Short Sunday

Hi All!

This is just a short post to tell you to be careful! Today I logged on and found that I had six comments from people I had never heard of. This isn't exactly unusual but they seemed a bit fishy. When I checked them out - they were SPAM! That is right! I got spammed on my blog!

Luckily, I review all my comments before they get published but I did decide to take off the code to post thing. Maybe I need to put it back on?

I am just wondering why in the world they would choose MY blog to SPAM? Weird,huh?

Just a word to the wise - check your comments to make sure you aren't getting SPAMmed too. What is the world coming to?

Trisha

Voice Update: I just woke up and haven't had time to figure out how my voice is doing but . .. so far, so good!

This Is What Happens . . .

Hi All!

What happens when you are frustrated by an amazing amount of hair and then go to get a haircut?

Yes, friends, THIS is what happens!

Actually, the cut isn't that much shorter than I have been getting for a while but the front, the little spiky bangs are much shorter - necessitated by my stunning lack of forehead! Also- keep in mind that I took this picture after taking a nap so the back is a bit weird (you can see a little funkiness happening right over my ear in the picture).

I should tell you that Hubby doesn't like the cut. He says it is too short. Personally, I am a bit on the fence. True, the cut is short but, my hair grows extremely fast and I know that within a week, it will be grown out quite a bit. That is why I get it cut short - it is a blatant attempt to stay away from the salon for at least six weeks.

Also - the picture is a self portrait and . .. well, I am just not that good at the whole taking a picture of myself thing. Rats!

In other news . . . have you seen the Geico ads with the money that looks at people? It sort of freaks me out while leaving me a bit bewildered. There is something that just isn't right about those commercials! They also make me wonder how much an advertising company is getting paid for putting little googly eyes on money. Were the advertising people a bit slap-happy one day and were messing around with their kids' toys when they came up with this idea?

Did I mention that Skor actually tried to eat my opal earring the other morning? For a while now, he has had a habit of pulling on my earrings while I sleep (yes, I sleep in my earrings because for some odd reason, the holes close up really quickly - even after 27 years - and by morning would be painful to insert earrings into). Skor particularly enjoys my diamond stud and my opal.

If I am not able to quickly cover my earrings, Skor gets a grip on them with his teeth an tugs. Not a pleasant experience for me! Well, the other morning I wasn't fast enough and Skor latched onto my opal. He tugged just hard enough and actually got the earring out of my ear!

Luckily, the back was still hanging around and Skor decided to spit out the opal rather than swallowing it. However, I still had to sterilize the thing before I put it back in my ear.

Weird cat!

Trisha

Voice Update: My throat is getting less crunchy with massage! YEAH! My voice isn't too bad - only the occasional skip when repeating or talking on the phone - both stressful things for a person with SD. I am planning on writing emails to both Oprah and Ellen telling them about SD and the upcoming World Voice Day. Maybe they will do something on their shows and help spread the word!

Hair, Hair, Hair!

Hi All!

This morning I had the "pleasure" of waking up with a big pouf of hair on my face. Since this isn't that unusual for my house, I casually brushed the pouf off and rolled over . . . into another big hair ball! Again . .. a casual sweep of my pillow and a roll to the other side. Only to be greeted by a nose full of kitty whiskers (they ARE hair, right?)!

Please don't think that my house is dirty - it isn't. Hubby sweeps every room pretty much daily in his never ending quest to conquer the hair. I dust and lint brush and clean as well. In fact, I think we spend more money on those little sticky lint rollers. We buy them in bulk from Sam's Club and go through about ten to twenty sheets a day!

No - our house isn't dirty. It is just . . . hairy! I guess having two medium to long hair cats is part of the reason. Well, MOST of the reason. Okay - pretty much ALL of the reason! The stray human hair gets into the mix once in a while but the tufts of white and brown fur are the basis of the problem.

Before anyone tells me I am complaining . . . I am NOT complaining. I fully understand that I chose this lifestyle by having cats. This blog is merely an observation of the results of that choice. I love my cats and don't regret getting them . . . most of the time. There are moments when I wish they would be transported to Mars but, in general, I am glad that they are around.

Back to the hair.

In addition to the regular amounts of cat hair that we deal with, Skor has decided to add another entry into the mix. He enjoys pulling hair from his fuzzy mouse and from the tail of his fuzzy rabbit. He can sit for literally an hour and methodically pull hair from these defenseless critters. The hair is left in pouffy piles around the house.

It is very obvious that this is NOT cat hair. The mouse is a weird beige-orange shade and the rabbit is a bright orange! While it is apparent that Skor enjoys this "de-hairing" both Hubby and I are mystified as to just why. Those two critters are Skor's favorite toys and you would think that by pulling the hair out of them, he would understand that he is ruining them. Of course . . . he IS a cat!

The little poufs on my face and pillow this morning were courtesy of the fuzzy mouse. Apparently, Skor was waiting patiently for me to get up and while he was waiting he was denuding the poor mouse's tail!

All of the hair is something that I generally take in stride but lately . . . I am getting a bit freaked by never having a single piece of clothing without at least one cat hair on it! Doing laundry is like preparing hides for processing . . . first get all the hair off the item . . . Not too much fun! There is even hair floating in the air inside my car. Now, the cats are never in my car unless they are in a carrier and you would think that the carrier would impeded the hair floating ability. Wrong! In fact, the hair stays hidden for weeks and then innocently floats by your face while you are driving. How nice!

Part of the hair issue, I must admit, is probably me as well. I am getting my hair cut this afternoon and I CAN'T WAIT! My hair has been driving me crazy. Which is probably why I am so fixated on hair.

Hmmmmm.

Trisha

Voice Update: The crunchiness is much less! I was massaging my little heart out on the way to classes yesterday and the crunchiness diminished! YEAH! Of course, now I need to keep massaging to keep the crunchiness at bay! My voice is doing pretty well. I am having some problems with having to repeat myself but, that is "normal" for me so . . . it is just life!

Why Do You Do It?

Hi All!

What were you thinking when you started writing (or reading) blogs? Did you want to change the world? Did you want to write literary masterpieces? Did you want to find the answer to all the problems in the world

A conversation I had recently with a woman I will call "Goetta Girl" started me thinking about blogs and their purposes. GG told me that she had started a blog but hadn't updated it in a long time because she wasn't an expert on anything. She couldn't blog because she wasn't an expert! Huh? I blog all the time, practically every day, and I certainly am NOT an expert on much, if anything.

Do you have to be an expert to blog? Do people who read your blog actually think you are an expert? If you do and they do . . . I am in BIG trouble around here!

My blog began as a way for me to express myself at a time when I quite literally couldn't do it in any other way. My voice wasn't very audible even though I was beginning to get a "real" voice again. Talking on the phone wasn't really an option because SD had robbed me of volume and most people didn't have the patience to actually listen to what I was saying so they could hear me.

There was never an intent to be an expert on my blog even though I did intend to spread information about Spasmodic Dysphonia to different people. I only write about what I know in my life and experiences. I write to express myself, to feel validated as a member of the communicating world, to vent. Basically, I just write to write.

As for reading blogs . . . I don't choose the blogs I read regularly because of their expert opinions or their literary quality - even though there are some blogs which show both characteristics frequently - I choose them because I like them. For some reason, I just plain like the blog. There is a connection there somewhere. There is enjoyment.

Why do you read and/or write blogs? I am curious!

Trisha

Voice Update: Still have that crunchy thing going on. It normally won't go away until Susan gets working on my neck and reaches those spots I just can't reach. So - until next Wednesday, I guess I will be crunchy! Massage and exercise. Massage and exercise! Massage and exercise!!!

Presentation . . . Complete!

Hi All!

Thank you all for your good wishes. I am feeling much better today after a good night's sleep only interrupted by two annoying kitties. Hubby just trotted out the door to have blood drawn for his doctor's appointment next week, the kitties are fed, I have a nice glass of orange juice on the desk and I am ready to blog!

After a long weekend of waiting, I FINALLY got my presentation for ASL 3 done. In fact, despite feeling rather bad, I volunteered to go first! A few times I was corrected by the teacher but he does it so nicely - compared to last semester's teacher - that I don't mind his corrections at all. About halfway through my presentation, my teacher's evaluator came into the room with an interpreter. It is very, very weird to be signing and have someone in the room voicing, albeit in a whisper, what you are signing. Strange! At least I didn't have any embarrassing topics to sign about. One poor woman had to sign about the prevention of AIDS and condoms and sex. She was NOT comfortable doing that with the evaluator in the room!

Anyway, I think that I did pretty well. Some of the other students said that I sign fast but I couldn't get them to tell me if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Oh well. The teacher, Henry (who is also the head of the ASL department, by the way) had a few things to correct at the end of the presentation but over-all I am relieved. The only bad thing is that because this was out first presentation, Henry said he would give everyone an a. So- how am I supposed to know how I did? At least now I won't be so nervous about presenting in front of the class and Henry!

In addition to the presentation, I also turned in a video of myself signing a magazine article. My article was about the increase in the population of wild turkeys (really!) and how they are starting to cause problems by entering suburban areas. These turkeys are huge - they can stand 4 feet tall - and can be very dangerous since they can peck and get you with their feet as well. In fact, one family has a hole in their door (a small one) where turkeys have pecked their way through!

Now, I HATE videoing myself but it is a requirement for fingerspelling class. I turned in the turkey article and got back the first video I turned in - twenty sentences with numbers and fingerspellings. Worth a total of twenty points, I got a nineteen. Not too bad! It seemed like a lot of work for only twenty points but who am I to quibble?

The college bookstore FINALLY got the last two books I needed in stock! I bought them for a ridiculously high price but by now I was willing to pay almost anything to get the darn things! Now I can do my homework! YEAH!

Last night Hubby bought a chicken and sides from Boston Market for dinner and had it waiting for me when I got home. If you haven't tried "the Market," you should. The chicken was moist and flavorful and the sides . .. well, you can never go wrong with mashed potatoes in my book. Besides, Hubby and I met at "the Market!"

It was a pretty good day despite the whole stomach issue. Of course, we did have a tense moment or two when it looked like a tornado might be headed out way. Hubby and I gathered the kitties and took shelter in our closet under the stairs for about half an hour. While not the most fun thing I have ever done it did give me a chance to play with the crank powered radio! We also formulated a better plan on just how to get kitties into the closet if and when we ever need to take shelter again.

Luckily, the tornado, if there was one, didn't come into our area and we only got some torrential rain and strong winds out of the whole thing. I know some people in southern Oklahoma got hit with tornadoes as well as some people in other parts of Texas. I hope they are doing well today.

Trisha

Voice Update: My throat is a bit "crunch" again and that is never a good sign but I persist with the massage so hopefully, that will help. My voice is good with hardly any pauses or misses. I did have some problems in Deaf Culture class when everyone was talking in groups and a member of my group needed me to repeat something. Darn!

Short and Sweet

Hi All!

Well, my stomach is still on the rampage so I will be making this a short post today. I just got off the phone with my mother and she is full of ideas about just why my stomach is giving me problems. All I know is that it isn't fun. At all!

I hope all of you are feeling better at the moment than I am!

Trisha

Voice Update: Surprisingly, my voice is doing well despite my feeling totally icky!

What is That Sound and It Must Have Been Something You Ate

Hi All!

Luckily, I was awake at about two in the morning when Hubby turned over and said "What's that sound?"

Since I had been awake for a while, I knew exactly what the sound was even though it has been a LOOOOONG time since it has been heard in this part of the world. The sound, my friends, was rain. Yes, rain.

Rain was thumping on the roof and rattling down the downspouts. When the wind shifted it pelted the window panes with tiny tinkles of sound. It was a symphony of watery sound.

It is understandable that Hubby was woken by the sound. It has been several weeks, or maybe even months since we have had rain. Each time the weather man tantalizes us with the possibility of rain, it misses us or manifests as a barely-there mist. This time, however, it was real rain. The kind that soaks you to the skin in less than a minute if you venture out to pick up the paper in its protective plastic bag.

Normally, I would tell you how much rain we have actually gotten to this point but, as I said during my date night, our rain gauge is broken and we can't find another.

Noble Pig - a rain gauge is just a hollow tube with inch measurements on the outside which catches rain. By noting how high the rain is in the tube you can tell how much rain you have gotten.

Our trusty rain gauge, which we have had for about ten years, finally gave up the ghost and cracked during out recent ice storm. Since Hubby is the kind of man who enjoys the weather station I gave him for his birthday several years ago, he also likes knowing exactly how much rain we have gotten. The online search for a rain gauge is on!

In other exciting news . . . my stomach is conspiring against my plans for this week to be the week when I am finally feeling back in control of my life. It all started late in the evening of my "date night" with hubby. Cramping and the feeling that everything in my body was becoming liquid before making a rather hasty exit. Nice, huh? I thought so too.

When I woke up on Sunday I felt better. Until I actually ate. Then . . . the cramping and liquefying began anew. Imagine the fun I had! Well, to increase my enjoyment of the whole experience, I also got the upgrade to "waking up multiple times during the night to visit the bathroom." Something that is soooooo "special!"

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night. Between the rain, the bathroom visits, and unusually restless cats (both decided to walk up and down my body pretty much all night long), I was able to log in about four hours of actual sleep. Goodness. This week is certainly beginning well, don't you think?

When I told Hubby I was still feeling rather "punky" this morning he responded with "It must have been something you ate." Gee - you think?

Trisha

Voice Update: Massaging away the day . . . that is the name of the game if you want good voice.