Monday, July 21, 2008

I Can't Think of a Title for this Post

Its been a while since I posted. So much going on so I will try to catch you up on what's been happening the last few weeks.
I finally made it to the ear, nose and throat Dr and he took a look at my vocal cords with a camera scope. It goes up your nose and down your throat and is uncomfortable at best. Yup, its annoying but at least the numbing spray really helps ease the discomfort. He told me that I had some nodules on my vocal cords and I need to see a Speech Therapist. He said that the nodules can occur for many different reasons and one is vocal abuse. Now, all of you out there will automatically think that it comes from yelling to much and yes that can be ONE of the reasons. I found out however that whispering puts more stress on the vocal cords than yelling. I never knew this. Also, since I had throat surgery a few years ago (thyroidectomy), my voice changed and was never the same. It was upsetting to me at the time because I have been a singer since age 6 and I was actually going to continue on to music school with my singing. I decided that even though I loved to sing more than anything, not to go to music school for fear that if anything happened to my voice I would be out of a job. Seems I made the right choice! The Dr also said that the area behind my cords were very red and inflamed from severe acid reflux. I say severe because I already take a medication for my acid reflex and its supposed to be a 24 hour medication. He suggested I go see my gastroenterologist and get an endoscopy. I am due for a colonoscopy also so I might as well get them both done at the same time to spare the torture of going in twice. Originally I was supposed to go into have a colonoscopy when I turned 35 because colon cancer is on both sides of my family and the Dr seems to think that we (my parents, me and my sister) might carry the gene for colon cancer. This is the reason he wanted me to have my first colonoscopy at 35. I had a few other things happen that delayed my colonoscopy but I promised that I would get one in the coming Fall/Winter.

Speaking of Dr's appointments, my next PET Scan is coming up due next month. Can't wait.

My Mom is doing the AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER for the third year in a row. Its a 40 mile race in NYC thats done over a period of 2 days. I was going to do it with her until my leg surgery in 2007 threw a monkey wrench in my plans. I can do a 5K walk, maybe even 10K but there is no way in hell at this moment in my life that I can do 40 miles even if its over a 2 day period. If I do to much walking now I get severe charlie horses in my thigh under the incision site. It sucks. Hopefully with me being on Weight Watchers and losing weight, I will be able to do the walk with my Mom someday. If anyone would like to donate to her walk, you can click on the link in my sidebar and it will take you directly to the AVON Website and my Mom's page where you can donate. She hasn't reached her goal yet but she has a few months to go. I am hoping that she raises more than her goal like the first year she walked. Last year I made up this whole plan on how I was going to get more donations for my Mom but it didn't work the way I had planned. This year I have a special offer for readers of my blog. I know that there are not that many out there but there are some. In no way am I as famous as the 'Yarn Harlot' or Ann and Kay of 'Mason-Dixon Knitting'. If I was I would have a hell of a lot of money raised!

This is what I am proposing. Anyone who reads my blog and donates to my Mom's walk can e-mail me with your name and amount donated. For every $10 you donate you get a raffle ticket put into my magic hat. After my Mom's walk I will have a few prizes raffled off using all the names in my magic hat. The more people donate, the more prizes there will be. Since most readers of my blog are knitters I think yarn and knitting related prizes will be part of the raffle. Maybe even some of CurlyBrunette's Creations Stitch Markers and Jewelry designs will be a part of the prizes. I am hoping this will help my Mom reach or even surpass her goal. This raffle is only for readers of this blog who donate and then send me their info via e-mail. My e-mail link is on my profile page. I know times are tough right now with everything being so expensive and all but I want you all to know that any amount is greatly appreciated and its going to a wonderful cause. Someday soon we will eradicate this horrible disease.

This is Knit Picks Bare DK weight Superwash Wool that I dyed with some Kool Aid and extra food coloring. Not bad for a first time dyeing experience hey? I gave it to my neighbor so she could crochet something with it. I knew she would love the color and she needed some cheering up. She was so surprised to hear that the color came from Kool Aid! I cant wait to see what she makes.

Kool Aid Dyed Knit Picks Yarn

I finally finished my Garden Anklet socks from my LYS-Knitting Central's Sock Club! These were made with Colinette Jitterbug in the Florentine colorway. I also had some leftovers which surprised me since the yardage with Jitterbug is skimpy at best. I LOVE this yarn and how it knits up and I will definitely be using more of it in the near future.

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Here are my No Pearl Monkeys made with Blue Moon Fiber Arts-Incredible Shrinking Violet colorway. I decided not to use the pattern that came with the yarn. The pattern was Cleopatra's Stockings by Yarnissima. After all the chatter about it being a little of a challenge I decided to use a different pattern. I will probably knit it in the future but I wanted to make sure I was finished with these by the time the next ones came along. The new kit is due to arrive soon since its the 3rd week in July already. I am hoping this next color is one we havent yet received such as PINK, which happens to be my favorite color. Whatever it is I am sure I will love it.

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Another thing I hate to admit since I said I wasnt going to do something that I did. Well, I wanted to get my hair cut the way I used to-the Curly Girl Method invented by the head Curly herself, Lorraine Massey. Up until I discovered Devachan in NYC (thats her salon) I was abusing my curls and straightening all the time. I bought her book, The Curly Girl Handbook in 2002 and within a week I had an appointment with Carlos, one of her top stylists that trained under her wing. He was AWESOME and FABULOUS and I never loved my hair more. I let it grow to my waist and I only needed it cut every 6-8 months. Then it became harder for me to go to the city so I changed over to a stylist up here in CT where I live. SInce my hair was all one length at the time it was easy to trim. This guy I started to go to was fabulous but after chemo I didnt need to see him for a LONG time. After my hair grew back I got attached to another stylist who is also great but sometimes can be a bit scissor happy. He is still great none the less. Anyway, I wanted to go for a Curly Cut last week but no one had anything available so I caved in and went to the guy who used to cut my all one-waist-length hair. He didnt do a good job and cut my bangs so short that when they attempt to curl up they look really bad. I am so pissed at myself I could spit especially since I have a wedding to go to in September. I hate when I get impatient with myself and act upon my impulses. This is why I need to be patient and let it grow. Sometimes a bad cut can turn good once an inch or two grows in. After it grows in I think I need to either return to Carlos, Devachan, or another Deva trained stylist. I will not make the same mistake twice.

1 comment:

Montreal Mama said...

My STR kit arrived today. I'll be blogging it tonight if you still want a sneak peak :)