Good vibes

Please send me some of your good thoughts--

I'm not getting any better.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Fruitcake

This year, I tried especially hard to get back to my roots for the holidays. I, like Paul, have reservations about what the holidays have become. I abhor chintzy decorations, cheesy versions of holiday songs, and marquise lighting. So, last Sunday, I called me mum and asked for the traditional Fruit Cake recipe. Shunned and welcomed in equal measure in our family, the Fruit Cake has been passed down for more than four generations. The original recipe calls for ingredients that aren't readily available in most grocery stores. Fortunately for me, Crisco makes an adequate substitute for lard.
So, I began preparing said Fruit Cake on Sunday afternoon. This was a long process and involved many kitchen utensils and bowls. Great-great Grandma's kitchen must have been bigger than mine. You must understand, I was very excited about this Fruit Cake. That's why it's capitalized.

What I should mention right about now is that for the last few hours, I had been developing quite a pain in my abdomen--and the same type of pain that I had felt six years ago when I was in the hospital.
As I was nearing the moment when dry ingredients met wet, I doubled over in pain and said to James, "I think I need to go to the hospital." So off we went.

And so I stayed until Tuesday afternoon, after convincing the doctor that I was feeling well enough to go home. First meal after days of jello and beef broth? Grilled cheese and tomato soup. And Ben&Jerry's.












This was after two doses of Demerol, innumerable doses of Dilaudid (and several accompanying stupors, many of which were admittedly welcomed), steroids, four bags of antibiotics, and many many bags of Saline.











And a CT scan. With IV contrast AND watery drink contrast. And many doctors asking me if I'm allergic to any drugs (how many times do they need me to say "morphine"?).


I was dreading the thought of another sick holiday. It seems that every Thanksgiving, Christmas, or both, I'm sick with something.

...so James and I went to the Fred Meyer pharmacy to pick up my four new prescriptions (no avoiding the steroids this time... but at least they're giving me a bottle of Vicodin). As we were waiting, we strolled down to the furniture section to take advantage of a cuddle-friendly loveseat. Unfortunately, it was also located right in front of and facing the holiday decorations. Chintzy decorations, cheesy versions of holiday songs, and marquise lighting greeted us from kitty-corner. A million Santas waved to us. And James and I began wondering when the whole Santa-brings-us-toys-thing began. Early 20th century? I think we both agree that Santa represents commercialism and nothing more, and that we want our kids (wherever they may be at present time) to know traditional holiday stories and avoid the Christmas that we have today. I would love to talk about St. Nicholas. I would love to make traditional tree decorations (round orange slices dried and strung through, beads, cranberries and popcorn strings).

And I would love to make Fruit Cake.

Quarter Update

So, my quarter semester grades have been entered, parent conferences scheduled for next week, tests taken and new projects began. I can't believe we're already 1/4 the way finished--it feels like the school year just began.

One change that has made a HUGE difference in my day is the switch from teaching Photography to Psychology. One of the big things they wanted to learn in Psych was how to manipulate people (yeah right), so I gave them a good dose of it. Thanks to Paul's help with finding Forer's Personality test, I hooked the students on day 1. They took the personality test (I made sure to make it sound super-official) and I gave them the results the next day--but of course, they all got the same "analysis." Most of them thought it accurately described them, and they took it very seriously. Then they were appalled when I read the analysis out loud and asked who thought it sounded familiar--and all their hands went up. Hilarity ensued. And a good discussion of subjective validation, Clever Hans, and the observer-expectancy effect. It was nice to have an actual discussion with students who are genuinely interested... and even when there's a lot of chatting in the classroom, they're talking about the subject. Hallelujah! It's a nice way to end the day. Students stay after the bell to ask follow-up questions.

My favorite mini-victory: many students in that class are failing all others. The pot-heads, the apathy kids, the anarchy kids, the I-want-to-rebel-for-the-sake-of-rebelling kids. And those are the kids who raise their hands the most and offer the most insightful and intelligent comments. I love it. Now I really have something to look forward to during my day.

New Post

My doctor told me this morning that she wants me to quit eating chocolate.

My tests were all pretty inconclusive, so she wants me to have a caffeine-free diet for a while and see if my PVCs (Premature ventricular complexes) get any better. Other than that, she says my heart seems great.

In other news: It was nice to take the day off. I needed that. And Friday, it's a "grading day" so... no students! And no school on Monday (happy early Anniversary, Hubby!)! I can't believe the school year is already 1/4 done. The past 9 weeks have FLOWN by! And I've really got to start planning my Psychology class, as it starts next week. Gulp! I'm excited, really.

Fuzzy pink slippers have become one of my new best friends.

And I finally broke out the oil paint set that Hubby gave me (almost a year ago, he was quick to add). To be honest, I'm very intimidated by oils.

Skunkie is as affectionate as ever. He slept in the crook of my arm last night.

School has kind of hit a low with me, and I've responded by developing a thick skin of apathy. I don't want to become one of those teachers.