Marnie and Me

Again, apologies for not being prompt in updating the blog. I've been sick and on the go a lot lately, more than I would like to be.

Marnie has been here a full two months (nine weeks), and she's settling in more every day. She was pretty skittish despite choosing us as her new family, so it's taken a while for her to get used to the routine, and to all of us.

This is how she was sleeping two days after her adoption:

When Son went back to school two weeks after we adopted her, she was upset to know he was gone. His room door is shut when he's not home, so she was rather miffed about not being able to crash on his bed or be with him while he was doing stuff up there. 

Hubby went back to work after vacation a few days before school started, and she wasn't impressed to see him gone either. 

She is now used to seeing Son leave every morning for school, and is all over him the instant he gets home. Same goes for Hubby, especially if he's working a closing shift. 

Marnie has proven to be a huge *GOOF*. She loves catnip, loves chasing the red dot, and will pounce on Son's golf balls if he leaves them in the kitchen. 

She and I had some selfie fun a couple of weeks ago and I got the following gem:

Marnie selfie! (taken October 11, 2018)

She was really fascinated with seeing her image on my phone's screen. Blurry or not, it shows her sillier side.

The TAIL! I love her tail!

"I is too cute for words, Mama!"

I see this a LOT when I'm at the computer... BUTT FLUFF!

Hugs from Mama!

She's been causing Kitty Insanity too, in her own way.

Last Friday, I got up to get things going for school (and my writing day) and noticed the curtains behind her spot knocked down - curtain rod and all. That must have been one HECK of a party... And her catnip is in the freaking freezer!

The next day, I came downstairs to hear her MEOWING and chirping on top of her lungs...

Then I saw it.

A dead mouse. 

That goofy fluffball is a damn good mouser! I have no idea where she got it, but she caught one, and it was dead.

That was a "fun" ten minutes of me chasing her around the house, trying to get it away from her so she wouldn't eat the poor thing. 

No worries, it's been taken care of, and no, she didn't eat it. I don't want her eating that kind of thing, she may get worms or something else from them. My baby has to stay healthy!

Gratuitous picture of her toe FLOOF!

I just love her toesies. The black beans with the white paws make them extra adorable in my opinion! They are just too kissable for words!

Marnie was here with me the entire time I was weaning myself off that medication I had mentioned in my last entry... Thanks to her help, I managed to keep going and keep my balance while the withdrawal from it made my life hell. My mood was horrible, so was the brain fog, but I still got off the darn thing and I'm feeling like myself again.

The medication was for treating trigeminal neuralgia, which I was diagnosed with in April. As you can see in the information provided via the link, it is excruciating pain radiating along the trigeminal nerves, which are the touch sensitive nerves in your face. Brushing the teeth, putting on makeup, and even feeling wind on your face can cause agonizing shocks along the nerves. It's similar to occipital neuralgia, but in a different part of the head.

The medication wasn't doing anything for me, and the side effects were not worth "the chance" it "might" help, so I went off it. My doctor understands my reasons for not wanting it, and she also gets why I will NOT be using any other medications for treating it for the time being. I'd rather be alert and in pain than doped up but still in agony, with a host of other things that are not there if I'm not on the damn stuff. 

Thankfully, I'm back to normal now. I'm still having problems with the TN flaring now and then, but other than that, I feel like MYSELF again. No brain fog, and nothing else is being messed up thanks to the medications.

I am using aspirin for pain relief other ways, but that's it. I'm still getting the occipital nerve blocks, not much can be done for the TN at the moment. I'm to have another MRI in a couple of years to be sure things are still kosher.

I'm back to revisions too, not a lot, but I'm to the point of starting to figure out a few things with the manuscripts I'm working on to get ready for publication. 

It is so NICE to be able to THINK again!

On a final note, Disturbed released a new album last week, "Evolution"... I got my copy of it yesterday! IT IS AWESOME!!!! I highly recommend any heavy metal/alternative fan to check it out. It even has the live version of "Sound of Silence" featuring Miles Kennedy from Alter Bridge on it - which makes their cover of it even MORE EPIC!

YES!!!

I leave you with the single "Are You Ready" from Evolution. ENJOY!

Afterglow Art Festival 2017 and More

The main part of Afterglow Art Festival happened last night. 

Our friend Kyle O (spray paint artist) wasn't there this year, but we still had a lot of fun. There were a lot of interactive things to do for kids and adults alike, as well as gorgeous art, and shows by various buskers (street performers). 

Son really enjoyed watching the Jugglin' Bubblers, a pair of circus performers who were creating a lot of interesting - think LARGE - bubbles and using the breeze to create a dazzling display of rainbow colored fun for everyone. He loved it so much that we spent most of the night watching their performances, and he even helped them with making some bubbles, like other children and adults. They had a juggling act after the sun set, with flashing pins that really looked cool in the shadows on King Street. They also had a small light show that was beautiful... The girl put on a cape lit with white LED lights and she danced while her partner let loose with some bubbles around her in a chaotic ballet. Talk about amazing!!! I loved everything I saw them do but that was probably my favorite out of their work. They're really nice people too, showing the kids and encouraging them to use certain techniques to get the perfect, HUGE bubble, sometimes with many little ones inside of it.

 

There was a lot of interesting things there, but my favorite wasn't exactly art related...

While looking at the program, I noted there was something called "Write Now"... An interactive writing and coloring fun area. 

You know I had to go see it. 

I'm so glad I did too. I met another writer, Candice, who is a poet. Although she's not published yet, she hopes to get there sometime. She's really sweet, I liked her a lot.

It was so wonderful to be able to "talk shop" with another writer, face to face. I don't get that too often - I don't socialize much locally due to my anxiety - but it is nice to do it once in a while. We had a great chat and I learned a little more about the local writing scene. It turns out there are a lot more writers in the area than I had thought. I know Laurie Lacey (he writes non fiction, and he's a sweet guy too), and a couple of others, but not as many as I'd like to know.

I think it's time to get out more, and meet like-minded others. I don't care if we write the same genre - or we're in different parts of the writing world (poets, etc, I'm a novelist) - just meeting other writers and authors would be awesome. So I am going to take her up on her invite to join her and a few other local writers for writing sessions at a local hangout. Even if I only go once in a while, it'll be wonderful. (I have to purchase a laptop bag so I can take that thing with me... it's kind of hard to haul my desktop there for only a short while!)

She writes the blog "Hope in a Handbasket".. She shares her poetry there, as well as bits and pieces of her life. Like me, she's a cat lover... Which led to us sharing photos of our cats. I just wish I had photos if Amber with her butt parked on top of the computer monitor, but unfortunately, I had cleaned the photos off my phone recently and forgot to leave a few on just for times like last night. 

Next time. LOL

WRITING:

As for my own work, things are not progressing as fast as I would like them to be... I'm having problems seeing where the leads in Fourteen trip over each other at the start of the story... Even though I have most of the rest of it figured out. I like having the first scene in my brain before I put anything down, for fear of messing things up later on. It's just an odd quirk of mine. 

I'm also deep in the "Dream On" revisions... I see a *lot* of problems with that one, from the town it's set in to various grammatical mistakes, as well as not plausible things happening between the mains. I see myself being buried in that for at least another month or so...Ugh. 

PHOOEY ON EDITING!! (It's a necessary evil in my opinion!)

Finally... My healthier journey continues. I finally got back to the track this week. It was so humid through September that I wanted to do nothing more than nap in front of the bedroom AC, I was so sick from it. 

The ice is in at the LCLC and it was borderline freezing in there, perfect for walking. You don't sweat so much when it's icy and you're not really zipping around too fast. I did a km (2/3 mile) because I was scared of pushing myself again. I'll be back to a mile (or more!) in no time. I'm that stubborn!

I am glad I'm able to do that amount of walking in one session.... We had a LONG walk from where we parked the car to King Street, and a long walk back and UPHILL on the return trip - AFTER we had walked up and down King Street several times! I was ready to drop by the time we got home, but it was worth it.

Let's start the week off right with a song from one of my favorite bands... DISTURBED. "The Night", live from Raleigh. Have a lovely week everyone!

Where Did Summer Go?

A big WELCOME to all, and I hope you like the new look of my blog.

The background photo is one I took myself, on my brand new smart phone - which was a combination reward for reaching 2 years smoke free and early birthday present to myself. 

It's a Samsung Galaxy A5, and I LOVE IT. I also found a gorgeous case for it, it has a nebula on the back and it's all different colors. So pretty and so ME.

Love it!!

OTHER NEWS...

Three weeks.

That's all we have left of summer vacation. The last 8 weeks sped by, in a haze of writing exercises, zipping around the area with my son, tripping over the damn cat, and trying to figure out the best spots for updating my exercise regimen, preferably in a controlled environment - no bugs and little humidity in the summer, with no ice and warmer temps in the winter, and something that doesn't have only walking either, somewhere that has other exercise activities I enjoy.

I found a spot, and once school starts, I hope to start going there a few times in a trial run... If I like their facilities, I'm going to join in a full membership. They have swimming, a walk track, yoga, aqua-fitness classes, and if you like it, ice skating - not something I do, but others love it. There may be more in time, but so far it's looking like it's right up my alley. :) 

I have a brand new bathing suit that will fit me AND I actually *like* on order from an online retailer (it's hard to find really cool stuff in my tastes for girls my size), and I'm going to be getting a pair of yoga capris, along with a tee-shirt that's suitable.

Did I hear a few of you faint? *blink*

Yes, I hope to take some yoga too, so I need the damn pants. It's not easy to do yoga in jeans, especially the style I wear. 

As for swimming, it's one of my favorite activities. I just don't do it very often now due to lack of bathing suit that fits me properly. I hope the new one does, because I'm sick of being stuck on the sidelines while everyone else is having fun in the water. It's a great exercise all around, even for people with arthritis or other mobility problems. It gets the entire body involved, which is what I want. I like walking but swimming is FUN all around, and has been to me since I first learned how to swim at the age of 9 years old.

Son loves it too so y'all know he'll be tagging along occasionally, if there isn't school on certain days, or if we decide to go on a weekend. Things are easier for me to do now, I'm more mobile for the first time in years, and I love it. 

I'm hoping to get back into the writing routine when I'm not at the Centre this coming school year. I'm starting to get ideas for some of the stories I have on the go - I have THREE WIPs right now! - and I'd love to get back into at least one of them. I do hate leaving a story unfinished...........

Son is excited about school starting in three weeks. We are now officially DONE school shopping, and I'll soon be digging out his bookbag and school supplies to organize. We are going in for a tour of the Grade 6 wing and the rest of the Junior High end of campus the day before school starts, so Son can get his bearings, see who his teacher and the TA will be, and maybe even meet a few of his classmates that are special needs from the one feeder school that has their grade 6 class go into junior high. 

Today is also World Photography Day... Here are a couple of photos I took myself in celebration:

The first few are of my favorite beach, taken the other night, and the last one is of Amber who was on my chest. That's literally what I see when she does that.

Thank you to all who sent me birthday wishes so far, that was very kind of you. 

Since it is my day, I will leave you with something I love.... My favorite cover of all time.

Everyone, please enjoy "The Sound of Silence" from the album "Immortalized" by one of my favorite all time bands, DISTURBED.

Namaste everyone. 

Observations

I owe all of my family, friends, readers and anyone else passing through an apology. Things have been crazy here, and I finally remembered to update my blog among the chaos.

Hearts Remembering is in its final stages of revisions and edits. After careful consideration, I already know who is getting it first, and pending rejections, any other publishers... Thank heavens I've done my research, and know where to look to see if they are taking unagented submissions or not. 

Eh, enough about Hearts Remembering... I'm almost "done" with that one as much as I can be, even with help from the Betas. (Speaking of which, they loved it!)... 

I'm recuperating. Before I post from what, I want to toss out a reminder that anyone who laughs at someone getting hurt, sick or anything else that may stop them from doing things is a complete narcissistic twat waffle. Same with wishing any kind of injury, harm, or illness on anyone else, especially if they saw your true nature... JUST SAYING.... 

I threw out my left shoulder - the rotator cuff - about six weeks ago, and it's just starting to heal now. It's the shoulder I injured a few times over the years, starting in high school, and several times since. So, it's a little weaker than the right shoulder. This has prevented me from doing the really heavy renovations around the house, which ticked me off. I'm not supposed to do any lifting with it, and my doctor said not to do any work with it that makes me lift it above my head. Husband has been doing what he can for me heavy lifting wise when he's home... Thank heavens.

It has NOT stopped me from writing and working on prelim stuff for various story ideas though. I can easily type with it held in place with a band around it to hold it against my side, and haven't really used that since before the equinox. I was using a sling when I left the house - especially during my walks - to keep it stabilized, so I wouldn't injure it further by swinging it back and forth like we humans tend to do when we're walking at all.

It's much better now. I can raise it above my head without any weakness or pain, and although my doctor still has the ban on me doing any heavy lifting or work above my head, I am no longer using a sling. I'm still doing strengthening exercises and being careful, but it's well on the mend, thank heavens.

My fall endurance is back, after not taking a lot of walks during the winter time due to icy conditions and just horrid weather in general. I'm able to make the full trip one way without stopping at all, and able to get up any hills without losing my breath. 

The fact I just hit 21 months smoke free this week is probably still a bit of a factor on my speed and endurance are holding up. Even with my allergies in full swing, I'm still motoring, despite sneezing constantly. I put the earbuds in, and crank up Creed, Whom Gods Destroy, or my newest discovery music wise, DISTURBED (heavy metal band out of Chicago, IL)... Their cover of "The Sound of Silence" is beyond amazing, and I love the rest of the "Immortalized" album, and two of their other albums, "Indestructible" and "Asylum"... It's platinum stuff! I have to get the rest of their work for my collection but it's all awesome so far... *grins*

ANYWAY... 

I've been practicing my photography too. I am still using the idiot proof point and shoot camera, but I'm learning a few things here and there to get better shots - thanks to a few tips from my photography pals around Facebook and other spots. 

Here's a few photos I snapped just this morning, during my walk....

All of these were taken within a mile of my home. I live in a former farming community, and it feels like the middle of nowhere, but in reality, I'm only a couple of miles away from a major highway.

I've also noticed I'm needing smaller jeans, or at least a belt. That's what happens when you're eating real, healthy food you prepare from scratch - not the processed garbage like convenience foods, fast food, or junk food - and getting your daily dose of exercise.

More on that another time though. :) 

I have to remember to get some sunblock though.. I'd rather not get a sunburn. I fry, and turn lobster red after a few minutes in the sun without protection. Thank you northern European ancestry... *grumbles*

We purchased Star Wars The Force Awakens on DVD, and my son finally saw it. He didn't like it when Han Solo died - hell, I CRIED when I saw that scene!!! - but loved the rest of it. 

Folks, my son has finally discovered my favorite franchise of all time. I'm so proud of him!

Have a great weekend everyone, and if you're in Nova Scotia, I hope you're loving this ultra warm weather like I am! :)

And on a final note, my cousin shared the following on Facebook yesterday... 

WARNING: SEXUAL CONTENT AHEAD!!!

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LMAO!