing but of course they have to make sure first.  We need the x-ray before we can be referred to an orthopedic. I have a feeling none of this is going to be resolved before I go to California in a couple of weeks. I will keep everyone posted of course.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. It’s hard to write longer entries at a quarter to 7 in the morning, but the important thing is I am writing in this blog again, and hopefully you guys are enjoying it.

Heather

Bunco and other Thoughts

I’ve been having way too many thoughts lately. Silly ones, really. I’ve been trying to figure out why words are what they are. How did someone decide that a certain word meant a certain thing? You see? Who thinks like that?!  Anyway. Bunco was a blast as always. I didn’t win, or even get close to it, but I had a great time anyway.

I finished my re-read of the first Divergent book. I’ll probably start Insurgent after I read  The End of Oz, the final Dorothy Must Die book. I’ve done good with reading this year so far. It’s already March and I’ve read five books! That’s some kind of record for me, isn’t it? I guess it helps that I am making time for reading for a change. Usually I don’t, and that’s when trouble starts.

It helps that I started the year with three very addictive books. And with the re-reads, I’m able to read them fast because I’ve read them before. It’s helping me a lot. Insurgent is next. I should buy Bridget Jones for my Nook… but I am trying to behave myself. There. I literally just talked myself out of it in the middle of busying process. I can check it out of the library if I want to read it again that badly.

What you have to understand is that sometimes I go through a spending war with myself. Nine times out of ten I lose the war because my impulse buying takes over. This has gotten me into a lot of financial trouble before, but I am trying to get a handle on it this year. That is my goal. To try and rein in my spending. Saving is a bit tricky because the government doesn’t want those of us who depend on Social Security to actually save money because then it looks like we don’t need it.

 

 

More Rainbow Loom Fun

Yesterday at Jeanette’s house, I learned that I have to have patience when teaching. Jeanette was having a hard time catching on to something, and I got a little impatient and decided to teach her something a little easier. Next time I meet up with her, I will try and teach her the same bracelet again.

I think next month I will get her a Rainbow Loom. I tried working on her other looms and let me tell you, it was difficult! I probably sound like a Rainbow Loom snob, but I really can’t help that. I know there are other looms out there, but Rainbow Loom has been there for me for three years. Not just the loom, but I’ve gotten to talk to Choon on Facebook, and I’ve become a big fan of several of tutorial artists so I feel like they’re kinda like friends even if they don’t talk to me personally.

I re-taught myself the Quadfish bracelet with some of my new bands. It came out so pretty! I plan to wear it today  when I go to Bunco.

I’m excited for Bunco today. I don’t know why. Hee. I enjoy playing with the ladies I do. We have a lot of fun. I didn’t go last week because I wasn’t feeling well, and I missed it! This week though, I plan to roll every number I need for each round, and get more Ws than Ls.

I just realized I didn’t explain what  Bunco was. Bunco is a dice game. You play with at least 8 people. Each of the six rounds you and  your partner are trying to get a certain number to show up on 3 dice. There are a couple of other rules, but that’s the basics. Who ever has the most Ws (or wins) is the winner overall.

At the end of three rounds of six, we take an intermission, and we get a snack. Before being officially diagnosed as diabetic I would munch on the sweet stuff. Now I go more for the vegetables and dips. But last time I went, I went straight for the raw cauliflower. I was proud of myself for that.

Well, I’m going to Wal-Mart so I should probably go. I’ll talk to you guys soon!

Heather

Early Morning Musings

So I woke up around 5 this morning. I think it’s because I went to bed so early. I’m okay with it, really. I like when I can wake up not tired.

I woke up thinking about my tinker world novel. This was my interpretation of Steampunk, and I rather liked it. It just never went anywhere. This something I’d like to fix. I’ll add it to a growing list of novels I’ve had in the air for a while.

The thing with me is that I tend to get bored working on just one project. I’d make an awful professional author, I think. You know the ones who have deadlines for a specific book? It’s probably a good thing I am self-published.

I abhor writing on deadlines. That’s probably why I ended up quitting the paper here at Meadow Oaks. I was just done. Every time I turned around something wasn’t going right, and I just got frustrated. I’m definitely more of a write when the mood strikes type person.

That’s probably another reason why traditional, “update your blog this number of times a week” formats didn’t work for me. Which is why I switched to this method, and so far it’s working out much better.

Time for me to get to work on some small chores before my friends get here to pick me up for coloring club and an afternoon of fun! Will write more about this later. 🙂

Heather