Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk

Pink Floyd, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 1987

Gentle Reader, I know that I promised you a happy post but then my husband left town for work, I came down with some Scary Stomach Thing and attended a funeral.  All in one week.

However!  All is not lost.  I can still make this happy - you just watch.  At a minimum, I can let you laugh at my misery, right?

So!

Last Friday, after a week of pain, nausea and puking, I shuffled off to the Urgent Care of Olathe facility (since I have a long, sordid history of getting less than stellar treatment from my own doctor and no, I have not yet changed doctors because I am nothing if not efficient when it comes to my health care and Sweet Baby Confuscious, I need to get A NEW DOCTOR already)

Fortunately, the Urgent Care here is so very incredibly efficient and caring and lovely that I was left wondering if I could just designate THEM as my primary care from now on.  They took my concerns seriously and got right to work on identifying the traitorous body organ.  The most likely suspect is Ye Olde Gallbladder, but he is still under the bare lightbulb of questioning.  I am hoping to have answers by the end of this week.

In the meantime, I am going to slap up some Simain Snaps and a quickie bullet-list of Things That Made Me Happy Last Week.  Despite some minor setbacks, I have not lost perspective of how precious my life is.

• First and foremost, I am so excited that I've signed up with the Social Media Club of KC to walk with their team for the March of Dimes on May 1st  My personal goal is $200, our team goal is $5000 and you can donate here (Credit card/debit card/ Pay Pal are accepted - how easy is that?)  I have always wanted to do this walk and this is the year.  Because of my Benedict Arnold body, I can't do the Dorothy Dash 5k I had registered for next week, but I know that come hell or high water, I can and will walk a measly mile for the March of Dimes.  You have my word on it.  I don't beg for much on this site, but this is me, begging.  Please, please donate.
• Despite being sick, I was so grateful that I was able to attend my great-uncle's visitation and funeral services last week. These days, it takes either a coffin or a turkey to get ALL of us in a room together and if I had missed last week's celebration of my great-uncle's 84 years worth of life, I would also have missed out on seeing some family members I rarely get to see these days.  My family is crazy, dysfunctional and there is always a bit of in-fighting that ramps up as emotions run high.  However, I love my family and I genuinely like hanging out with them.  Also, I appreciate that we use funerals as a time to laugh and remember the good times, too.  Laughter through tears is the best emotion, right?
• Recently, I discovered a game called Quell.  OH MY.  This is SO challenging, yet relaxing.  I have to admit that as much as I love Angry Birds, it makes me tense and anxious. Until I finish ALL the levels in Angry Birds, I am not satisfied...I cannot rest.  Quell?  Not so much.  If I am stuck on a puzzle, I am emotionally capable of putting it down for awhile to think about it.   
• Since my birthday is this month, I have been "treating" myself to "purchases".  A new handbag?  Yep.  And it is so much smaller than my other bags - it just barely fits my necessities that I carry at all times: my wallet, Moleskine, phone, 2 reusable shopping bags, a few tubes of lipstick and the Kindle.  Diapers and kid toys need not apply (although, I do still have room for their mints.) I almost feel human carrying this thing.  And since shoes and handbags go together like peas and carrots, I splurged on a new pair of sandals which are red.  For someone who normally buys her shoes in shades of black and brown, that is a pretty huge step for me.  Excuse the pun. (Note: I feel compelled to point out I got the handbag on sale at Dillards and did not pay the full price on that link.  Jeepers!)
• There is a Twilight Lane in my neighborhood.  Every time I pass it, I smile and hope fervently there is a dreamy-eyed teenaged girl living in one of the houses on it.
• One of the side effects of my traitorous body is this irresistible urge to get my entire frocking house in order. I suppose that since I am feeling somewhat normal-ish, I want to get things in order in case I re-up with the Toilet Brigade. The past few days, I have been on a ridiculous cleaning and organizational bender. I am so obsessed,  I even invested in another box of black trash bags so that I can get rid of even more crapola.  Yes, I use black bags, so that Team Chaos cannot spy their toys inside. You know the drill - a toy that has not seen any action for years will gain a new life if there is even a hint of its permanent removal.   

And.....I promised some simian snappage.


The Eyes Have It

I swear this girl's face is made from rubber.  I wish I could get snaps of ALL the weird expressions she makes.

The Hiding Place

This is her "secret" hiding spot (keeping in mind that that I sit just to the left of this picture). The other day, I could see that her feet weren't moving and I went to investigate.  We could all use a little napping spot, I suppose.

Kicked to the Curb

One of the things stressing me out last week was the fact that a charity was coming by on FRIDAY to pick up stuff.  I mean, how cool is THAT - someone coming to my HOUSE to take AWAY my junk? Fortunately, I was at least functional enough last Thursday to haul everything out.  

Hell, That's HAIL

The other morning, I found two bowls of hail in my freezer.  Ah, to have a 5 year old in the house.  Also, I can't resist pronouncing "hell" and "hail" the same - just like Clay Davis from The Wire.  AMEN.

The Team of Chaos

Oh my God, you guys.  All the smiles and giggles are what kept me going last week.
What on earth will I do when they leave me?