Alter Everything

Day 340: I Don't Even Know How To Respond To That

 A conversation with my husband...

Angel: I’m worried about this show.

Me: Why?

Angel: I’m worried when the kid grows up, they're going to get some crappy child actor.

Me: Really?

Angel:  Yes.  Aren’t you worried about that? I refuse to believe I’m the only one who’s worried about that.

Me: You’re joking, right?

Angel: No. And I’ll bet if you ask other people, they’re worried about it too.

????????????????????????????????????

So, just checking. Anyone else up at midnight worried that the baby on their favorite sitcom is going to be replaced in two-years by Macaulay Culkin?

Altered Today: Belief that I married an alien.

Scary, You Should Totally Watch This. Happy Halloween.

Thank you, Sarah Myers. :)

Day 248: Why Everyone Should Marry A Filipino Pirate

The actual birthday card my husband wrote out for a friend's 1-year old today....

 

Altered Today: Still laughing after 8 years...


My Angel...wish everyone could have one.

Day 221: Geeking Out With Wayne Newton

Wayne Newton owns a ranch called "Shenandoah" in Las Vegas.

How do I know?

My husband told me as we listened to Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!.

"How do you know that?" I asked, laughing hysterically.
"I don't know. I just do," he chuckled, before returning to our regularly scheduled programming.

For 10 minutes, we listen to Peter Sagal interview Wayne about various aspects of life:

His fans (called Wayniacs).
His ranch (you already know that one).
His pets...including horses, penguins, wallabies.

Did you know there are 52 species of penguins in the world, but only three come from the Arctic? 
According to Wayne, the rest are from South America--specifically the Galapagos Islands.

But I digress.

We then proceed to listen as Wayne plays a challenging game of:
"Hey, Wait A Minute - You Don't Have A Delicious Fig Filling."

He aces the first question.
Yes, the Fig Newton made its marketing debut by trying to start a dance craze called "The Big Fig."

Bombs the second one.
No, Apple's failed product "Newton" was not the result of some crazy dream.

And, strikes out on the 3rd.
Olivia Newton John really did sing the duet "Summer Nights" with a rescued Chilean miner.

Sorry Wayne.

Anywho...that's what WE do for fun on a Sunday.

 
source

And YOU???

Altered Today: Wayne Newton Wisdom.
Yes Baby, you were right.  That wasn't a girl singing Danke Schoen...

Day 218: Facebook Video Chat Altering The Face Of Illness

                                                                           Me introducing friends at my Mad Hatter Tea Party

It’s HERE.  Have you seen it? Do you know?

If not, let me be the first to tell you: Facebook now offers the ability to do video calls online. 
Can you imagine how this might impact the world of chronic illness?

• Envision being able to talk to your favorite friends face to face...without separate, complicated setups, phone bills, or scrambling for numbers.

• Picture attending parties/virtual gatherings (like Wendy's doing above, only without the hassle--this was done via Skype, but it took A LOT of coordination).

• Up again with insomnia (Chronic Lyme or otherwise)?  Meet the people you’ve been laughing and joking with 'til 5:00am (Bonus: They're already in your address book).

• Sick, housebound, or bedbound?  Get connected with just the push of a button (perfect when fingers don’t cooperate, phones are hard to hold, you're technically challenged, or you want company, but can’t get up to clean the living room).
  
  
• Educate others on rashes, equipment, and other good stuff without posting 20 photos or leaving the comfort of your recliner.
  
  

AMAZING!!!


Best of all, creating a video call has NEVER been easier...

1.  First, enable chat on your Facebook page. To do this, scroll down to the bottom left side of your screen (below News, Messages, Events, Friends, Groups, Apps, Ads) until you see this icon:

2.  Then, click go online. This will open a separate chat window to show who’s available to talk (friends with a green square are available, friends with a grey square might be available, friends with no icon are unavailable).

3.  To call a friend, select their photo and click the video icon found on the top right of their chat window (Note: If you have not yet used video chat, this will prompt a one-time set up to connect you...just follow the prompts).

4.  When they answer, start talking.  Or, if nobody answers, leave a video message. To do this, look into the camera, click the record message button, click “allow FB to access your camera and microphone” and close.  Then push the red button to start and the white button to stop).

NOTE: For a list of Frequently Asked Questions (system requirements, set up, etc), go here.  Yes, you will need a microphone (built in to most lap tops) and preferably a webcam (although you can still talk with no video feed).




HAPPY CHATTING!!!

Altered Today: What shut-ins everywhere should be talking about.

Day 203: Stupid Trixie Lymes

                     Sick Kathy = Gollum                                                                              Healthy Kathy = Smeagol

At least that's the case, according to my husband (If you haven't seen Lord of the Rings, get a brief primer here).
The remark wasn't meant as an insult. He said it after I made a comment this morning.

Me (in Smeagol-like fashion): We thinks we can do more than we can (upon having to rest after wiping out the dog's crate).
Him (being playful): Stupid Trixie Lymes, we hates them we do.

For a while, we joked and back and forth.

Smeagol: "But we likes the pizzas, yes our precious!"
Gollum: "NO!... WE can't HAVE the pizza, NOBODY can have the pizza."

And on and on it went. 

In reality, it's not that far off. I am often conflicted between the two sides of me.

On a good day: We can walks. We getting better. We are.
On a bad day:  We dying. We tortured. We can't go on.

Let's hope these new meds do their thing (free, free...let Smeagol go FREEEEEEE!!!!).

Altered Today: Dosing, Party Provisions. Hope you can make it Saturday. Would love to see you.

Day 161: Hats Off To Columbus Or The Greeks Or Whomever

 

"The world is round."  That must have been one outrageous statement the first time it was uttered.

I mean, really. Look at the ocean. Look over the horizon. Although my husband would beg to differ, I can see why people believed the earth was flat.

Without complicated stories or theories or satellites...it's actually quite simple. 

People doubt what they don't understand. 

Period. Fin ito. End of story.

As I thought about that today, it helped me feel a little less frustrated about lyme, doctors, and the community's attitude toward tick-borne illness.

Do I feel angry that more doctors aren't educated about Lyme Disease? YES.
Does it drive me crazy that more people don't understand this disease is a problem? YES.
Do I wish people would start looking more at the cause of illness rather than just focusing on symptoms? YES.
Does it make me angry that tens of thousands of people are getting dismissed with chronic illness and being told they're crazy, traumatized, depressed, and old? YES.
Does any of this surprise me? NO.

Great strides have never been made without struggle, opposition, and disbelief.  And hindsight has always been our greatest teacher.

Just look at Louis Pasteur, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.  In their day, they were considered controversial....even crazy.  Today, we regard them as visionaries.

Aren't lyme doctors and patients at the forefront of Lyme Disease fighting the same uphill battle?

While it's easy to get discouraged and no fun charting murky waters...I am inspired by the possibility that WE (yes...sick, old, ordinary, crazy "we") have an opportunity to make a difference here and impact history.

Because of us, things will change.
Because of this, people will be cured.

When you think about it, we are pioneers (so maybe it's time we start relating to ourselves that way??).  In time, the truth will prevail. Until then, we can get upset or we can get louder.

I, for one, am getting a microphone.

Altered Today: From Shipwrecked to Explorer, Support Group Created for Spouses with Lyme 

Day 144: Not Your Ordinary Easter

On Easter Eve, several years ago, something interesting happened. My husband and I, returning late from a trip, spotted a pink footed, shadowy figure as it jumped out onto the sidewalk. 

"Baby!  Look!!!" Angel said, as he shook me awake. 
Through the car window, I could see what looked like an over-sized rat with a stiff tail. Upon further investigation, I could tell it was a possum.

In amazement, we watched the little guy check both ways before crossing the road. Once on the other side, he padded from shrub to shrub, stopping to peer into the leaves... he seemed to be looking for something.

"What is he doing?!?!?" we laughed, as he continued his late-night mission.

"It seems like he's searching... maybe looking for food??" That's when it hit us: We were witnessing the first appearance of a lesser-known holiday character, the yin to the Easter Bunny's yang... we had discovered The Easter Possum!

EP (as we now call him), like his close relative the Virginia Possum, is a scavenger. While the Easter Bunny hides treats for children to find in Easter Egg Hunts, the Easter Possum follows behind collecting leftovers so no hard boiled egg or chocolate bunny gets wasted.

The "sighting" started a tradition of annual visits--starting with a bag of "trash" on my porch the next morning.

"That's weird," I said...thinking my husband forgot something. As I moved closer, I could see--this was no ordinary pile of garbage.  It was a present--lovingly (though messily) wrapped--in a Hefty Cinch Sack. 

Inside, I found an odd assortment of things: Easter Grass, eggs, bologna gum, and candy--all marred by tiny chew marks throughout the products and the packaging. 

My Easter Bounty, it seemed, had been gathered from several different backyards.   Beneath the sweets, I found this note: 

 

 

Honestly....Can you imagine anything cuter????

Since then, EP's been back several times:  sometimes leaving jelly beans; sometimes leaving Milk Duds; always leaving love and laughter.

Since I'm not eating sugar these days, I didn't expect he'd make an appearance this year. But silly me...that big rat is nothing if not resourceful. 

Look what I found when I got up this morning...

My Easter Basket

Of course, I can't eat all of it (dried fruits are a no-no).  But honestly, two thumbs up for effort.  My favorite part was the note....

LOL.  Hope you are enjoying your holiday.

Altered Today: Tradition, smiles, love for EP

Day 114: Did You Know It's Friday?

Something funny happened on the way to the Organic Local Food Co-Op today. I was told about them from a few different friends and couldn't wait to go down and check out their organic eggs, farm raised beef, and local seasonal vegetables.  Excitedly, I get ready; put on "outdoor" clothes, brush my hair, slink out of my La-Z-Boy. Luckily, they're not far from my house; 10 minutes by car, longer by bike (which I couldn't do anyway).

The first thing I notice when I pull up?  The parking lot is very, very empty.  "That's weird," I think.  "Maybe, I'm beating the rush." As I get out, the view becomes even more ominous; empty table tops and cartons, forlorn baskets. It looks like the apocalypse of Farmer's Markets. 

Unwavering, I make my way to the front door (after all, I DID get dressed for this).  A man in the back sees me, puts down the phone, comes to the front, and opens up. 

"Can I help you?" he says. 
"Yes. I'm here to visit the Co-Op," I answer.
"But we're not open today," he says.
"That's strange," I say.  "It says here on your door you're open Thursdays from 2-8?"
"We are," he laughs.  "It's Friday."

Who knew?

Altered Today: Knowledge of what day it is.  Making strangers laugh.  Touring closed fruit stands (amused people are really, really nice).

Day 113: Five Words for Today

More-than-I-can-chew...

 

Altered Today: Keeping it simple. Asking for input.