Banks and Birthday Gifts

There were many things I didn't accomplish today in the way of business stuff (making out invoices, etc.) but I did buy my husband a gift for his birthday tomorrow-two pretty cool shirts in the genre of tropical. He needed a couple of nice new shirts; he buys lots of t shirts but usually won't go out and shop for regular ones and he likes wearing them over jeans. So, I'm a good wife today. I can't believe he's 47-I always think of him as being younger than that. Not that 47 is old or anything, I just can't believe that's how old he is. There was a time once when 40 seemed like such a long way off, and now it's almost here and I find myself baffled by how quickly the time moved and how much I still want to accomplish. The longer time goes on, the more I realize I need to get off my butt and do the things I really want to do. Yikes.

Happy Thursday

I'm feeling much better today, aside from a having a slight headache when I wake up, which I've had upon waking for the past couple of days. So far, I've been sleeping alright without the Nyquil, which is good because I don't like taking that repeatedly. I don't think it's good for my body to take it all the time. I finally made the butterflies with Bebe today; I cut the butterflies out of colored paper and we painted them, then folded them over to smudge the paint all around and make them have a tie dyed sort of effect. They came out really cool and we had a good time making them. I even cut one out of black construction paper and let her decorate it herself with stickers and sparkle glue. Tomorrow I'll glue gold pipe cleaners on their little heads for antennaes, and pop a thread through them so we can hang them up. Even though the Solstice was last Thursday, it will be summer for a long while, so the project was in the spirit of the season. It was too rainy to be outside this morning and too hot to be outside in the afternoon, so it was a good day to be creative. I'm too tired to be able to think of anything else even remotely intelligent to say, so that's my cue to sign out!!!!

A Little Better Every Day

Well, I took a shot of Nyquil last night, which is something I hardly ever do. I dislike putting chemicals into my body which might be harsh, but last night I was desperate to take something which I knew would knock me out. I needed a good night's sleep; yesterday I was so tired I felt dizzy and lightheaded throughout the hours. I was unwilling to go through that again today. I'm happy to say that the Nyquil did its promised job and I feel a little bit better today. I'm still a bit lightheaded, due to the congestion in my head, but I feel a little better than I did yesterday and much better than I felt the day before that. I feel like my body should be healthy enough to be able to tackle this thing; I have on my side the fact that I don't smoke, am not overweight, and eat a reasonable healthy diet most of the time (occasional visits to McDonald's notwithstanding). Possibly the worst thing about feeling ill is that it takes away from my creative flow. I haven't felt like painting this week; I feel like anything I put onto the canvas will be coming from such a muddled place that it won't be good. I don't believe I can focus the way I need to when my head feels like it's swimming on air. Maybe I'll try a bit today. I do have some butterflies which I cut out of construction paper; I'd planned on painting and decorating them with my daughter yesterday in honor of it being the first day of summer (Summer Solstice/Litha) but we ran out of time. Maybe today we'll do that. At least it's something creative, and I get to do something fun with my little one, who is all too easy to bore these days!!!! I hope everyone else's day is blessed and healthy. Y

I'm Very Sleepy

I wish I could curl up into a little ball right now and go to sleep. For hours. I went out last night to meet up with some friends for the surprise birthday party of a really good friend who decided not to attend. Apparently, the party was a surprise and he wasn't in the mood to be surprised. The girl who organzied the party was to'd but what can you do? I had fun hanging out; my daughter came with me and ate some spaghetti, and I called D this afternoon to wish him a happy and told him I loved him even if he didn't like surprise birthday parties. All night long I felt pretty good, if not a little bit speeded out from the cold medicine I'd taken earlier. I went to bed with nothing more than a mild headache and was awakened at 3:30AM with a SCREAMER of a sinus headache. WTF????!!!! I downed more cold medicine but it helped only marginally. I tossed and turned for the rest of the night and am now afraid to take a nap for fear that the headache will return. Even now it's lurking in the background, waiting evilly to pounce. I feel like my every thought is swimming through a sea of green ooze; I can't wait to feel better. I conducted a bit of online research yesterday afternoon and discovered that, yes, sinus headaches can be related to pollution. This somewhat supports my theory that the root of our ills is growing in the soil of South Florida. Today I met not one but two people who are moving back home within the next day or so. I wish that we could get out of here. I want a real pizza and some Boston attitude RIGHT NOW. Please. With a little bit of sugar on top.

Blahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I definitely believe there is a link between illness and geographical location. My husband, daughter, and local friends have been sick WAY too much over the past year or two; more than friends and family who live in other locations far from this place. About three weeks ago N developed a horrible headache that wouldn't go away. Ibuprophen wouldn't kill it; the only medicine that seemed to temporarily relieve the symptom was Benedryl. At night he took Niquil, which knocks me out for half the next day as well as for the night. Finally, he went to a doctor, who advised that he had a sinus infection and prescribed medication. Two days ago I woke up with the same headache and today I feel terrible. I'm trying to nurse it away using natural remedies but fear that I too will need to make a trip to a doctor's office to rid myself of this latest evil. I'm so tired of constantly battling various forms of illness. It seems like it must be bad for our immune systems to be constantly having to fight off this virus, or that germ. Here's the rub: I went online and discovered that the area we live in is one of the dirtiest in the country. This area which is supposed to be so desirable and is so expensive to buy in is horrible for one's health. We live near a train station, I-95, a few marinas, powerlines, and a main road, not to mention the fact that we have a huge Outdoor World across the street from our development. I want to move away from here to someplace healthy so badly that I'm praying for some miracle to happen that will allow us to do so. Everyplace possesses its own ills, but I think that here in Broward County we have more than our fair share, and the constant heat doesn't help; I think viruses and germs thrive here since there is never any chill to kill them off. Is this paradise????

Happy HNT

Sorry, but I'm too tired and lazy today to take a picture and upload it to my computer. No HNT for me today. I took Bebe to the park this afternoon only to spend about fifteen minutes there before the rains came. First, the air became very cool-usually a sure sign of an impending soaker. That isn't enough to make me run, because a small shower can be withstood. Soon, however, the skies darkened, the rumble of thunder sounded ominously, and I saw two flashes of lightning. That was enough to send me scrambling; lightning in Florida is a highly dangerous entity not to be trifled with. So, on homeward, where we got stuck in the car briefly due to the major downpour that began just minutes after we got into my car at the park. As I type, the skies are blue with a few fluffy white clouds drifitng past, and the sun is shining gloriously. We need the rain and so are blessed by its coming but I do wish we'd left the house sooner. I felt bad leaving so quickly; my daughter did NOT want to get off the swing! My mood as of late has been very positive and good. I've been avoiding things and people that drain my energy, which includes television shows that make me feel yucky after watching them (due to excessive violence, etc.) and people who are physicic/emotional vampires. I've also been avoiding watching the news any more than once per day because usually at least one story will depress the hell out of me. Also, I've been using my ability to visualize in great detail to try to create some positive change in my life. So far, so good. Each day is a new one with new challenges!

Number 11

On a cue from my good friend, the Keyser's, website, I did this bloggie thing and here's what I came up with. Like the Keys, I believe this to be just a fun thing, since there isn't enough information collected for numerology to be a possible way of determining who I am as a person.

***Your Life Path Number is 11***
Your purpose in life is to inspire others
Your amazing energy draws people to you, and you give them great insight in return.You hold a great amount of power over others, without even trying.You have the makings of an inventor, artist, religious leader, or prophet.
In love, you are sensitive and passionate. You connect with your partner on a very deep level.
You have great abilities, but you are often way too critical of yourself.You don't fit in - and instead of celebrating your differences, you dwell on them.You have high expectations of yourself. But sometimes you set them too high and don't achieve anything.

What Is Your Life Path Number?http://www.blogthings.com/whatisyourlifepathnumberquiz/

It is kind of crazy accurate in some respects. I am an artist, I am extremely passionate in my relationships, and I tend to connect with people, my partner and other select people, on a very deep level. I've had employers who would tell me everything about their lives and then tell me they had no idea why they felt so comfortable telling me everything; they just felt like they could trust me. I've always thought that was kind of cool, although sometimes people have told me things I wished they wouldn't have! Ewwww. As far as celebrating my differences, I used to be self conscious about my eccentricities, but not so much as of late. I feel I'm no better and no worse than anyone else, and who cares what people think? I have to be true to who I am.

Peace.

Ah, The Sunny Month of June

I found this picture at the Nicks Fix web site, a pretty cool site dedicated to all things Stevie, whose music I've loved for many years. I was reading a peice about her today and came across a statement she made about how she didn't want to have kids because she knew that her creativity would suffer for it; she wouldn't be home to raise them and had no desire to go to PTA meetings. That made me think about my own creativity and the concessions I have to make due to my own familial obligations. It is true that, as a Mom, my time is largely taken up with the responsibilities of taking care of a home, raising my daughter, and worrying about both things. I fit my creativity in also, but I've only been managing to do that as of late, and that was because I finally realized I was slowly going insane. I can't selfishly immerse myself in my art for days at a time, but I can make time during the day to devote to creativity, although I have to choose just one avenue of creativity down which to wander each day (which is why I haven't been blogging as often as previously I was). I don't see myself as a conventional Mom, though. I've tried and tried to do the Mommy group thing, mostly for the sake of my daughter, but most of the time I'm not feeling it. I'd rather take her to the park or somewhere else on my own; she still meets other kids and has fun, and I don't feel compelled to make small talk unless I come across someone interesting who I actually want to talk to, and that does happen fairly often. I've met some cool women at the Mommy groups, but I must admit that overall the meet ups aren't something I particularly enjoy. Maybe if I could find a local Mommy group with some witchy pagan chicks I'd enjoy it more; who knows? As far as the PTA thing, I want to be very involved in my daughter's education; I've even considered homeschooling because I don't like so many of the ideas presented in public schools. I also like the idea of my daughter attending a private school that allows the kids to be creative and incorporates visual art and music into the curriculum in more than in an aside sort of way. The problem with private schools is that they cost a huge amount of money, and I'm not sure we'll have that option available to us. As far as homeschooling, I don't know if my daughter will thrive as much if she's learning from me, and if she'll have trouble adapting later, say, if she decides to go to college. I think having some sort of outside education is important; it allows for kids to spread their wings a bit. I will need to learn more about the pros and cons of homeschooling before I will consider it as a serious option. Hubby isn't too hip on the idea anyway. I don't have an image of myself as the stereotypical soccer Mom; I don't want to lose who I am, I don't want to lose my edge or the funky part of my persona just to seem more normal to other parents. I do know that when it comes to my daughter, I am constantly striving to be a better person for her sake, to be a good example, to overcome my fears, to step outside my usual rhelm of comfort in order for her to have fun and meet other kids. I don't see that I have to make a choice between being a Mom and being an artist, but it is definitely more challenging to be both of those things well. It's not impossible, though, and sometimes the struggle makes me want to fight all that much harder to be terrific at both.