Just found out about a new gizmo with android called Bloglovin. There are a few compilation blogs that I follow – like Pikaland, Swiss-Miss, and Parcel Post – so it was easy to pool my favorites into Bloglovin so I could pull them up on my phone. There have been a few instances I have wanted to share something I’d seen in one of the blogs I follow. The app is free from the android market and the file size is fairly small. Check it out and follow my blog with Bloglovin!

2011 has been a year of triumphs, tests, and growth in the most remarkable ways. It has been a test of faith – in both myself and in others – and has solidified who and what I am on so many levels. We have strengthened old friendships, built on fabulous new ones, and cleared the negative from our lives.

Val and I were married in late September, before embarking on a life-changing two days in st. Augustine for our honeymoon, then came home to scoop up my daughter and move forward with the rest of our lives.

My health, though having grown increasingly worse this past year, is on the verge of improving as I received a lead from a friend that may make all the difference in 2012. Either way, my outlook is positive and I am not letting it beat me. I am not giving up without a fight.

Art for Cures rose from the ashes just as Gumtree was laid to rest, though not permanently. Art for Cures will be coming out of the gate tomorrow with signups for a new swap>auction project and everyone is excited to move forward and create something wonderful for the fight against MS.

School is coming along well and I am thoroughly enjoying my Masters degree. It has been challenging and not without its hurdles, but I love Full Sail and am looking forward to buckling down on my thesis.

My girl is growing like the proverbial weed and has made a lot of friends over the past year. Her creativity continually holds me in thrall and I have enjoyed every moment of watching her bloom. I am looking forward to the years to come as she explores her own life and makes her own adventures.

We found a wonderfully cozy church near our home that has welcomed us in with open hearts. We have made some incredible friends there whose love and support has already seen us through the rough spots of 2011.

The Year of the Dragon, my grandmother’s sign, and my own personal Year of the Phoenix, 2012 is going to be an overwhelmingly successful year on all levels and I wish that for you as well. May the coming year overflow with blessings that you recognize, may it be full of opportunities for kindness, and may your year be full of love, family, and friends.

Happy New Year!

We have been going to the same Publix every week for about seven years now. In that time, we have gotten to know at least half of the employees there, some fairly well, some even coming to our wedding next month. We lost one a couple of nights ago to a motorcycle accident that could have been avoided. All so a woman could save herself five seconds getting onto the interstate.

How much time is a life worth to you?

In the whole scheme of things, is your lack of time management skills worth taking someone else’s life?

He was someone’s grandson. He was someone’s friend. He was only 26.

If it were your friend on the motorcycle, would you crowd them or would you give them a wide berth? Does that five extra seconds you save cutting someone off to get on the interstate ramp really matter?

He was wearing his helmet. He was riding responsibly. And, from what we know, it was quick. A fact that I am thankful for. He is survived by his grandfather, his last living blood relative, and my heart goes out to him as he is not doing well at all.

And all so someone could get to where they were going a little faster.

So, today and every day, please be aware. If you see a motorcycle, give them some space and slow down. No destination is worth hurting someone else over.

- – -

Watch for Motorcycles – promotional materials, get the word out!
http://www.smsa.org/motorcycle_awareness/promotional_materials/

Watch for Motorcycles on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Watch-For-Motorcycles/84645176573

My daughter and I read this article in her National Geographic Kids magazine about a month ago. I am thrilled to see this passionate story being told.

He is right, we all hear so much about global warming, the ice melting, the polar bears, and all of it turns to white noise. We don’t live there so we don’t think or recognize it’s impact on all of us; it’s what I call the “Homeless Factor”: You drive by, avert your eyes thinking it will go away. I think today a lot of people are starting to notice that, with the economy and the rise of gas prices, none of us are that far off from being homeless and we have a more sympathetic connection. We need to.

The last few days have been spent in as non-vertically bedridden a state as we could manage. My daughter is feeling better now so, communal hermitage disbanded, I am sitting at my desk.

Mostly staring at the screen.

I have managed to weed out my email, though not answer any yet, and log in here. Am I slacking? Why, yes, I am. And I can safely say that I do not like breathing through sand. ::insert blank stare here:: Ok…so what was my point to this? Oh. Yes.

My daughter’s desk is now next to mine and she has decided it was time to make accessories for our Monster High dolls. Val bought her Lagoona Blue for Christmas, then picked up the nerdy-but-wonderful Ghoulia Yelps for me with her awesome librarian-reminiscent, horn-rimmed glasses. My daughter loves making tiny things out of paper, clay, toothpicks, anything I give her permission to raid from the studio or the kitchen. With Lagoona looking on in approval from her handmade, brightly-colored Lego chair, she just finished making pencils out of toothpicks and a coordinating notepad. My Ghoulia had Christmas earlier this year with a bag cover, a book (pre-made), a wallet with tiny bills in it ($12.00, enough for a pizza), and a newspaper with a Have you seen this monster? ad of a zombie. Apparently Ghoulia’s father is missing.

So my daughter asks if she can modify the bottom of a makeup container that I gave her. I tell her no, but that she could make something to fit in the bottom without gluing it in. She comes up with an idea and, after trying to explain to me what she wanted to do (my Mommy Translation Device is apparently non-functional today) she stops, sighs, and starts drawing.

A moment later she shares her drawing with me and says, and I quote, “Mother.” (frustrated) “I have child words of wisdom to spew out.”

Wow. O_O I don’t even know what to say to that other than good word usage? LOL

Think I am going to go lay back down.

I found this on Swiss Miss this morning via Kickstarter and I actually cried. I think this is one of the most wonderful projects that I have seen in a long time. The sheer beauty and simplicity of it is overwhelming.

The song is Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. You can hear Celtic Woman performing it live here.

Yesterday, starting at 8:30am, was a combination of phone conference and migraine day. One leading into the other. My first phone call was, for the most part, the only pleasant one all day; a client letting me know he was putting his manuscript and payment in the mail, always a good thing. He is always wonderful to talk to so it was a good start. Sadly this was not the theme for the day as a phone conference with a disability attorney did not turn out to be good news.

“There is nothing I can do to help you.” was the general consensus. I am under 50, not able to be vocationally rehabbed as I am a working freelancer, and the one therapist I need is considered alternative medicine (which I knew).

Several years ago I had gone to Shands at University of Florida after a client of mine recognized that I had Lymph-edema. A hair dresser, he had referred me to one of his clients, Vanessa, who specialized in manual lymph drainage; basically a (painful) form of therapy where the lymph system is manipulated via massage. Instead of calling her, I went to Shands to seek verification first and, ironically, they referred me to the same person. Shands had wanted me to come to them two hours a day, 7 days a week, for therapy which I was unable to do at the time, so I asked for a referral in our area. Shands is an hour north and we had one car at the time as well as a small child. They referred me to Vanessa who, I was told, was reputed to be one of the best in the Southeast for MLD and Shands sent their worst patients to her. (Comforting thought.) Vanessa was a Godsend and I wish I had been able to afford to continue seeing her.

Being self-pay was/is difficult, as I know it is for a lot of people. The health care system here is broken, not a new topic. My next step was to call Shands, which I did, and again not good news.

“We don’t accept self-pay from Marion County.” Even with cash-in-hand to pay IN FULL they refused to allow me to make an appointment. In my opinion ridiculous but I am sure there is some “logical” reason for it outside my understanding. So. Square one. Fundraiser time.

Vanessa is $70.00 per visit, IF she can help me. It has been four years since I have seen her and I have not been wrapping during that time. I went through a severe depression where the only thing getting me out of bed was my daughter. After that I threw myself into my art for a period of time. Both were blessings. My daughter is my “bestest friend”, as we say, and my partner in art.

If Vanessa can see me, I hope to find a way to do five (5) times per week, ideally. Inside of a month I could be back down to where I could actually exercise, be in compression stockings, and fighting strong to maintain which is something I will be doing for the rest of my life. Doing five sessions a week would accelerate the results and help me get through it in the off times with my sanity intact. (I know, I know, I had to have had it first.)

I am thankful to be blessed with a good support group, something I didn’t utilize as fully as I could have before. Val, my incredibly supportive boyfriend, is learning the massage necessary for me to maintain when I am not with Vanessa. My daughter is ready and willing to help me untangle and roll miles of compression bandages, a process that is repeated several times a day. And friends who aren’t afraid to kick me in the butt or head, whichever works better, sometimes both.

This time around I am fueled by anger and disgust for a health care system that looks down on alternative medicine instead of embracing it for its benefits and for doctor’s that rest on their routines and no longer research causes. My lymphatic system shut down during my pregnancy and I spent five years going from doctor to doctor. None of them knew what I had, continuing to treat me for “water retention” and, in the meantime, making my condition worse.

Lesson learned. I am on my own now. Thank God for hairdressers that pay attention.

Let the bake sales, eBay auctions, and Etsy stock begin!

Sunday mornings are little bits of sleeping in late (comparatively), stealing moments to write before everyone wakes, planning out breakfast then filling the house with smells of potatoes o’brien, eggs, coffee, and warm English muffins with blueberry preserves as I wake everyone with our favorite Professor…

Sunday afternoons are family day at home or at the park, watching movies, enjoying each others company around board games and maybe sneaking in an author presentation at the library before heading to the bookstore for a hot chai and some magazines that get my creative brain going.

Late Sunday is when I review the last remnants of homework and plan out my week before snuggling in with my beloved for the evening.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone!

I have had the pleasure of working with Tom Jordan of Meantooth Grin for some time now and am thrilled to introduce you to the band. Deservedly, Meantooth Grin won the People’s Choice WAMI last year for Best Blues Band of 2010. Their music has a depth and soul to it that I really enjoy so I encourage you to check them out. You can Like them on Facebook and check out their new song Insomnia on ReverbNation. It will play automatically when it loads so make sure you turn your volume up!