FREAKING YUM

Hells yes.

I Used To Run All The Time...

This past weekend I went and spent a few days at Mim's. I got some alone time with Em and Jorg, and some time with both of them together, and some time with just Mim, and it's just what I needed most.

Mim and I talk about a lot of things, and most of the times we dig around into our current psychological states, and on occasion we have epiphanies, or else Mim comes up with the most perfect analogies. It's less expensive than therapy, and makes me cry just as much.

So let me tell you what got me crying this weekend:

I was a really freaking brilliant kid.  I had quite an ego about it, too, until seventh grade, when one of my classmates told me I was a jerk about it, and I toned it down. A lot. But seriously. I had more potential than anyone else in my classes, and I was going to go somewhere. Somewhere big. All my teachers knew it.

And then shit happened. My whole life I've been dumped on by a long list of bad circumstances. I'm not saying this to get sympathy or anything; I'm just trying to give some background for the analogy Mim came up with.

This weekend I was crying because I felt like I had failed, compared to what I was supposed to accomplish by now. I should have a doctorate degree. I should be doing research and teaching college courses and publishing papers and being generally awesome.

You wanna know something about Bipolar Disorder? I have a genetic predisposition, but if I hadn't been subjected to long periods of intense stress and such, I wouldn't have ever developed the disorder. The sucky thing is, once it develops, you're screwed up for life! Yippee!

So...here I am. I have a good job, I really do. But I do have to admit, it's usually the same thing every day. Unless something breaks, there's no challenge. But the thing is, I don't know if I could handle a more challenging job. And I certainly couldn't handle working many more hours than I do now. And it's all because I'm a total nutter butter.

Anyway, as I was crying at Mim, she reassured me with a little story:

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to run. She could run almost as soon as she learned to walk. She could run faster than any other kids in her neighborhood.

As she was growing up, she kept running and running, and eventually when she joined the middle school track team, her coaches knew she would be groomed for the Olympics.

The problem was, as she was growing up, she practiced as much as much as she could, but she never seemed to make as much progress as she should have, because she was repeatedly maimed (it doesn't really matter how or by whom at this point) throughout her whole life.

The amazing thing was, even though she never did make it to the Olympics, she was still a star athlete on her college track team, and was a good, strong runner for the rest of her life.

The end.

Mim is good at making up analogies (although this one is a little longer, so does that make it an allegory?).

It made me feel a little bit better. A little.

Still...sometimes I feel like I've disappointed a lot of people, including myself.

The most frustrating thing is that lately, I feel like I can't think. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around things like easy math, or I'm having to re-read a paragraph when I reach the end and realize I have no idea what I just read. My brain feels fuzzy. It's a side-effect of the antipsychotics. It's been coming on very, very gradually.

My psychiatrist left the clinic where I saw her, so I need to find a new one. I hate finding a new one. It's like a total crapshoot whether I can find one who is completely understanding and sympathetic to my situation, while simultaneously being a really good doctor and willing to listen to my questions and suggestions. Once I find a new one, maybe I'll discuss trying a different antipsychotic. The problem is, the last time I tried a different one I felt like I was on meth for a week...

Anyway. That's what's bouncing around in my head today.

Nyah's 1!

I can't believe it's been a year today since our pretty baby Nyah was born!

You'll have to forgive me; these pictures turned out grainy for who knows what reason.

Here's the beautiful birthday girl, wearing her crown, and her gorgeous mama:

Nyah got her very own carrot cake cupcake, which she enjoyed thoroughly (this baby loves vegetables!):

By the end, there was frosting all over her, and they had to change her into a completely new outfit (that I got her, yellow with a giant butterfly, and I forgot pictures, FAIL).

Anyway, we just had a little family party this past Saturday, and Mim brought her yummy marshmallow fruit salad, but added strawberries this time, which was AMAZING.

Bonus:

A picture of beautiful bebby in her little pool with her toys!

Also, I have an adorable video of her crawling around really funny, but she's nakie, so I'm not posting it here. Gotta protect her from the pervs! Message me your phone number on FB and I'll message it to you, if you want to see it :)

Show Me Your Teeth!

Em Beanie recently had her wisdom teeth removed, and Mim sent me a picture of her with the laughing gas on, and it looked so much like a face hugger from Aliens, so I thought I'd share and see if you all agree:

Once she started getting loopy, Mim said she started speaking in Japanese.

Also, every time I hear that song by Lady Gaga, "Show Me Your Teeth", I get it stuck in my head for at least two days.

Too Bad I'm So Pale

I have no idea why I felt like sharing this, but I found it interesting.

I'm part Native American. No, really! I have some Cherokee and some Choctaw.

Anyway, Kwiddens called me a little while ago and asked me how the back of my two front teeth were shaped. I thought it an odd question...but I answered. They're thin at the bottom, then they widen very quickly, like there's an extra shelf back there. I hadn't known this, but apparently that's a genetic trait known only to Native Americans and a very small number of Asians.

I was curious, so I looked around online and found a few sites that describe some other genetic traits that I have:

The "shovel teeth", of course
High cheekbones
Crooked fingers, particularly the pinky
Little toes that lie under the next one
A second toe that's longer than the big toe (but only very slightly in my case)
Larger gap between the big toe and the second toe
An extra ridge of bone along the outside of the foot (Mim had to have parts of this removed, as it was causing problems for her)
Thyroid problems (mine is low-functioning)
The ability to tan deeply (but I never go in the sun anymore, so this hasn't happened since about...8th grade or so)

I also have a very square jaw and very thick, very straight hair.

I mostly look white, so I don't bother telling people unless they specifically ask, because I don't really look much like it. But now you know something interesting about me.

(The rest of me is almost entirely Danish. Perhaps this explains my love for pastries.)

Round Two...

Sorry for the longish absence. I'm losing blogging steam...

So I dropped Baby Pink Tablet, right? Well, Scott tried to fix it but something shorted out when it fell (we think) so getting the touch screen operational just wasn't going to happen. I stuck it on eBay and got $50 out if it for parts, so it's not a total loss...

Scott got online and pulled up several tablets he thought would be good as a replacement. I wanted another one badly, but I felt so bad about breaking the first one. The thing that came to mind was when we were little and something would get broken or dirty and Mim would say "This is why we can't have nice things!" Did anyone else's parents say that? Talk about a guilt trip.

Anyway, so I was reluctant to invest in another one but Scott convinced me, of course, and helped me choose another one. I could have gotten another of the same one, but Scott said that for just a little bit more money we could get one with a bigger screen and a faster processor. I figured that an 8" screen couldn't be that much bigger than the 7" screen, so went for it.

It came in the mail and I was in the middle of my "everything either makes me cry or pisses me off" phase (which is wearing off quite nicely, FINALLY), so when I started messing around with it and a few things were different, I got frustrated pretty quickly. The biggest thing that was bugging me was the size difference. It's actually quite a bit bigger than the last one and MUCH heavier, and I was not very happy about that. I mean, the old one was about the size and weight of a book, and the e-reader was the biggest reason I wanted it.

I'm getting used to it, though.

Speaking of the e-reader, the old one had one built in that was SO PERFECT. I had assumed this new tablet would have one built in, as well, but it didn't. Oh well. It has the entire Android market, so I hopped on there and started looking for an e-reader I would like. I downloaded like ten, and all of them sucked. Majorly. Finally, I was almost in tears, and I found another one and it seemed almost as perfect as the one I had before, but now that I've used it I think it's even better.

I have like a million books now. Having that many books (and all free!) makes me feel more educated, even though I haven't read them yet. A lot of them are books I've read before but a long time ago, like in high school, and I'd like to refresh my memory. If only I could get the Harry Potter books on there...sigh...

Scott had me download Angry Birds to see what the fuss was all about, and then I never saw the tablet again. The end.

Just kidding. But he has worn the battery down twice playing the game. Good thing I still have my laptop, so I'm not completely disconnected from the outside world...

Anyway, I don't plan on dropping this one. And now that I'm used to it (and not in constant panic mode) I like it very much. It's not pink, but that's okay.

And Scott gets mega brownie points for letting me have another one, even though I'm obviously not good at taking care of my stuff.