March 2006 Archives
Random Thoughts for the Day
- Is it just me, or does every psychologist’s answering machine message feature that ultra calming, soothing, “be careful, don’t stir up the crazies” voice?
- It’s amazing how quickly one’s blog readership seems to diminish when you don’t blog often enough.
- Life can change in an instant. Or it can gradually morph over time. Either way, you need to be flexible or you’re going to break.
- Thinking along the same lines as above, has anyone ever seen a willow tree lose limbs in a storm with high winds like other trees do? I haven’t.
- The brain has an amazing capacity for relearning pathways and behaviors. It just takes time and sometimes hard work to get there.
- Variety is the spice of life. Some people like theirs super spicy; some people prefer mild.
- And last, but not least… I’d like to give a shout out to two new (to me) readers – Ash and NifwlSeirff. Thanks for tuning in, ladies!
And thanks to all of my blog readers for your lovely comments and well wishes. I truly appreciate every single one of you, even if I don’t always stay caught up on all of your blogs!
Meme-y Goodness
- What time did you get up this morning?
- Diamonds or pearls?
- What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
- What is your favorite TV show?
- What did you have for breakfast?
- What is your middle name?
- What is your favorite cuisine?
- What foods do you dislike?
- What is your favorite chip?
- What is your favorite CD at the moment?
- What kind of car do you drive?
- What is your favorite sandwich?
- What characteristics do you despise?
- Favorite clothing?
- If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
- What color is your bathroom?
- Favorite brand of clothing?
- Where would you want to retire?
- Favorite time of day?
- Where were you born?
- Favorite sport to watch?
- What type of detergent do you use?
- Coke or Pepsi?
- Morning person or night owl?
- What size shoe do you wear?
- Do you have pets?
- Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with everyone?
- What did you want to be when you were little?
- Favorite candy bar?
- What is one of your best childhood memories?
- What are all different jobs you have had in your life?
- What color underwear are you wearing?
- Piercing?
- Eye color?
- Ever been to Africa?
- Ever been toilet papered?
- Love someone so much it made you cry?
- Been in a car accident?
- Croutons or bacon bits?
- Favorite day of the week?
- Favorite restaurant?
- Favorite flower?
- Favorite ice cream?
- Disney or Warner Brothers?
- Favorite fast food restaurant?
- Carpet Color?
- How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
- From whom did you get your last email?
- Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
- What do you do most often when you are bored?
- Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire?
- Ford or Chevy?
- What are you listening to right now?
- Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
- Time you finished this?
9:18 AM (Apparently, I was dreaming very intensely this morning and Terry couldn’t wake me up. Yes, I was VERY late to work and the fact that a tractor trailer took out an electric pole on the way to work and we had to turn around and go a much longer way didn’t help!)
Both. I’m wear diamond earrings every day that I inherited from Terry’s mom and Terry has bought me some incredible pearls.
I think it was Star Wars: Episode I. I’m too cheap to pay that much for movies when I can see them on HBO a few months later in the comfort of my own home, with the TiVo recording them.
Any CSI (CSI: New York is actually growing on me… slowly) and any Law & Order, including the new spin-off from the Law & Order creators called Conviction.
Based on the answer to number 1 and the time we got into work (which is where I usually eat dry cereal for breakfast), I went straight to lunch. I had two tacos and a piece of KFC chicken (pulled out of a Snacker sandwich with a very stale bun).
Lynn
Whatever I feel like at the moment.
Any meat with fatty spots. The fat is nasty.
Fritos? Pretzels, if you ignore that they’re not a chip.
Coldplay’s latest album, X&Y
2006 Honda Civic Hybrid. Hey, I’m having to make the car payments, I get to brag that I have a new car for as long as it’s considered “new.”
Roasted or smoked turkey breast on whole wheat or rye bread with Miracle Whip (mayonnaise), crisp fresh lettuce and a couple slices of cheese.
Dishonesty and arrogance. To be more specific, unfounded arrogance. If you’re arrogant because you truly ARE God’s gift to this world, then… I probably still won’t like you very much, but okay. If you’re arrogant and you’re a complete nincompoop, then you’re really going to irritate me.
Anything that makes me feel good about myself.
Australia, New Zealand, Japan. The first two Terry and I are planning to visit as part of a month-long vacation for our 10th wedding anniversary in 2009.
Which one? Our master bathroom is still white, though I want to paint it a pale yellow. Our main bathroom is a sponged wine color over a burgundy base.
Whatever is long enough to fit my arms and legs and small enough not to make me look like I’m wearing a sack.
I’m 30 years old, folks. I haven’t thought about retirement all that much, except to start stashing away money.
Early morning on the weekends, when the house is quiet and still and I have some time to myself for stitching and relaxing.
Tyrone, PA
I’m fairly neutral to all sports. Except maybe tennis, but I think that’s only because I played tennis for a little while.
Tide HE
Neither – I don’t like carbonation.
Both.
9
Just one incredibly smart, beautiful and spoiled little 10 pound, 8 year old Pomeranian furbaby named Phoebe.
Nah, I spill my guts on my blog on a regular basis. 
A dancer. I really wanted to be a ballerina, and then I grew up past the standard height.
Skor
Umm… hmm… I don’t seem to remember a lot from my childhood. I guess that’s something Dr. Steve (the new guy) and I will have to talk about.
ALL? Okay, let’s see… McDonald’s employee (I worked all positions at some point in my several summers there), data entry, computer support, UNIX system administrator, network wiring technician, C++ programmer, Lotus Notes system administrator, Lotus Notes developer, web designer, graphics artist, web programmer, model stitcher.
Black, not that it’s any of your business!
Just one in each ear.
I say blue/gray. Terry thinks they’re green.
Not unless the Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Walt Disney World counts!
No, but the idiot next door was last Halloween. Heheheh.
Yes
YES. Three in high school; the first one being the day I got my license. *sigh* None since then, though.
Both
Saturday
Victoria & Albert’s at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It’s a dressy affair, mostly for couples, very expensive and the best food and service you will ever have. And the only time that I can actually get through nearly all of a 7 course meal!
I love all flowers, even a lot that are considered weeds, but I think I would have to pick purple pansies as my favorites. I just love their little faces!
Pralines and cream, with streaks of caramel.
DISNEY! If you couldn’t tell from some of my earlier answers….
Long John Silver’s. Too bad we don’t have any in this area. Grrrr….
Gray. A no-brainer if you’ve ever been in my house (all of the carpets are gray, except in the bedrooms). I’d really love to have white, but I’m too much of a clutz to keep it clean.
None. But if you read the answer to number 40, perhaps I should have been failed at least once first?
An automatic reminder from FLYlady.
Probably a huge needlework store, but it would be awfully hard to max out one of my cards on stash.
Watch TV. Stitch. Get irritated because I hate being bored!
I’m nosey, so anyone’s responses will be interesting to me.
Honda. 
We do have a Ford Explorer, though, too.
The sound of my typing. I’m at work and I don’t have my headphones on right now.
Who cares?
1:56 PM
Updates on Doctor Visits
Since I haven’t talked much about doctor visits (despite the fact that I’ve had at least one a week for weeks and two a week for the past three weeks), I thought that I would give an update.
The neurologist kicked me out and doesn’t want to see me again for another 3 months. I seem to be having the headaches in spurts. After seeing the psychologist at work, I’ll have approximately a week without headaches (emotional release?). Then I’ll have a week or so with daily headaches, but the pain level is pretty low. So, we’re going to wait for a bit for the Neurontin to really take hold and see I do. He could continue to up the dose, but at some point the benefits will no longer outweigh the side effects. I’m content to wait for a bit. As long as I can get rid of the majority of the headaches, I’m better off than I was (I think)!
I saw the new psychologist today. He’s nothing like what I pictured in my head. I don’t know why I am always SO WRONG with my visual images when I speak with someone on the phone or over the internet. But, it doesn’t matter. I was completely at ease with him. Of course, I’m a very open person, so as long as you are nice to me, then that’s all it takes. 
Part of me is a little disappointed because it was a lot of just diagnostic stuff today. But the intellectual part of me realizes that was inevitable. There’s a lot of questions to be asked, some basic history to go over and a lot of foundation to be laid.
The good news is that I finally have an official diagnosis (he has to provide one to the insurance company): dysthymia. WebMD’s definition is pretty much what the psychologist told me – “Also sometimes referred to as chronic depression. This type of depression occurs most of the time over a period of at least two years in adults and one year in children and adolescents. It is characterized by less severe, lingering symptoms of depression that may last for years.”
The other good news is that I’ll be seeing him again next Wednesday. So, I don’t have to wait for long before I get to spill my guts. LOL. In the meantime, I have homework. I have to write an autobiography in about 10 pages. Right up my alley.
Picture Your Birth Year
Shamelessly stolen from Outi:
Make a search with your birth year from Google and choose one picture you like. Share it with us.
Year – This image so suits me because I LOVE old houses. Look at the patina on the copper, the curved tops of the dormer windows and the ivy growing over the garden wall. I’m in heaven looking at this picture!
and My Exact Birthdate – Okay, it’s not what I would have chosen for myself, but it was the best one available! There’s a serious lack of photos with my birthdate listed somewhere in the contents. At least, there is the way I was searching.
Overdue Pictures
I’m finally working on catching up with everyone’s blogs and my own. So, you may see either a lot of comments from me all of a sudden, or none if I felt overwhelmed.
On today’s menu for my blog is – photos! Yes folks, I actually have one stitching picture. Plus, at Outi’s request, I am posting scans of the three charts that Cathy sent to me.
First, a finish. Granted, I finished stitching this on Saturday morning, but what can I say? I haven’t had time to stop and scan it until now. So, here is the first part of my progress from last weekend’s Stitch-a-Thon on the Friends Gather BB. This is my second panel for the World Trade Center quilt and will be one of a mirrored pair of end pieces to fill space at the end of the quilt:
And now, the photos of my goodies from Cathy. Thanks again, Cathy! All designs are by Donna Olson of Satin Stitches:
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| Small White Doily | Spring Flower Round | Sue’s Doily and Bookmark |
I’m pretty sure I had at least one other thing to talk about, but I have a headache and can’t manage to think straight, so I’ll just blog about it when I remember.
SBQ – March 22, 2006
Today’s SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:
Have you ever participated in a needlework mystery (i.e., a design that you started before knowing how it will look in the end and by which you receive parts of the design via the internet, magazines, or leaflets at spaced intervals)? If so, why did you decide to do the mystery? What appealed to you about it? Did you enjoy it? If you have not done a mystery, would you ever do one?
Yes, I have actually now participated in a mystery. The Alchemy Stitchcraft Yahoo! group had a mystery sampler SAL a little while ago that I participated in. Correction: I’m still participating. I really hope to finish it one of these weekends, as it is pretty. It was relatively small and I like the designer, so I didn’t feel like it was a huge risk. As much as I like the Chatelaine designs, I don’t know that I would want to spend that much money until I’ve seen the finished product. Besides, I can’t manage to finish a design that huge, so until I actually stitch a few of her larger ones, I wouldn’t feel confident enough to do a mystery.
I would definitely do a smaller one again, though. It was fun and relatively quick (or would have been, if I had kept up with it). One of these days, I’ll get the guts to sign up for some of Martina’s mini mysteries. The Romantic Castle series turned out beautifully. It’s just hard to justify the expense to keep up with them!
Sweetness from Cathy
Edited to fix the title. Can you tell that I was exhausted when I wrote this? 
With Terry being sick, I hadn’t bothered to check the mail in a few days, so yesterday’s mail retrieval along with taking the trash out yielded a bundle of mail. Inside was a manila envelope from Cathy that I had been expecting. She and I had talked about the lovely suncatchers that she had made for Becky in SC and another fellow stitching blogger a few months ago. The book that she used is no longer in print, so she wrote to the author and got permission to copy the one specific pattern that I had admired so much. However, I wasn’t expecting it in a large envelope, since she could have easily folded it up and put it into a regular envelope.
So, when I opened it, I was quite pleasantly surprised! She not only included the photocopy of the chart, but also three hardanger charts by Donna Olson of Satin Stitches, who is the designer of the doilies that Cindy has stitched which I admired so greatly. She sent me Small White Doily, Spring Flower Round (which is a new design) and Sue’s Doily and Bookmark.
Cindy is really a sweetheart to have sent me these just because! And I cannot tell you how great her timing was. With Terry and I both being sick recently, I’ve been cooped up in the house for a couple of weeks now. Cindy’s surprise package gave me a much-needed pick-me-up. I’m excited to start one of these, but I have to make sure that I’m good and finish what I have going right now first!
Phoebe’s Day of Beauty
I have to admit to doing a bit too much this weekend. I did a lot of laundry yesterday, including 5 sets of sheets, several loads of towels and some loads focusing on eradicating stains. Between that and folding numerous bits of laundry that have been done by Terry who prefers to leave dry clothes in a laundry basket rather than fold them, I have had more than my fair share of laundry! I still have more to do, but no inclination to do so today. I also cleaned some of the crystal glasses that I’ve been putting off for a long time and am trying to keep up with dishes, in general.
Today, I accomplished what I had originally wanted to do yesterday, and that was to focus on Phoebe. Believe it or not, she actually let me clip all of her nails on all four paws today! I was in shock. She hasn’t allowed me to do that in what, years now? I then brushed her and cut out two mats from behind her ears. At this point, I developed a headache, so I took some Excedrin and laid down for a nap. When I got up, I had Terry trim back the fur on her paws, between her pads. Then I took her up and gave her a bath. She’s still drying, but it’s only been less than 2 hours. I just need to make sure she doesn’t go outside until she’s dry because it’s cold! Either that, or I will have to put on her coat. Once she’s dry, I have to take the brush to her again and remove all of the fur that was dislodged by the bathing process. I’ll probably do that sometime tomorrow.
I also had a really good phone conversation with my dad yesterday morning. I got up pretty early in the morning (around 7:30 AM) and I was sitting downstairs stitching when I suddenly had the desire to call and discuss my visit to the psychologist and my intended journey to self-discovery. I knew that if I called that early in the morning, my mom wouldn’t be awake yet, so he wouldn’t feel like he needed to keep things brief because I was calling for her. We talked for over an hour, which was a pleasant surprise. Even more interesting was how similar we are in where we are along these internal pathways that we’ve forged and how we ask ourselves identical questions. It was nice to talk to someone else also on this search. Besides that fact, it’s always nice to connect with him on new topics and new levels. I love my dad!
The new psychologist also called me yesterday (on a Saturday!) to briefly touch on what I was looking to discuss and then schedule an appointment. While his voicemail indicated that new patients would take approximately 6 weeks to get in to see him, I was quite pleasantly surprised when he first offered me an appointment this coming Thursday, due to a cancellation. Unfortunately, I have my next neurologist visit that afternoon, so I could not see him then. How surprised was I when his next suggestion was the next Tuesday? I’m seeing him before my next follow-up with the psychologist at work! I’m very excited to get started, especially when this guy seems so nice on the phone. Very laid back. I like it when people with a hard-earned PhD at the end of their name offer to let you call them simply by their first name!
In addition to all of that, I also received a shipment notification from Amazon.com on Saturday concerning my books. What a banner day for my odyssey! I cannot wait for the books to come in so I can start reading!
Is it Friday Yet?
This is my second attempt at this post because I accidentally hit F5 and nuked the first one. *sigh*
It’s been a long week so far. Terry is sick, just as I suspected he would be after this past weekend. He has my cold and even had a 24-hour stomach bug the other day that had him running to the bathroom every couple of hours. I’ve been working from home this week, trying to play nursemaid and make sure he gets enough rest. He’s had to log into work and fix things every day so far, relating to the system implementation. There is no rest for the weary, I guess. Poor guy!
So, I drove myself into work this morning and am actually in my office. It feels a bit odd to be sitting here for the first time since Saturday. And I haven’t driven my car in a couple of weeks, so I was anxious about it. Driving makes me nervous, in general, because I have no way to predict what kind of stupidity may come from other drivers on the road with me! I was nearly in an accident this morning, as I was coming through a train tunnel. I was almost clear of the tunnel when a guy in a good-sized truck coming the other direction started crossing way over the center line. By about a foot or so. So… I could have swerved right to get out of his way, ensuring that I scratch the back of the car against the concrete corner of the tunnel. Or I could have braked, but that would have required him to become aware of his error and correct it or brake, which I couldn’t count on. Or I could have kept on moving, hoping that I got safely out of the way before he scraped against the back of my car. So I did. And I escaped unharmed.
Surprisingly, I was calm about the whole thing. Mostly, I think, due to the fact that I was just coming from my psychologist visit and I was feeling a little more relaxed than normal. I absolutely LOATHE that tunnel, though. I always have. It’s poorly engineered and people are afraid of the sides, so they naturally tend towards the middle of what is already a too-narrow opening. It’s a very short tunnel under the railroad tracks, but it was so badly planned that it takes a sudden dip to get into it (which becomes amazingly icy in the winter due to bad drainage) and it makes a 60 degree turn that is blind in both directions. The road also gets a surprising amount of traffic from the locals, so they really need to fix it some day. Unfortunately, the way things seem to work around here, someone would have to be killed or badly injured for anything to change. And no one wants that, so oh well!
My psychologist visit went pretty well today. Very emotional again. He even commented that he always seems to make me cry. To which I responded that I don’t often get that kind of emotional release, so he just happens to offer an opportunity to vent. He’s referring me to another psychologist for longer-term care. I somewhat expected this, especially after today. I just have too many issues relating to my childhood, my parents’ divorce and my mom’s illness to work through in the 5 sessions allotted by my workplace. So, I called the insurance company and started the case management process to ensure that my future visits will be covered and then I called and left a message with one of the three people that he recommended. It’s another male, so I’m a little nervous about whether or not I will like him. I’m not sure what happens in the process of finding a psychologist. What if I don’t click with him? Should I have gone for the female on the list? Would I feel more comfortable with a female versus a male? So far, it hasn’t really mattered. It’s all about bedside manner, I suppose. Perhaps Carol can weigh in on this subject for me, if she catches this. Is okay to switch if you don’t think it’s working with one doctor? Is it expected to need to try several before you find the right fit?
BTW, does anyone know what the difference is between a PhD and an LCSW (social worker) when it comes to therapy? Is one better than another? Has anyone seen both? I’m just curious as he gave me the names of two male PhDs and one female LCSW.
He also gave me some suggestions as to what to try in order to shut my brain off for a little while everyday. I have yoga tapes (though I don’t have a VCR hooked up at the moment) and a mat, but just don’t make time for it. I even have a game called The Journey to Wild Divine that I know will do the trick. I have both parts that are out so far and haven’t even installed part 2, which I’ve had since October. Shame on me! He also recommended some books, for which I have already placed an order with Amazon. I am definitely on the road to self-discovery. And what an odyssey it promises to be!
SBQ – March 15, 2006
Today’s SBQ is:
Do you stitch “over one?” If so, describe your experiences. If not, have you considered it?
I have stitched over one. In fact, I think my first attempts were on a model for a needlework shop using one of the Kreinik kits. It nearly led me to a nervous breakdown and did lead me to stop stitching for that shop and take a hiatus from model stitching for a while. Needless to say, it was not a fun experience for me. I found Kreinik Silk Mori a real terror to work with over one and I don’t think I would ever make another attempt using that fiber again.
Since then, I have started M Designs’ Peace Tree over one using the Silk N’ Colors fiber recommended. While having to frog over one stitching is still a pain, this experience has been much more enjoyable than the last.
