Beautiful Bergen

Hi All!

Hubby's cold and cough really spread well . . . to me! I am now sick. I am coughing and congested and have a headache. Lovely!

Yesterday I went to see Susan and things are still pretty good with my voice. Of course, the cold thing meant that my voice was a bit raspy and my throat was tight (I just can't do the massage as effectively as she can!) but, overall, things are good.

Susan and I did have a conversation about inhalation therapy (talking all on the inhale) and how it has helped several of her ABSD patients. She did mention that the patients who were helped (including me!) were the ones who really worked at the therapy and did what they were supposed to do. Wouldn't it be great if more people with ABSD could get therapy like I did and recover voice? Then again, I know Susan has many ABSD patients who refuse (!?!) to do the exercises and they don't improve as much as those who actually comply.

It is nice to know that I am not the only ABSD patient Susan has worked with who has done the therapy and have improved drastically! Maybe the SD community needs to take note of that when they start saying my improvement means I never had SD!

Enough of that.

We finally have a date for the installation of our oven - Friday afternoon! YEAH! Soon we will be able to bake. And, no doubt, once we have the ability, we won't want to!

Oh well!

Here is the first official stop on our cruise - Bergen, Norway.

We were supposed to go to Amsterdam but the weather made getting into the port dangerous so it was cancelled (much to my dismay!).

Enjoy the pictures of Bergen (including the ones showing what the weather was like when we first got off the ship!).

Isn't Bergen beautiful? We took the funicular up to the top of the mountain to take in the scenic views (after the downpour stopped!)

dghk

At the top of the mountain we made friends with a large Troll.

sgj

What a visit!

fgjh

Trisha

Sam Houston

Hi All!

During my trip to Houston with three other members of my class, we passed the HUGE statue of Sam Houston. On our way home we stopped to take a closer look and to get some pictures. This statue is amazing!

This must be an extra face or a first try???? The visitor center was closed when we were there and there was no information plaque so the explanation for this face was left up to our imaginations!



Such a proud stance!


















A view from the front.
sdghs
Sam is 67 feet tall and can be seen for miles when driving down interstate 45 towards Houston, Texas. Remember - they say everything is bigger in Texas!

sfjsfj

Today I have a speech appointment and I am eager to see what Susan thinks of my voice this time. It seems to be doing really well despite the stress in my life recently. We will see what the "official" opinion is!

sdgh

As I am writing this, I am listening to iTunes (on shuffle, of course!) and there is a lovely Christmas tune playing. Vince Gill singing "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

dfgh

This leads me to wonder, once more, just why people relegate Christmas music to only one month out of the year. Yes, I know that it is Christmas music but what is Christmas music anyway? Basically a celebration of the birth of Christ, right?

sfgjsfj

Shouldn't we celebrate that every month of the year instead of just one?

sfjgs

Trisha

fhjsfj

Voice Update: The past few weeks have been stressful for me. First I had a really (REALLY) bad cold that involved coughing and drainage and wonderful stuff like that. Then, I recovered from that to enter into the "busy" part of the semester for classes. You can just read "busy" as "stressful." When I am stressed, my voice takes a beating. It is generally not very good in times of stress. However, this time, I didn't notice too many problems at all. Maybe I am getting the hang of keeping SD at bay!!

sdhsdhf

Did I mention that the NSDA national symposium is happening? Since my decision to separate myself from the NSDA I have also decided to not go to the symposium. However, (if I haven't missed it), if you are interested, go to the NSDA's website for more info!

So - It Is Tuesday . . .

Hi All!

Happy Tuesday! We have made it through one day of this week. Should we be proud?

Today was my second day of walking - in a row - this week. When I am snuggled up in my warm bed it is so easy to forget that walking really does feel good when you are doing it. If only I could remember that feeling so that I just jumped out of bed ready and eager to walk each morning! The temperature today when I started walking was a lovely 57 degrees. There was a hint of rain and Spring freshness (!!!) in the air as I headed down the sidewalk. It was wonderful!

After such a great start to today it must surely be a wonderful day, right? Here is hoping that is true.

My trip to the speech therapist's office yesterday went really well. Susan was happy with my voice and my throat for the most part. She was a bit concerned about the tension in my shoulders and neck muscles (can you say research paper topic?) though. Tension in the shoulders and neck muscles can easily transfer to the larynx muscles if you aren't careful and tension in those muscles made talking even more of a chore! Due to the tension I have some new "exercises." I am supposed to use my masssager on my shoulder and neck muscles at least twice a day and can even con Hubby into giving me some massages in between times! Doesn't that sound "awful?"

So - it was a nice day yesterday. It was even topped off by Hubby making dinner (a great pizza) and providing a heart-shaped ice cream cake for dessert (from Baskin Robbins). I LOVE ice cream cake! It was a perfect dessert for Valentine's Day!

Hopefully today will be just as wonderful!

Trisha

Voice Update: I pretty much said it all in the post. It is good, people!

Oh! My Aching Neck!

Hi All!

This morning I woke up with a sore throat. Actually it was a doubly sore throat - inside and out!

Yesterday I went to see Susan, my speech therapist. While I really enjoy seeing Susan I must admit that when I am not as diligent as I should be with my exercises I find myself in a bit of pain! This is because my neck gets "crunchy" or tight and Susan has to work hard to get things loosened up again. The hard work leaves impressions (literally and figuratively) on my neck. For the next two to three days my neck will hurt where Susan was doing her work.

Yes, my voice feels better but . . . my neck hurts! It makes doing my massage difficult because . . . well, my neck hurts just where I need to massage! However, I do work through the pain to do my massage.

This morning, I woke up expecting my neck to hurt but I wasn't really expecting my throat to hurt as well. It felt as if the left side of my throat was on fire. After thinking a bit I decided that this was likely due to drainage. My nose was a little blocked when I went to bed.

For breakfast I had two glasses of orange juice and two oranges. This seemed to cut through the drainage and solved one of my two pains. The pain in my neck . . . it will be hanging around for another day or so to remind me what happens when I don't do my exercises and massage faithfully!

Today was day four of my walking routine and I even added on an extra ten minute loop to the end of my walk for good measure!

While I am writing this morning I am listening to an episode of Gunsmoke (radio version) from May 9, 1953. This is thanks to my podcast obsession. I found a great source for these Radio Westerns called Old Time Radio Westerns. This podcast provides episodes of Gunsmoke, The Cisco Kid, Tales of the Texas Rangers, The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Have Gun Will Travel, and Challenge of the Yukon. These are fun to listen to and always have an interesting story.

I never thought that I was a fan of westerns but this podcast changed my mind and these episodes are some of my favorite things to listen to while walking each morning.

There is another podcast called Old Time Radio Thrillers which has shows like Dick Tracy, The Whistler, The Avenger, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, and The Shadow. Again - super listening while I walk.

If you like listening to stories I suggest you try out these two podcasts. They are well worth it!

Trisha

Voice Update: I pretty much said it all above but - my voice is doing really well now that my throat is loosened up and I plan on keeping it that way!

My Dance Lesson

Hi All!

Yesterday I had my first dance lesson* after a "hiatus" of about six weeks. Now, my partner** and I have been practicing pretty much daily during the hiatus but, we haven't exactly been doing everything that our instructor*** had told us to do during our last lesson.

Our dance^ has been going pretty smoothly lately. We rarely step on each other's toes or knock heads while changing directions. True, once in a while my partner gets a bit "independent" and decides to show me that I am not the only one who can lead the steps.

Anyway, the instructor was impressed with our work during the six week break from lessons. She did have a few minor corrections to make (like I need to do more massage and I need to work on a couple specific steps^^) but, overall, she was happy with our progress. In fact, she has reduced our lessons from twice a month to once a month. Yeah!

*Speech Therapy
**Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia
***Susan (SLP)
^Living with SD
^^ Working on the sounds which still give me the most difficulty by focusing on the sounds after the difficult sounds.

Okay. If you deciphered all of that, you know how my latest speech appointment went. Now, I would like to address the reason I call my living with SD as a "dance" instead of a struggle, a journey, or anything like that.

The idea of living with SD for the rest of my life was very overwhelming for me. I struggled to "beat" SD and this resulted in a less than ideal situation. I soon realized that each and every time I attempted to "subdue" SD or overpower it, it would come back even more ferociously to "kick my rear."

I would work and work and struggle and then find myself taking the proverbial "one step forward two steps back." It seemed like all of my hard work was turning out to be worthless. And then, Susan sat me down for one of her "talks (she does this occasionally when I need it!)."

Susan told me that I was never going to "beat" or "subdue" SD because it was stronger than I could ever be. True, I am very, very stubborn but, SD is even more so. Each time I tried to beat SD it came back because, in reality, I was never going to completely beat SD. I just wasn't. It was here to stay and I needed to deal with that fact. Susan suggested considering living with SD not as a battle but rather, as a dance.

This dance has two distinct participants, me and SD, who need to learn to dance in harmony with each other without stepping on each others toes or trying to take the lead too strongly. If I could learn how to work WITH SD instead of trying to work AGAINST it, Susan assured me that my life would be much happier.

I went home after this little talk and I pondered what I had heard. Work WITH SD? Shouldn't I try to eradicate it? Smash it into dust? This dance stuff just seemed like crazy talk . . . at first. And then, it all started to make sense.

Any major relationship in life is more of a dance than a battle. Think about marriage. You work WITH your spouse (most of the time!) to live together. When things are out of sync (stepping on toes) life isn't too happy but, once you get back "in step" with each other - harmony and happiness.

So - dance with SD. I decided that the philosophy of dancing WITH SD instead of struggling against it just made sense. I knew that SD was incurable so I was stuck with it and learning to live with it just seemed to make the most of the situation. After all, struggling hadn't gotten me too far up to this point so there really wasn't too much to lose now, was there?

Over the past couple of years I have been learning the steps. SD is a demanding partner. If I don't show up for practice each and every day by doing my exercises and massage and now, reading out loud, SD gets cranky and tries to take the lead in my life by making my voice worse. The minute I decide to strike out on my own for a solo, SD is right there pulling me back and reminding me that my time for soloing is now past and that SD is here to stay. As with every dance, and with every dance partner, there are things which make life easier - I know the kinds of words which SD causes me to mess up the most so I work on those or I think of ways to avoid them. There are situations where SD is just going to show up more than in others (noisy background, large crowds, when I am nervous or upset or tired) and I make adjustments for this (amplification, relying on Hubby more, moving to a quieter venue, asking for music to be turned down, etc.).

Considering my life with SD as a dance has helped me to work with the disorder to find my voice again. Yes, there are times when my "partner" and I are at odds but, once I get my head right (somehow, SD is never the one at fault - imagine that!), we are back in step and dancing along smoothly.

Yes, my experience with SD is a dance. One for which I will never stop rehearsing but one which, when done well, is very rewarding!

Trisha

Ironic Anxiety

Hi All!

When I first "discovered" that I would be dancing with Spasmodic Dysphonia for the rest of my life (even though I originally thought it would only be a short dance - the lifetime commitment was realized a bit later in the process!) I was filled with anxiety.

Anxiety about my job. Anxiety about my social life. Anxiety about my marriage. Anxiety about my identity without a voice. Anxiety about speech therapy. Anxiety about Botox injections. Anxiety about the future.

As I slowly learned the steps to this new dance (and how to avoid stepping on SD's toes causing it to get angry!), my anxieties began to lessen somewhat. The first to go was the anxiety about speech therapy. My therapist is wonderful and we soon had developed a good working relationship which helped my voice.

Next to slink into the background was my anxiety about Botox shots. They weren't too bad. Thankfully!

Then the marriage anxiety dissolved as Hubby proved that, once he got over the "shock" of my SD, he was a wonderful support and a loving partner. Hubby doesn't always understand everything that I am going through but he tries.

The job anxiety and the future anxiety receded into manageable issues which are still floating along with the music in the background as SD and I dance along. Every once in a while they poke their heads into my immediate thoughts and cause some stress in my life but, when they do that, I try to just take deep breaths and to "let go and let God."

As my voice improved, thanks to speech therapy and LOTS of voice exercises, my anxiety about my social life vanished. I not only found that my friends understood and still accepted me but also that people I just met could also handle the information about my vocal disorder. I became very direct about my SD and told everyone way more than they ever wanted to know about it whenever I could.

Joining NSDA and starting a SD support group really helped me banish the social anxiety caused by SD. Meeting other people who experienced the same thing I was experiencing really helped me to understand that I wasn't alone and I also wasn't a "Freak!"

The anxiety about my identity remains the one which torments me more than any of the others still lingering about. However, as the days go by and I stay in step with SD to perform a smooth dance, things get a bit brighter.

Until it is time for a NSDA symposium and leadership training.

Don't get me wrong. The NSDA symposium is a wonderful thing. So is the leadership training. There are wonderful people there who have dedicated themselves to helping others learn to dance smoothly with SD. Being with these people is inspiring and comfortable. Never is it needed to explain about bad voices or to apologize for not being heard. In a lot of ways, the symposium and the leadership training is like "coming home" to a place where you are accepted unconditionally.

However . . . .

My voice is doing really well. So well, in fact, that people I meet for the first time don't even notice that there is anything wrong with it. People I know, and who have known me for a while, can occasionally hear slight breaks but, for the most part, they never think about my voice as anything but "normal." This is wonderful. Right?

Well, here is the ironic thing. People at the NSDA symposium and training day tend to think that I don't really have SD. They insist that my problem must have been MTD (Muscle Tension Dysphonia) which is easily cured. I have to "defend" myself and my reason for being involved in the NSDA. There are times I feel like these people see me as an "intruder" because my voice is so good at the moment.

I have worked so long and so hard to get my voice into the shape that it is in and I continue to work on it daily to maintain my progress. God has really touched my voice to allow such amazing progress. Why do these people shake my confidence so much? Why do I dread having to face these people? Why do I continue to feel the need to validate my SD?

Why do I feel such anxiety? Why do I feel like I should just keep my mouth closed so that people won't feel compelled to challenge me?

I DO have Spasmodic Dysphonia.

I DO have a good voice because of a lot of hard work and a lot of grace.

I DO belong in the NSDA.

Why do I feel like I am between both worlds - the "normal" world and the NSDA world?

*sigh*

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing really well. I was having some issues with the word "hello" yesterday but I really worked on some exercises and that got better. I am now reading in the book of Judges and the reading is doing wonders for my voice. I think that the anxiety about the upcoming symposium is doing a little "work" on my voice but, I refuse to get out of step with the dance, darn it!

Another Wednesday is History!

Hi All!

Well, I did it! I made it through another Wednesday! Another L- O-N-G Wednesday!

I started the day the "normal" way - with a walk. The walk was very nice - if a little chilly. My hands tend to get so cold on chilly mornings so I pulled on my fingerless gloves (perfect for working on the computer in the winter and for working with your hands. They aren't quite as practical as they could be but . . .) and hit the sidewalks. A pleasant breeze ruffled my bed-styled hair and the birds were just chirping their little hearts out. Nice.

Next I got on the computer to do some work, to blog, and to "chat" with Mom. Of course I had to have iTunes on and had to check email as well. It was a busy time on the computer.

Then it was off to Speech. Thankfully, all of the work I have been doing is really paying off. My voice is pretty consistent now with some very specific sounds which are giving me problems. Susan and I went through some exercises designed to work on those sounds (apparently, my tongue tends to get into my airway while I make those sounds and it messes everything up!) and now I have new "homework." Fun, fun! The new stuff doesn't replace any of what I am already doing - it is added on.

With a good report (and new work to do) from Speech it was back in the car to zoom off to Collin County Community College - Spring Creek Campus. I went up to the interpreting lab (different from the ASL lab in that it is smaller and not staffed with a lab assistant and that it allows voicing!) to meet members of my group to work on the group project. We worked on other stuff too - the journals which were due last night, various lab assignments that needed peer evaluations, etc.

Our group project seems to be on track. I am waiting for an update from the group which stayed after class last night to finish up some videoing. . . I have some organizational work to do and then everything needs to be edited and "prettified!"

My trip home was delayed greatly due to the fact that one of my classmates got some really bad news during class and I spent about an hour talking to her and cheering her up some so that she was in a good enough mood to drive home safely. Also, it was just plain fun talking to her! This delay got me home about twenty minutes before the start of today.

Needless to say, Skor and Miss Cleo were waiting for me at the door. Apparently, they can't settle down until I am home and in bed. After a little "loving time" where the cats got petted and ran around like lunatics, I managed to make it into the bedroom to change and then into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Skor played an energetic round of "tub ball" where he chases a ball around the bottom (and sides) of our bathtub.

Next it was falling into bed to eventually drift off to a nice, deep sleep.

Only to be awakened at 5:00 A.M. by "Buzzer." Who is Buzzer? That is what Hubby calls Skor when he acts like an alarm clock.

Yes, Skor woke me up at five and I managed to almost ignore him until about six forty five or so when I rolled out of bed, pulled on my walking clothes and stumbled out to make lunch for Hubby.

Doesn't that sound so glamorous to you?

I am going to take a nap now!

Trisha

Voice Update: See the info above. Doing well and have new exercised to do to work on the few remaining issues I have.

Is This More Exciting?

Hi All!

Well - today is another day without work or school! I hardly know what to do with myself! Unfortunately, it is another COLD day in Texas! It was only 24 degrees when I got up this morning! Yesterday it only got up to about 36 degrees! What is going on? This is TEXAS!

Besides the cold temperature, things are pretty normal. I am getting ready to head out to the post office to return the earbuds from ifrogz which hurt my ears and then to the grocery store. Doesn't that sound like fun?? I must admit that I am not too excited about the whole proposition but . . . you gotta do what you gotta do!

Speech went well yesterday. While waiting in the waiting room (acting like a patient instead of a member of the staff!), I met a woman who I have talked to many times on the phone in my role as the "staff." She and her husband - who has SD - drive from Houston to see Susan every couple of months. Her husband has ADSD - the more common type - and has been in a research study or two about SD. He also has a twin brother who (hold onto your hats for this one) also has ADSD!

The brother lives in Virginia and actually flies into Texas just to see Susan! Talk about dedication to a speech therapist.

Cat update: Skor is sprawled on the desk trying to chew the calculator. Wait - he has moved on to the envelopes. And is now sitting on the desk with his tail whacking my hands as I type. He seems to want attention - what do you think. Okay - now he is actually settling down . . . .possibly! He is eyeing the phone cord though!

Okay - back to business (as Skor bats my jump drive around the desk).

Now, what was I saying? Oh, right. Speech. It was fun talking to this woman about her experiences with a husband who has SD.

The actual speech appointment wasn't too bad either. Susan didn't think my throat was nearly as crunchy as I thought it would be. She did massage but nothing too painful and my neck doesn't even hurt today! YEAH! I was told to do some more inhale and to get back on my exercise schedule! I think I can handle that.

Susan and I talked a little about Linda - who was working when I got there. She didn't seem to have much energy and I am worried about how thin she has gotten! I am still praying!

After speech I headed to Domino's for a pasta bowl - my favorite treat - and to Big Lots to see if they had any Christmas flags. I was disappointed on both fronts. The pasta bowl was good but the inside of the bowl wasn't completely cooked and was pretty gummy. Big Lots didn't have any flags. Boo on them!

I came home and finished reading a book by Susan Wiggs - it was very good. I will tell you about it when I get around to doing another book post.

Well, that was my day. I am not too sure if it was any more exciting than what I wrote yesterday but . . . hey - it was interesting.

I am off to the post office and store now!

Have a super Thursday!

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing well but I need to get those exercises into my routine again!

Not Much to Say.

Hi All!

I have speech today - we will see how things are going. I am sure that my throat is "crunchy" since I have been a slacker on my massage. As always, I will regret not doing my massage like I should when my neck hurts for the next four days! Hopefully I will get back into a more regular routine now that classes are over for the semester and I will have a little more free time.

Speaking of classes - you will be proud to know that I squeaked by with an A. Barely but it is still an A! This was a tough, tough class. I did learn a lot though - for that I am thankful. Now on to even more difficult classes! Yee-haw!

Well, I don't have a lot to talk about today - I guess my mind is empty after that last final in class. I will try to think of something interesting to tell you tomorrow. I guess I am still in my "mood" from Monday!

Have a great Wednesday!

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing well but crunchy, crunchy throat. Speech, here I come!

Oops!

Hi All!

Well - I didn't end up working yesterday but I did end up spending more time at the office than I had planned.

My normally scheduled speech therapy session is at 12:45 on Wednesdays. Every other week my appointment is at 12:45. Right. So - yesterday, I was ready to get to my session at 12:45. I showed up early for my 12:45 appointment.

Only to find out that my appointment had been changed this week and was really at 12:00!

Oops!

I was late.

Luckily, Susan had a cancellation that day so I stayed around until about 2:15 for that appointment. While I waited I started to clean out a closet in the office in preparation for the office move to another, smaller office sometime around Christmas.

Now, the whole staying around the office for a later appointment did cause some minor ripples in my plans for the day.

Hubby was home for Veteran's Day and I had planned to go home and spend some time with him after my appointment before heading to the college for class. Because I was going home, I didn't have any of my school books with me. However, it was impractical to go home while waiting for the new appointment because of the time involved (I live about 40 minutes from the office). So . . . . I ended up going to school with no books and no materials. I also didn't have any snacks to make it from lunch - eaten around 11:30 - and dinner - which would be eaten at around 9:00 when I got home from class.

Such issues!

Everything worked out fine. I had a good session with Susan - my voice freed up a lot and now I need to really work to keep it that way! Class was fine without books - we didn't have anything due so it worked.

The only problem was the lack of snacks. I stopped and got some onion rings at What-a-Burger. BIG mistake. My stomach did NOT enjoy those one bit. Oh well!

Today I am working. But, first I have an appointment with my Endocrinologist. That means I will have blood work done so I have to fast before the appointment. I will go straight from the appointment to work and am going to pack some breakfast/lunch for me to eat between the two. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Trisha

Voice Update: Doing much, much better thanks to my appointment. I still have some minor hesitation on unvoiced consonants but nothing like I was experiencing before the appointment.

Oh My, Opossum!

Hi All!

This morning is beautiful in North Texas! It is cool - on the way to about 80 or so - and slightly windy. The birds were out and, thankfully, the sun rose just a bit earlier than it did last week.

I was bopping along listening to my podcasts and scoping out the landscaping trying to think of what I would like my front landscaping to look like if/when we ever rip everything out and replant.

Suddenly, I saw movement between two houses. By the time I had tracked it, the movement had entered a flowerbed. I stopped and peered into the shrubs. Then, I saw this . . .

Well, almost! This is an Internet picture and what I saw didn't include the humans. A white face with little black ears and a small black nose peered back at me from the shrubs. It was an opossum!

Now, I have seen plenty of these animals . . . on the side of the road as roadkill. Never had I seen one this close and this alive! The animal peered at me and stayed motionless for a long time (probably really about a minute). Then, it turned in a tight circle and retraced its steps across the lawn between the houses and disappeared into the dense shrubs of the other house.

Cool!

While I know that opossums are not the nicest, fuzziest, friendliest, or sweetest smelling of all animals, it was still neat to see one that close - it was only about 8 feet away from where I stood staring at it!

Let me tell you - seeing one alive is much preferable to seeing one along the side of the road!

Trisha

Voice: Well, I had speech yesterday and I got all fixed up. My voice was good but had started missing a bit - especially when I got to my appointment! Isn't that always the way? My throat was a bit tight which I knew - thanks to that lovely "gunk" I had been coughing up and the sneezing that went with it. Susan got me all loosened up and speaking smoothly again. It is amazing what that woman can do with her massage that I can't do at home!

Meeting Flea

Hi All!

Well, I did it! I met Flea yesterday as she made her way from her home to visit her grandmother! How exciting! This was the first time I met a blogger friend in real life! Now I can tell Hubby that I do know Flea - I have met her!

We met at La Madeline's - a French bistro like restaurant which serves a mean breakfast as well as nice lunches. The desserts are really good - especially the fruit tart - but, I did give up desserts for Lent and I am sticking to it!

Flea showed me her smocking projects and I have to tell you - they are even more beautiful in person! Flea is one talented blogger!

Oh - I should tell you that Flea was surprised by how young I am (not that I am THAT young). She says that I look much older in my Blog picture. What do you think?

Today I have speech so we will see how I have been doing with everything lately. I am always a little nervous about my speech appointments. I am not really sure why!

After speech . . . I might take a nap with these two.

Oh - I planted moonflower seeds yesterday and today I am going to pick up some tomato plants on my way home from speech. My garden is starting to shape up!

By the way- I still have a TON of moonflower seeds. Who wants me to send them some? If you want some, email me at the address on my profile!

Trisha

Voice Update: I think I am doing pretty well - we will see what Susan thinks. The NSDA National Symposium is coming up and I am getting excited!

Now What?

Hi All!

You have read all about our recent troubles with the hot water tank and the phone. You have read about my stomach issues. I can't recall if I told you about the front door not latching correctly or not. Well, all I can say is . . . now what???

Yesterday, before he left for work, Hubby took me out to the garage to show me something. When we were out there he pointed to the garage door opener button and pointed out that for some reason, it sticks at times. If it sticks, the "rolling code" or whatever it is called, is continually working making it impossible for someone to open the garage door from the outside with a remote. Apparently, I pressed the button, it stuck, and he couldn't get into the garage on Tuesday. Oops! I received a nice little demonstration on how to make sure that the button isn't stuck so that doesn't happen again. Let's just say Hubby wasn't too happy.

Then . . . after speech (which I will tell you about in a minute) I stopped by the post office to pickup a certified letter that the postman had tried to deliver the day before. The letter was from the Foundation Warranty company. With a slightly sick feeling in my stomach, I opened the letter and browsed it before pulling out of the parking lot of the post office. Can you guess what it said?

The crack in our foundation is NOT covered. Surprise, surprise!

Actually, Hubby and I figured that would be the result. We can take the company to arbitration (at our cost if we lose) if we don't like the decision. The decision, by the way, is based on the fact that no doors are impaired (the crack is in the middle of the house which is pretty open with no doors!) and that the property has "mature trees in the proximity of the foundation," "the front planting beds have marginal to poor drainage," and " the downspouts are discharging at the foundation."

Let me take each of those on one by one. First of all -the trees were planted by the builder, the canopy is not near the roof line of the house and that means that the root system isn't near the foundation, and since the homeowners association requires trees on the property we don't have much choice about having the trees. Now, if the builder had told us that we couldn't let the trees reach maturity because it would void our foundation warranty (which was never said), we would have made sure to rip them out before they were mature! Ridiculous!

Next, the front planting beds have no drainage problems. There is never any standing water anywhere in the beds and certainly not near the foundation. So that indicates marginal to poor drainage? Excuse me?

Finally the downspouts. Okay, the downspouts do come down the house and turn out at the foundation. They have the traditional bend directing the water away from the house. They have splash blocks which further direct the water away from the foundation. Apparently we are supposed to add extensions onto the downspouts which are at least two feet long so that the water goes that far from the house. Can you imagine having two feet of downspout in the yard? Really?

Anyway, Hubby and I are not happy about the decision. Now we need to decide if we try arbitration or if we just fix everything at our own expense. What a hassle!

Oh well!

Moving on to happier topics . . . at my speech appointment yesterday Susan said that I was back to the point where I was before I "fell off the exercise wagon." This is good news because my voice was doing really well and it is now back to that level! YEAH! That is good news for me. Susan made sure that I understood how important exercises and massage are in maintaining the progress I have made. Believe me - I know! I know!

Trisha

Voice Update: Well, I pretty much said it all in the post. I am doing well. Praise God!

Linguistics and a Word Fest

Hi All!

Yesterday I dove into my homework for my classes. Because I am pretty much a geek, I actually LIKE doing homework. It is interesting to me (unless it is just worthless "busy work") and I enjoy the challenge of learning something new. Even presentations are a challenge as I attempt (normally successfully) to work everything I know and/or have learned into the required time frame and format.

My homework last night involved reading. One chapter in the Deaf Culture book and one chapter in "the green book." The Deaf Culture book was fine. In fact, it was pretty enjoyable since the book is research but is presented in a narrative style which makes the material easy to read and interesting. I whipped through that chapter and half of the next in no time at all.

The "green book," however, is a different story. The "green book" is a book of grammar and history of ASL. Chapter one is entitled "What is Language?" Doesn't that sound exciting? Even that title didn't deter me in my mission to read the chapter. But then I hit the content . . .

The entire chapter is 13 pages long and I have gotten through 5 of those pages. Each page is a dense collection of technical linguistic terms explaining the characteristics of language. English and various other languages including German, Latin, Russian, and Mandarin are compared and contrasted with ASL for each of the characteristics.

Doesn't that sound like fun? I stopped when I hit the characteristic that a language must have relatively arbitrary symbols. My mind just couldn't take it anymore!

I will read on later today. Or maybe tomorrow. . .

All of this linguistic reading led to a fun "word fest" with my mother last night. I called her to tell her about my "fun" reading and we ended up brainstorming words. The favorites turned out to be pejorative and mollycoddle. I thought they were neat! It was also a lot of fun just finding different words in the dictionary (the new electronic one Hubby got my for Christmas) and the thesaurus (also on the electronic dictionary). I do have to wonder though - do other people do this kind of stuff?

What is YOUR favorite word?

Trisha

Voice Update: Pretty good. Speech yesterday went well. Susan confirmed that my throat was a bit "crunchy" and managed to get in there and work a lot of it out in a pretty brief massage. She said that my voice was doing pretty well considering that I was sick last week and am dealing with allergy sinus drainage and sneezing, etc. I am to continue my routine of exercises and massage.

Classes and Crock Pot Crash

Hi All!

Yesterday I started a new semester of classes at the community college. I am taking three classes, all related to American Sign Language, in an effort to further my progress in the program so that IF I go back to work next school year I can continue taking relevant classes. There are two "background" kind of classes which need to be taken and so I am taking those, Finger spelling and Deaf Culture, along with ASL 3.

All three classes are basically back-to-back-to-back on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is convenient for me. I can get all three out of the way at one time without having to worry about going on different days. A few focused hours and . .. done!

While attending ASL 1 and ASL 2, I have met many of the other ASL students in the program but last night, I met a LOT more. Two of my classes are packed to the gills with 23 and 24 students. Most of these students are people I have never met. Since I am not really comfortable with meeting new people (even though people think I am really outgoing, I sort of quake inside at the thought of meeting new people), last night was an interesting time for me. Luckily, in two of my classes, there is at least one other student from my ASL 2 class - the teenager. It is nice to have a familiar face!

Now that I have the first day out of the way I can settle in to the homework I have for Thursday. Fun, fun! I will be reading A LOT this semester and spending a LOT of time in the ASL lab! I am required to have 20 hours for each of two classes for a grand total of 40 hours! Of course, I have 30+ hours last semester for ASL 3 so it shouldn't be too much more effort. I hope.

Do you cook in a crock pot? I never do but I tried to yesterday. Why, you may ask, don't I cook in a crock pot when it is SOOOO convenient? Well, Hubby is afraid that the house will burn down if I leave the thing on while we are both at work and since that was for the large part of our life together, I have gotten out of the habit of thinking of the crock pot. Yesterday, Hubby was out of town and I had a beef roast just begging to be made and I had classes all afternoon/evening. So, I got out the crock pot.

First, I browned the roast on all sides, seasoned it, and added water and orange juice (I don't know why the OJ - I just like the flavor it gives the roast).. I put the whole shebang on the base and set the temp to medium low while I was home in the morning. After an hour or so, I added cut up potatoes and carrots. I checked the whole thing before leaving for class and it seemed to be doing fine. I turned the temp to low and left - for nine hours.

When I got home, the house smelled wonderfully like roast beef. My mouth watered in anticipation. Then . . . I was disappointed. The beef was done but the potatoes and carrots were half cooked and half hard. Where did I go wrong?

I decided to cut up the roast and potatoes and cook it some more today to make a beef stew. I will thicken the liquid and, hopefully, it will turn out yummy.

Oh - I just want to say that this week - since it is my first back to school and with Hubby away - is a bit wacky so if I don't get a comment posted at your blog, forgive me and be patient! I am reading but don't have the time to type!

Trisha

Voice Update: I have speech today. I say that with a bit of a nervous feeling. Despite the fact that I HAVE been doing my massage and exercises pretty regularly lately (right?) my throat is a bit "crunchy." Normally, that is a sign that I haven't been massaging. I am worried that Susan is going to think that I have been slacking when I haven't! I don't know if the allergy bout I have been dealing with has caused some of the crunchiness or not. I have been sneezing a LOT lately and some of the sneezes seem to reach my throat. Also, I have drainage that causes me to cough -I try not to since coughing isn't good for your vocal cords (it isn't good for even healthy cords, by the way) but sometime I wake up coughing. I guess I will have to wait and see what Susan says.

Yeah!

Hi All!

Speech yesterday was good. Susan was pleased with how my voice sounded and how loose my neck muscles were. YEAH! I did tell her that I hadn't been that good about doing the massage three times a day consistently and she told me to work on that. However, she said it was much better than my previous appointment where she had to get all stern on me!

While at my appointment, Susan and I naturally talk about SD and it has gotten me thinking about the whole issue and a lot of stuff.

First of all, I am very grateful that I was led to Susan early in my "dance" with SD. I firmly believe that had I been given the run around that many SD patients are given and had gotten to Susan much later, I would not have been able to recover my voice like I have. Finding a speech therapist who understands SD and has experience treating it is hard to do. Also, finding a therapist who has had a number (albeit a small number) of AB patients is a major victory!

Next, I am grateful that I was able to stop working to recover my voice. Both Hubby and I are careful with our money and this has allowed me to be a "kept woman" for the past couple of years while I concentrated like a fiend on my vocal exercises. I can't imagine trying to continue teaching with a total lack of voice and then trying to find the time to do the exercises. I did teach for a couple months with no voice and it was so utterly exhausting that I would get home at the end of the day worn out and not wanting to do anything. Of course, I had a LOT of work to do for the next day so I could be prepared to teach without a voice again.

Another thing I am grateful for is my stubbornness. Many times it isn't a good thing to be stubborn but in this case, I honestly believe that my stubborn refusal to accept my lack of voice helped in my recovery. It made me determined to do everything I could possibly do to try to recover. It made me get "Mr. Timer" so I would do my exercises every hour, on the hour. It made me follow Susan's instructions to the best of my ability (sometimes I just couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do when I got home!). Who would have thought that such a character trait would work in my favor?

I am grateful for my support network: my Hubby (who should be sainted for being so supportive), my parents (especially Mom who would valiantly try to understand me as I barely produced a whisper on the phone!), my friend D (who also was good about the phone thing) and her daughter C (who is compassionate and understanding beyond her years), Susan (who spent almost as much time helping me deal with the emotional side of having SD as with the actual physical side), Lori (who helped me by being "just like me"), Dr. Stasney in Houston (who was oddly thrilled when I walked into his office with ABSD and then invited all of his interns in to listen to me try to talk). I am sure that there are others I have forgotten to mention - those who accepted my use of a microphone without too much comment, those who encouraged me to talk even when it was hard for them to listen, those who acted like it was normal for a person to order by writing things down instead of talking, those who didn't treat me like I was an idiot just because I had no voice. How could I be where I am today without any of these people? I have truly been blessed by God.

Finally, I am grateful that I can help others. Through my podcast, this blog, and my work with the SD support group (the one I started, not the one I am banned from), I have come in contact with so many nice and interesting people who have SD. I have shared my story with them and listened (not quite the right word since it is mostly via email) to their stories. In a small way, I like to think that I make a difference in their lives - if even for a moment.

All of this gratitude doesn't mean that there aren't times when I curse SD and the fact that I have it. I go through my "why me" stages and my "I hate everything and everyone" stages. I have days when my voice is bad and I am catapulted headlong into depression. There are times when I feel helpless to help people who contact me with SD because I simply don't know what to say or do.

Whenever I find myself in an "ungrateful" day, I have to stop, step back, and remember that my ABSD is here for good, no matter how wonderful my voice sounds on any given day. When I remember that I remember to think of SD not as an enemy but rather as a dance partner who sometimes lets me lead and who sometimes forces me to follow. If I can remember to dance instead of struggle, even when I am forced to lead, my SD isn't that bad. It is when I put up a fight that SD amps up the intensity to prove who is boss.

So, even though I don't usually know the steps, I keep dancing.

Trisha

Voice Update: Well, speech went well and my voice is doing really awesome. I am only at about 85% of where I was before I decided to be a dork and stop doing my exercises regularly but . . . that is better than nothing. I am still determined to get a handle on these exercises and massage so that they are a part of my routine that I do without thinking. It isn't looking too good right now but . . .I am really, really stubborn!

Kitty at Play and Speech

Hi All!

Here is Skor in his self-imposed "kitty jail." He jumped into the hamper and the lid closed. He couldn't figure out how to get out. Doesn't he look peeved?

And yet - do you think he will learn from this? I doubt it!

On to Speech. Well, I had an appointment yesterday for the first time in about a month (due to the holiday, etc.). Let me just say that Susan was NOT happy with my voice. Like I have been saying - it isn't doing really well. I have been having a lot of breaks, etc. Well, I got a good tongue lashing about how my recovery has been miraculous but that I can't just rest on my laurels (not exactly her words) now. I need to keep up a routine to make sure that my voice is at its best and so it doesn't backslide.

The thing that Susan really emphasized was the massage. When my larynx gets tight it makes talking harder and that just snowballs into "bad voice."

Of course, I KNOW all of this. I KNOW it but I procrastinate and don't DO it!

Well, I have been properly chastised and now I am determined to get myself on a good routine of massage and exercises three times a day (at least) with the "thumper" massager at least three times a week.

Hopefully, that will improve the state of things and keep my voice at its best.

Tonight is the last part of my ASL final. This is the written test covering history and grammar rules as well as the receptive part where the teacher signs things and we have to write down what she says. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Several of you have mentioned you would like to see me tell a story in ASL - I might get up the gumption to actually record something for you.

Trisha

Voice Update: It is better - I did some major massage yesterday with Susan and then I also did a session at home myself. On to the routine!!!

Back in Business - So to Speak!

Hi All!

I am back! For those of you who noticed that I didn't blog for a couple days . . .I am still alive. It was just some computer issues that Hubby and I had to take care of. For those of you who didn't notice . . .thanks a lot!

Here is the story in a nutshell. On Saturday, Hubby was streaming the Mount Union College football game when the computer just started acting nuts. He kept getting kicked out of the internet. For a couple of days he messed around trying to fix the problem himself. On Monday Hubby finally broke down and called the computer people who took over the computer and fixed it. On Tuesday morning, I wasn't sure if it was finished being fixed or not so I didn't blog. Today - I know it is fixed so, here I am!

Last night was the expressive part of my ASL final exam. That means that I "got" to tell a story to the teacher (and class) to be graded. I did pretty well - everyone in the class except for HER understood the story and laughed at all the right places. Of course, SHE didn't even try to understand my story so . . .nuts to her. The whole class was interesting considering that we had to evacuate the building twice due to fire alarms and the fact that it was literally freezing outside! Luckily, our class is small and we didn't have to actually do our test while the alarms were still going off (they went off for about 45 minutes the first time). Some classes were taking written finals and had to take them during the noise and chaos!

My friend "T" from class called me afterwards to tell me that she thought my story was the best of the class. Of course, I didn't get the best grade in the class - we only knew the grades that the two of us got but she got much better than I did. Typical for the teacher. I knew going in that there was no way that I was going to do really well. I will probably end up with an A in the class but . . . what a hassle it has been! At least Thursday is the last day. I think I might even study a little bit today for the test.

Last night while I was trying to fall asleep I thought it would be a good idea for the ASL department to publish vodcasts (podcasts with video) for the ASL students to be able to access at home for additional practice. In my dreamy state I even thought it might be a good job for me - editing the video and getting it online. Of course, I doubt that they have money to pay me and the college probably has tech people who could/would do the editing, etc. I still think it would be a good idea.

Then I thought that I should be getting busy on a new podcast of my own. I thought of a good title - "Can You Hear Me Now?" I think it will be a review of the info about the amplified phone and the microphone for people who may have missed it. I still need to get in touch with the doctor who gave the lecture at the NSDA symposium to see if I can use the recording I made on a podcast. I should probably do that today!

Later this afternoon I have speech - the first time in about a month. It should be interesting. My throat is not too loose and I am still having some "skips" in my voice. I don't think Susan will be too happy with me. Oh well!

I am sure that there are other things I wanted to "talk" to you about when I couldn't blog but . . . I can't think of anything else at the moment. I hope everyone is doing well and I will be trying to catch up a bit on my blog reading.

Trisha

Voice Update: I already told you I had speech today. I have been having problems with the unvoiced "p, h, and c's" and my throat has been awful tight. I am sure that Susan will "beat me up" by massaging my throat today. I wonder if I will be sore all week. Maybe I will get my thumper massager out and try to loosen things up a bit before I go.

Naughty Knees

Hi All!

How many "strange" hits do you think my blog will get with that title?

Anyway - my knees are being very naughty! I have had some trouble with my right knee ever since I fell off a chair when I was teaching second grade (NO - it did NOT have wheels - the hallway was just waxed and very slippery!). At that time I managed to pull and strain pretty much every ligament in my knee. Fun, huh? Well, since then my right knee bothers me when it is damp or cold.

Lately, that knee has even been bothering me when it isn't damp and cold. I am especially aware of the problem knee when I have been sitting for a while and then try to get up and walk somewhere. Then I feel the pain and a nice little "hitch in my giddy-up." Not too fun but - it works itself out in a short time and I am fine.

However, for the past two weeks my left knee has felt left out and has begun to hurt as well. It has started to hurt pretty much anytime that I bend it. Bending down to get something off the floor in class on Tuesday just about left me on the floor. Nice! Also, just being attached to my leg is apparently too much for my left knee - it hurts ( a lovely, dull ache) pretty much all the time.

I could deal with that - with some minor complaining to Hubby.

Then - this morning both knees conspired against me! I could hardly get out of bed! Between the left knee hurting like the dickens and the right knee sort of locking up - I had to look like a much, much older person trying to get up! What is going on here?

It is cold here today and it has been damp for the past week or so. I imagine my knees are protesting. I could also lose some weight to help them out. BUT they shouldn't be this bad! I am not even 40 yet!!!

Naughty Knees!

Trisha

Voice Update: Speech went well. My voice is still on track and very good. My throat was a bit tight but not locked up like it can get. At the end of the session - after some serious massage by Susan - my throat had loosened up quite a bit and talking was much easier. I am still sort of grumpy about talking but it is easier to talk! Maybe I will get on a new podcast today . . . . maybe!

A Peaceful Night

Hi All!

I slept like a baby last night - getting up once! Okay - twice!

Skor has found a nice sleeping place on my night stand (I had to clear it off so he didn't get into trouble with any books or stuff) and also found a good spot at the head of the bed between Hubby and me. He didn't bother us much at all - a little in the beginning of the night and a bit in the morning.

My other kitty - Miss Cleo - also found her place on the bed during the night. She slept at our feet. Well - she slept there until she had a hairball there at about 3:00 A.M. That was one of the times I got up. Today I will be washing the duvet cover!

In the morning, Miss Cleo came to snuggle at my side before I got up just like she used to before Skor came on the scene. Skor even left her alone for the most part. He did try to get my attention by lying on my chest and purring loudly but, he didn't attack Miss Cleo like he has been doing. I have to admit that I really like my moments with Miss Cleo before getting up to face "the world." They are calming and I love to hear her purr.

Yeah! It was a very peaceful night!

On the sign language scene, I went to lab yesterday morning. If you remember, I was planning on changing my normal times so that I could avoid having to work with HER. Well, so far, so good!

Lab yesterday morning was rather peaceful itself (I seem to have a peaceful theme going on today, don't I?). There were only about four students in the lab and one of them was another ASL 2 student (different class though). I worked with her and completed two different lessons. We had fun chatting in sign language and learning the new lessons. It was actually fun!

I plan on continuing my plan of avoiding HER and going in the mornings. It seems to be a good plan. Of course, I will still see her in class but my interaction with her is pretty limited there. I do wonder what I can do to make her understand that I am NOT joking around with her and that I don't really appreciate the way she jokes. Such difficult questions!

Let's see . . . there was something else I have been meaning to tell you . . . OH! I remember now! My iPod saga is finally completed (I hope!). I got a new (or reconditioned) iPod last week. I must admit that by this time I was in a horrible mood about the entire situation. I had NO desire to get the darn thing and probably wouldn't have if Hubby hadn't gone with me and basically gotten it for me. I didn't even want to take the thing out of the box.

Part of the reason for my horrible attitude was the fact that the last guy I talked to at Apple once again told me the problem HAD to be my computer despite the fact that I had done all kinds of things to ensure it WASN'T my computer! Another part was that I was afraid that it WAS my computer and that this iPod would be all messed up as well and then I would have to deal with the COMPUTER people!

Anyway - Hubby basically forced me to get the new iPod (it might be reconditioned - even the Apple people couldn't tell me which). Then, he laid on a nice, thick guilt trip that any mother would be proud of until I actually got the thing out and connected to my computer.

Luckily, it works! Perfectly! And it has been working for several days in a row - something that my old iPod couldn't do! I want to go back to the Apple store and say "Look at this! It ISN'T my computer you dorks! It was YOUR iPod that you said COULDN'T POSSIBLY be causing the problems! Nanny, nanny, boo-boo!"

Would that be immature?

Trisha

Voice Update: Okay - Hubby is worried. He isn't worried that my voice is getting bad (it isn't) but he is worried about my therapy. You see - therapy this week is cancelled because Susan is expecting her first grandchild and is there waiting for the induction and birth. I don't remember if it is her daughter or daughter-in-law and I don't remember exactly where the future grandchild is located. All I know is . . .no speech until October 15th. For those of you with calendars handy, that is a month from my last appointment. Hubby is worried that I will slack on my exercises - and I must admit that he may be on to something. I promise to get Mr. Timer out and get working today! I promise. Really!