Cloudy with a 97% chance Bad Attitude

Day 6 of feeling like crap!

I didn't complain earlier (well, actually I did, but that was about the weather... So we won't count that.) but I've spent every day since last Thursday dealing with one ailment and then another... All the while trying to nurse an ulcer in my mouth that feels like it's the size of Texas. You'd think I'd quit eating due to the pain but unfortunately I seem to manage.

Yesterday I finally went to see the doctor... My friend Lori convinced me to go after reminding me of the great and terrible trip to the ER a year and half ago due to blood poisoning from infected hang-nail, which resulted in an IV full of antibiotics and my successful attempt to convince the doctors to allow me to go home rather than admit me... I remembered all too well from the hospital stay just two months prior how uncomfortable those hospital beds are and the precious little sleep the nurses allow their patients. The follow-up to that lovely evening resulted in my spewing up my toe-nails for the next 6 hours due to my inability to tolerate pain medication without stomach upset.

Anyway, back to my whining (Wait, wasn't that what I was just doing, you say?... Can't handle it you'd best leave now because I'm just getting started.) Yesterday, upon showing the doctor my inner lip and postage stamp size lesion she winced noticeably and gave me a scrip for some magical cream from the pharmacist. So last night I administered my first application, hoping the damn thing would disappear from my mouth the moment the steroid filled drug touched the raw and swollen sore. Not quite, however what it DID do was expand like Gorilla Glue. Over the course of an hour I had gooey, adhesive quality, yellow gunk clinging to my gums and teeth. You know what a band-aid smells like? Now imagine what it must taste like... Because that's exactly the stuff I had oozing down my throat into my stomach all night. Didn't sleep much because of it either. All this annoyance, discomfort and general all over crappy feeling for something the size of a postage stamp, on a body as big as... Well, as big as mine? It's amazing how debilitating it can be and what an absolute crank I am because of it.

Those Poor, Poor Robins...

Just when you think it's time to celebrate the magic that is Spring, the world turns all snowy and miserable cold again.

Lately my expression looks a lot like the Robin Red Breasts I've seen around our area. Confused and a mite pissed-off. I mean, poor Robin... Where in the hell are you gonna score a worm when the earth is crusted with an inch thick layer of ice? Here's a word of advice dear Robin... Go back from whence you came!... And if it's warm and sunny there please take me with you!

I've spent the last few days hunkered down at home... Sitting by the fire and cursing what I sincerely hope to be the last blast of winter. My son was born on April 7th to a dusting of snow, so I know it's possible we could see more of the cold white crappy stuff. I don't always hate snow... I just hate it late in the season and especially when it accompanied by ice and freezing rain. I'd swear it's taking a toll on my psyche as I've been feeling flu-like for the last few days... Run-down, tired, aching all over... Like the cold has at last sucked all the strength from my bones. I need sunshine and exercise... A good dose of fresh air... The kind of air that doesn't freeze my face, make my nose run and make every muscle in my body tighten in order to maintain warmth.

I'm whining, I know... And nobody really likes a whiner but this California girl has had enough... Let it be Spring Already!

Someone There For Me...

Nightmares are miserable events... However, when you're in the middle of one... Screaming out for someone to rescue you... And that very same someone you're screaming for, reaches out to you in your distress, wraps his arms around you and tells you everything is all right... It's one of the warmest, most comforting feelings in the world to wake up to.

...And because of this, you really don't mind too much when the next day he has a great laugh with your kids over the goofy sounds you were making in your sleep.

Getting To Know An Artist

At ASoM the members of the studio, myself included (yipee!) are gearing up for a gallery showing on April 6th. We're all working hard at putting together pieces that will display our varying styles of pottery.

I've been put in charge of collecting Bio's for each member. The Bio's will serve to let the public know a little about the artist and connect more with a piece they may decide to purchase. One of the members at ASoM, I'll call her Sandy, surprised me when she explained that the idea of a Bio made her terribly uncomfortable. Let me explain that Sandy is an amazing potter, with an incredible imagination. Sandy, above all the members seems to me, the epitome of an 'Artiste'... She's studied pottery from various teachers and is planning a trip to Thailand in the fall to study clay under an instructor there. Sandy was the one person out of the group who said, "I just don't want to give people the impression that I think too highly of myself, a bio seems so pretentious, I don't want to pretend to be something I'm not." That's when all the rest of us felt like we couldn't come up with a Bio if Sandy couldn't... Because she's THE potter. Eventually we talked her into the Bio idea and she's given me a couple of photos to choose from of her with her beloved horses.

My initial reaction to Sandy when I first met her was that she was a potter who took herself VERY seriously. She seemed every bit the confident artist. How surprising it was for me to find out that she's insecure about her abilities. It's automatically assumed that if someone is really good at something, they must also be extremely proud and confident of that ability.

I wonder... If you were to purchase a piece of art, would you prefer to have some sort of insight about the artist who created it. Maybe a way to get to know them on a personal level? Or do you think it's too pretentious?

Groundhog Day

Weather wise, yesterday was the closest thing we've seen to spring in what has seemed an eternity. Ahhhhh Spring, you could just smell it and feel it in the air. There were kids out riding their bikes, folks walking down the sidewalk visiting with one another. We all resembled those pesky critters the groundhog as we each slowly opened our doors to stick our noses out and see if the weather had in fact made a change for the better.

Last night after dinner my husband looked at me and said, "Want to go for a walk?" I cheerfully replied, "Yes!" Well knowing that my hips and expanding wasteline could use the extra exercise. As we started out my husband made the observation that it was important we get outside "Or else Spring is going to think nobody really cares and decide to go back into hiding." Heaven knows I wouldn't want Spring to get that impression so I'm considering putting on shorts and mowing the lawn today, while I sip lemonade... And if our lawn didn't look exactly like a wet hay field after a harvest, I'd do exactly that! Well, except for the shorts because flabby, white & pastey might scare the neighbors back into their homes.

The Answer to an Impossible Question...

When asked the question on a preschool application -
How would you describe your child’s personality?

"I felt like I was trying to describe a rainbow to someone who has been blind their entire life."
-Dooce

This quote touched my heart and made it feel all warm and gushy... I can relate.

Leading Parallel Lives...

I've been spending my time working part-time at the Art Studio while Heather (the owner) is on vacation in Jamaica.

Today I had to call Heather to ask her a question regarding publicity for the shop. Naturally she was on the beach when I called her husbands cell phone. I waited as he retrieved her from the clear, warm Jamaican sea. I chatted with her briefly after she gave me an answer to the question I called about. She asked how everything was going at the studio, we laughed and said our goodbyes. Then I stepped out of my car into the freezing wind and entered the grocery store in order to attend to this weeks food shopping...

And that's the end of today's depressing story!