Meeting Allie

 

BIG YAWN :-)

She's perfect. Aunt Kelli is proud.

I'm back home, with a stream of consciousness

This frozen coffee tasted just like my MawMaw's (I sure miss her). How cute is my niece enjoying her ice cream? Lord, that kid is cute. She's the perfect age to carry on a real conversation. She's literal about everything, right down to correcting people when they say she's a "big girl". "I'm not a big girl," she insists, "I'm just a little girl. And I'm the baby." We discussed her current favorite TV show, Muppet Babies, and she said "I like all of the Muppet Babies. Actually, I like all of the boys." I said "Oh, you like all of the boys, huh?" She reanalyzed and said "Well, Gonzo is kind of rude. Hmm, yeah. Gonzo is just a little bit rude." Ha! I love her. She seems to be an extrovert, which makes her pretty entertaining.

I was sick with my stomach often, and rested on the couch a lot. Mr. Kitty, aka Figaro (they finally named the cat!), was perfectly happy with the fact that he had a snuggle buddy. He kept me company while the kids were playing and otherwise going about their daily routine.

I'm pretty sure he doesn't know he's a cat. He puts his arms around you to hug you, likes being held like a baby (which is what is happening here), and loves to cuddle. He's honestly the best cat in the world. I only see him a couple of times a year, but when he realized I was back to visit, he launched into my arms. Bless him. Figaro is an old man now so I'm not taking a minute for granted. He's a sweetheart.

Zoey and Sadie (and their parents, of course) took me to the Martin Luther King library to see my baby sister, who works there now. I signed up for a library card, so now I have access to not only the ebooks/audiobooks at my own county library in Alabama, but all of the ones at my family's library system in Louisiana also. Score! I'll talk about books again soon. I've almost reached my reading goal for the year.

Speaking of libraries (!!!) I made it to Slidell to visit the TARDIS Little Free Library that I supported on Kickstarter a couple of years ago. I donated a few bucks and a whoooole lot of books. I was happy to see the beautiful finished product in person, finally. Nice work, TARDIS of Slidell!

Of course, I could not leave Old Town Slidell without a chocolate malt from the Soda Shop! I had not had a malt in many many years. Despite omitting the cherry (I hate cherries), it was perfection!

I am back home now and will spend Friday resting my muscles. Saturday, I'll visit my nephew (who is thankfully local) for his second birthday. The remainder of the month is clear, so there will be plenty of naps, World Cup Soccer, Doctor Who marathons, minimalism (still sorting and giving away stuff!), and maybe a little more blogging. We'll see.

Talk to you soon.

Unloading the unruly thought muscle (a few pictures, too)

I just laughed out loud calling my brain a thought muscle. That's accurate, though, isn't it? Never mind. I'm a gooberhead.

My sister-in-law gave me Zollie's walking cane. Most days, I can get around my apartment without assistance, but I'm weaker than usual from low caloric intake. It has helped with my balance around the apartment. That sweet man is missed, but I honor his memory by doting heavily on his dog (who I regretfully can't find a picture of right now) every time I visit my brother and SIL's house.

In spite of my efforts at minimalism, I do still collect postcards and Pokemon cards. If you like trading or would just like to send me some (I would love you lots!), email me at ugottafriend4life@gmail.com for a P.O. Box #.

I sure miss my nieces. I was supposed to carpool to Louisiana to spend a couple of weeks with them around my birthday, but my decline with Gastroparesis landed me in the ER instead and life has been a bit of a downward spiral ever since. I hope to see some improvement so I can go soon.

I lost all of Deanna's text messages when I had to reset the phone recently. She was my only close friend in SoMo (South Mobile County), and I still feel a wide range of emotion when I drive through her part of town, because she's no longer here for no good reason. I'm sad for her kids, who were separated, most of all.

All I have to say about Penzey is right here.

I decided to reopen my Facebook to follows if you want to holler at me or lurk like an introvert (because that's OK too). Public posts involve health updates, so consider that your TMI warning.

And now...*DEEP BREATH*...I hope I don't regret this:

My LinkedIn

My YouTube

My Instagram

My NaNoWriMo
My Fitness Pal
My very quiet Tumblr

My Amazon Wish List

My Genealogy Blog (much more on the way soon)

Silly, sappy, angry, obnoxious, unfiltered me is here. Enter at your own risk, or something. Honestly, if you can handle me on Twitter, you can handle me anywhere, because it's only up from there. In all seriousness, I don't bite (unless you deserve it, LOL).
*RUNS AWAY BASHFULLY*

I am one of only 1000 people in the world who owns this silly calendar. John and Hank Green (aka Vlogbrothers, and yes THAT John Green) are two of my favorite guys. They are YouTubers, authors, and founders of a great non-profit organization that raises millions of dollars through their annual Project For Awesome. Nerdfighteria is a fun group of misfits, and it has been cool to see how this whole thing has grown (more like exploded) over the years. Glad to be a part in some small way.

I guess if I'm going to be forced to live on liquids, I might as well bring out this piece of fine nostalgic geekery to help. :-)

I've lost 19 pounds in less than a month. Being overweight is irrelevant. Even my Lose It app is telling me to stop this crazy train. If only I could. Losing the ability to digest solid food has been a difficult turn of events in what is already a challenging existence. Most of the food that I recently vacuum-sealed and put in the freezer, I've given away.

I am staying hydrated as best as I can, and I'm still trying to take in liquid calories, but currently I am averaging less than 300 a day. Every time I drink anything other than water, I feel like I'm suffocating. I have to fuss/pray/fight to keep what I swallowed from coming back up, while my stomach reminds me that it does not approve of any of this by twisting into a hundred Celtic knots.

The recently-prescribed medication isn't working. I miss food, but I'm trying my best to take this all in stride. Some days (hours? minutes?) are better than others. At times, I am finding reasons to smile and searching for a silver lining (I'll be able to wear my favorite pair of jeans again soon). Other times, I am nearly in tears from the pain and I feel like I am dying a gradual, horrid death.

I don't know how, but I'm going to beat this. Just you wait and see.