Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Blessings

I'm up in the wee hours of Christmas morning. I thought I would come post some thoughts while I wait for the chaos that is the merriment of Christmas morning in Great Falls, VA, to begin.

Today(yesterday, Monday, Christmas Eve) at work we were talking about our holiday traditions, both present, and from childhood. There were only a few of us working, but it was very interesting to me to hear how varied and diverse these holiday traditions are, and how much they change, and stay the same, over the years.

What I told my work friends was about my awesome memories of Christmas Eve at my Granny & Papa's house. My brother and I were the only grandchildren and only niece/nephew for 9 years (until Heather came along and ruined it all for us, i mean blessed us with her beautiful presence! hehe). I am the oldest of 13 grandchildren. And every year all/most of my mothers brothers and sisters (and later their wives/husbands and children) would gather at my Granny & Papa's house for Christmas Eve.

It was *magical* for me. I think I loved Christmas Eve as much or more than Christmas Day! *Everyone* was there (mostly). Some years we had a big dinner, which was painfully long for my brother and I (and our cousins when they started coming along over the years) because we couldn't start opening presents until the table was cleared and the dishes were cleaned. It took sooooooooo looooonnngg. I can remember running up and down the hallway of their shotgun double on Friscoville from the front room to the kitchen checking on the progress of the cleaning. Finally it was time to open the presents. Being the only granddaughter/grandson and only niece/nephew for 9 years was totally awesome. We were showered with gifts! One package after another! And when my cousins came into the world it was actually fun to share Christmas Eve with them because they were little babies and little kids and by then I was a teenager and the little ones really helped to keep the magic of Christmas alive in our celebrations.

After my Papa died in 1987(? now that's just wrong that I'm not completely sure of that date :( ), our Christmas Eve celebration moved to my Uncle Randy's house. This was done to take the pressure off my Granny, etc. And even though I was an adult, already a school teacher, the change did not sit well with me. After all, I had spent my entire life experiencing Christmas Eve one way, and this was a major change. But just like I got used to and learned to enjoy my first cousins sharing Christmas Eve with my family, I learned to enjoy our new version of the Celebration.

I only went to one (maybe 2 my memory is foggy for various reasons related to grief and depression) family Christmas Eve celebration after my mother died in 1992. I was still consumed with grief and had absolutely no desire to participate in a family ritual without her. The following year, 1993, my Granny was in the hospital over Christmas. I remember visiting her in the days before Christmas, I remember the beautiful knitted sweater overlay she bought me that year and how she smiled when I wore it to visit her. She died shortly after new years 1994 and I don't recall attending the annual Christmas Eve party again for a while. Perhaps to pop in and say hello. But without my mother and my granny it simply wasn't anything close to Christmas for me.

In the years following my mother and grandmother's deaths our family traditions continued to change. Her brothers and sisters families were growing, my cousins and I were adults and some of them were starting their own families. The last Christmas I spent with my mother's brothers and sisters gathered together was in 1998 in Ocean Springs, MS, and that wasn't held on Christmas Eve, it was on a Saturday a few weekends before Christmas when all/most of them could get together.

Today, each of the Odinet brothers and sisters have their own traditions that are growing and changing as their family grows and changes. Many of those traditions were changed again by Katrina in 2005.

For me, Christmas took on a whole new meaning in 2000 when my nephew Richard was born. I was absolutely shocked when my brother invited me to spend Christmas with them that year. And that has become my tradition! This marks the 8th year I have spent Christmas in the DC area at the Gauthier/Diely family Christmas celebration. It took a few years to convince Grandpa he needed to come for Christmas as well. Christmas eve is not a huge production like it was in my childhood. Tonight was a simple takeout dinner, Grandpa and I kept the kids for my brother and sister-in-law to go to a neighborhood party, we put out milk, cookies, carrots and cheese for Santa
and his reindeer, and the kids were packed off to bed. Miraculously no one trotted down the stairs to check on Santa once they settled in (Richard usually needs water or something so he can see whats up down here!). Then Grandpa, Aunt Christine, Mommy and Daddy worked feverishly as Santa's elves to make everything perfect for Christmas morning.

I think it is going to be a wonderful Christmas morning. At 7, 5 and 2, the kids are at wonderful ages. They still live the magic of Christmas.

And so I sit here, in the wee small hours of the morning, reminiscing about old times, tearing up a few times, smiling a whole lot, and counting my blessings. I am here with my family of 2007, waiting for the pitter patter of little feet to come running down the stairs any minute now. I am miles and miles away from other family, but I am thinking of each of them, wondering what new traditions are starting and being continued for them. And I am thinking of my growing family of choice, my wonderful friends scattered about the country spending Christmas with their families and their traditions. I am truly blessed in 2007 to have so many wonderful people filling my life. I have a LONG list of people I want to talk to on Christmas Day. Too long, if that's even possible!
I hope each and every one of you is waking up this morning to your own Christmas blessing! And I would LOVE to hear about *your* Christmas traditions both old and new!

Here's a small bit of silliness at the end of my post.....I misspelled traditions every time I wrote it in this post as *tradtions* LOL. I'm sleep deprived!

Love y'all!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

FREE FREE FREE Advice

DON'T GET THE FLU!!!

I woke up feeling fine Monday morning, had a sore throat at noon, went home feeling awful at 2 and woke up barely able to swallow with chills and fever at 7. I spent the rest of the week in bed.

I'm quite disgusted by it because I've been working hard to take better care of myself and eat healthier, etc. Sigh. I know, I will still work on making the good healthy choices for myself.

My dad is in town for the holiday. We took the kids to Toys R Us where Grandpa let them pick out 2 things each. It was a riot! We had alot of fun and were totally worn out by the time we got home (the adults, not the kids!).

If you don't hear from me, or I don't answer my phone for the next couple of days, its because I'm still fighting laryngitis left over from my flu.


I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas that is filled with laughter and joy,peace, and love!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

And here I was thinking I didnt have anything important or interesting to share!

Well it's been a while since I blogged, and I was sitting here staring at my computer knowing I needed to blog and thinking....'but I don't really have anything to say right now'! Wrong! There's LOTS I want to share. /me shakes my head :)

OK, so, first off I want to apologize to 2 important people in my life for 'forgetting' their birthdays. I knew they were coming and had great intentions, but the stupid snow blew my mind and I completely forgot. So, Nanny and Karen, so sorry to have missed your big day!

Speaking of Karen, she ran the Honolulu Marathon last Sunday! Isn't that amazing! She turned Hawaii 3-0 on the 5th and finished her 2nd Marathon on the 9th! I have amazing friends. You can read about it at Karen's blog if you are interested.

This past Friday we had our department work Christmas/Hanukkah party with a lovely gathering at my boss' house for a potluck luncheon. Everyone in the department was there and we had a fun time. We picked names for Secret Santa's (or Secret Jew as my friend Jen named herself! lol). We ended up picking names 3 times because we couldn't seem to get the right number of people, and it turned out our boss forgot to put her name in the first 2 times! At the beginning of last week I had a funny idea but thought it was too silly and didn't share it with anyone at first. But I was tired one evening after a long day and some of us were being deliriously silly so I told a few of my work friends about it and they loved it, so we decided to do it with an important twist. My idea was for all of us to pretend we had my boss' name and when we started exchanging gifts to start arguing about who had her etc. My friend Andrea had an idea for an important twist to the joke, we would take things from her desk and 're gift' them to her! Well let me tell you, everyone thought it was a great idea and it was HILARIOUS! At first she said, "well I have a couple of extra gifts in the basement for whoever doesn't get a gift in the mix up. Then she thanked people genuinely for the 're-gifts' until someone commented "do these look at all familiar to you?" Then she realized it was all a joke. This was before she got to my re-gift....her nametag! We all had a good laugh and had fun doing the real gift exchange.

I had the new girl, our new tech who started about a month ago. I don't know much about her at all, but her list asked for Bath and Body Works so that was easy, and it said 'I am in love with butterflies', so I decided to make her a scrapbook project using a butterfly motif. I used very colorful papers and a 9inch accordion album. It came out really well. Of course I didn't finish it until after midnight Thursday night and forgot to take pictures. She really liked it alot, as did many of my coworkers. I got lots of compliments and even a couple of requests to have scrapbooking get togethers when I come back to DC next summer to work for a few months again! It was really cool!

Another important factoid about our holiday party: I didn't eat any sugar! Lots of sweets, even in my gift from my boss (which i politely left on her end table!) I decided Friday morning that if I started on sugar on Friday at the party I would have alot of trouble staying away from the sugar this weekend while I was staying with the kids overnight. So I made sure to eat the non-sugar items until I was full so I wasn't hungry when they started eating the very delicious looking desserts! I'm really proud of myself. Tonight makes 3 weeks since I've had sugar! And, I've lost another pound! 42# total! One more and I will have met my goal that I set at Thanksgiving to lose another 5 pounds before Christmas. I can do it!!

Do, and playing with I kept the kids overnight Saturday while my brother and sister in law went to a holiday party and stayed overnight in DC. We had alot of fun doing arts and crafts, playing XBOX, watching Scoobylegos. My dad will be here next weekend for Christmas and I think he is going to be amazed at how much all 3 have grown, but especially how much Jacqueline has changed and how much more verbal (and willful!) she is. I think it's going to be a fun Christmas for all 3 kids this year! And for Grandpa and Aunt Christine!

Today I continued to push the envelope and my own limits by having my first ever manicure and pedicure. Yes, you read that right, I allowed another human being to touch my feet! My friend Michelle was right there with me, talking me through it. It wasn't so bad, though I didn't really *like* it. It's something I will have to get used to, and I plan on just that, getting used to it! I didn't get any color on my finger nails because even thought I'm 42, I still pick at nail polish on my fingers (yes, I know, bad habit). But I did get a very light pink on my toe nails, Wiki Wachee Fawn, yes the names they come up with for nail polish! Here is the evidence that it really happened:
I'm going to go back to the spa with Michelle one more time before I leave. I know I'm going to have another facial because I really liked that, and I'm not sure what else.

9 more work days here in DC. I will be heading south on or about Jan 2. But I don't know my destination yet. Hopefully I will by the end of the week.

I hope everyone has a good, safe, and not to hectic week before Christmas!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

SNOW DAY !!!

Yes you read that right! My worst fears about living in DC came true yesterday. It snowed! An Alberta Clipper came through and we got snow all day long, from before 6am til after 9pm. It was crazy! The rooftops and trees were already covered in white when I got up to check the weather at 6am. I had talked to a coworker who lives in Virginia who had offered to come get me from my apartment on her way to work. Thankfully she was serious and she came to get me mid morning. By the time we left last night it was snowing like mad, big fat wet fluffy flakes. It was dark and hard to see with the snow coming down so fast. I really felt bad making her go out of her way to drop me off before she went home, but she didn't complain at all. This morning my boss called me to tell me not to drive because of the black ice out there. I was trying to wait to let the sun melt some of the snow off, but after she called me I called my friend and she came to get me again. The roads were still somewhat dangerous tonight because of the temperatures dropping into the 20s before I even left work, which caused the snow that had melted to refreeze and cause more black ice on the roadways. I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring. But I will catch a ride if it's not safe to drive.

Here are some pictures from my day:
This was the view out my apartment window Wednesday morning

This was from my ride to work through Rock Creek Park Wednesday


This was the view from my desk at work Wednesday noontime when I finally got in to work


This was the view of the back yard of the nursing home

This was my car when I got home Wednesday night


This was me after a long snow day

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Sooooooo Much to share with you all!

I don't even know where to start, there is so much I want to share.

Well, lets start with a picture of my new eyes and new eyebrows. I got some hip new eyeglasses and got my eyebrows waxed (gasp, yes I really did!). This is a picture I took on my cell phone of myself. . .

Hmmmm, what else? Oh here's some exciting news . . . as of today I've lost 41 pounds!!! Yes, you read that right, 41# since coming to DC! My goal is to lose 2 more pounds and maintain that through the Christmas holidays. I'm working hard to stay off the sugar, and let me tell you, the sugar is *everywhere* right now, but its totally worth it! Go me!

More great news: I got my Florida OT license! So I will be heading to sunny Florida for my next assignment. I'm hoping to be close to one of my best friends, Ann, in West Melbourne. I should get the list of the current traveler openings on Monday and we start working on a new job for me from there.

Even more exciting news: I've been asked to join the Design Team at my favorite scrapbook store, Scrappersaurus. What does this mean? Well, they send me goodies to play with and create with, then I send back what I've made to be displayed in the store and online to help customers get ideas of what to do with various items! Its quite an honor and I'm so excited. I've already gotten my first 2 boxes of goodies and I have been working hard on some really neat layouts and projects. I love it because its making me think out of the box as well as reinvigorating my love of scrapbooking, stamping and papercrafting.

It's brrrr cold up here in DC right now. The high today was 45 and there was/is freezing rain north and west of here. There is a 30% chance of snow showers one day later this week, yikes! Only 4 more weeks for me to avoid winter precipitation! Pray for no snow or ice before January 2008!

Ok, time to make some dinner. Stay warm, or for those of you sweating it out in the south, stay cool! And GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Giving Thanks

Homesick.....finally.

I had a really nice Thanksgiving dinner tonight with my brother's family. Delicious meal and great company. A really nice dinner but I missed having Thanksgiving dinner with my dad. I talked to him today. But I am homesick tonight. It's really the first time since I've come here to DC to actually feel homesick. It's ok, its a good thing :)

I have to work tomorrow...yuck. While I am thankful to be able to work as a traveling OT and be working here in DC, I am NOT thankful to be working tomorrow! LOL

I am also thankful for the support and love of my family and friends. I hope everyone has had a good safe Thanksgiving!

Blog again soonly....

Monday, November 19, 2007

Struggling

I'm struggling. I'm ok. Not good. Not bad. Sigh.

It's not any one big thing, its alot of little things. Am I homesick? Not much, maybe a little. Am I disappointed about Hawaii, a little, but not as much as you would think. Am I frustrated by my current work situation, yeah but not enough to put me in a funk. Am I affected by the grey weather outside today? Yeah a little, but its just a little thing. One of many little things. Am I stressed out waiting for my Florida license to come through? Yeah, but its just a waiting game. Am I missing Zeus? Yes I am and I'm starting the process to get another pet. Have I been worried about my health? yes, but I have a plan and its moving forward.

So, as you can see, there are lots of things on my mind. None of them huge or overwhelming on its own. Put the little things together, I'm feeling a little blue, a little down, and I'm struggling. Feeling lots of different things all at once. No fun at all. And I'm craving sugar to just make it go away. Doesn't help sugar seems to be everywhere I look lately. Lots of snacks at work, families giving us food filled with sugar. It seems to call out to me. Chris, Chris, you know you want to eat me, you know I will make you feel better. Lies in my head. They are 'just' feelings. They will pass. Sugar wont help anything. Only make it harder to make healthy choices in the days to come.

I called a couple of friends and left messages tonight, made a commitment to no more sugar, chatted online with another friend, journaled, sat with my feelings, looked at the lies in my head and saw how far from reality they are, despite how strong their message is inside, blogged here about it. I'm tired. I'm going to go lay down and try to get some rest.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Blustery Day

Today was a blustery day in the metro DC area. I was driving up Connecticut Ave this morning on the way to work and the leaves of many colors were raining down upon my car as I drove and the wind swirled them all around. It was a beautiful magical experience. And a great way to start a Friday morning.

The leaves here are amazing. They are literally *everywhere* right now. Huge piles swept up at curbs and edges of properties. I used to rake leaves for my Maw Maw in her small yard on Lebeau Street. Magnolia leaves that fell and needed to be raked year round. These leaves are different. All shapes and sizes and the most beautiful colors imaginable. It's amazing to me and the locals say its a tame year for the colors. I sometimes drive through Rock Creek Park and through a couple of residential neighborhoods on my way to work. I can get mesmerized by the leaves swirling around. Not a good thing to happen while driving!

I had no idea how beautiful autumn could be until now. I remember as a teenager/ young adult, my mom used to say the only place you saw fall colors in New Orleans was a little patch of land right before the big green (now grey) bridge over the now infamous MRGO heading from St. Bernard to New Orleans East. If you looked hard left right at the foot of the bridge there were a few trees that actually changed colors and it was like a scene from a picture postcard. I doubt seriously its still there in this post Katrina world. It was beautiful, but completely incomparable to what I see on a daily basis here.

So I'm very thankful to here to experience fall for the first time. I originally extended here through the end of the year to leave my options open for the Hawaii possibility. That possibility no longer exists as that facility has hired OTs and will not be needed an OT traveler anytime soon. Maybe someday, but it won't happen for me soon.

I'm antsy to move on to my next adventure. I love the rehab team I'm working with right now and I'm making some really cool friends here. And I'm *loving* fall. But I know my next adventure is waiting out there for me with a new place to live, new friends to meet and hopefully old friends and family to visit. The holidays and heading toward us full steam ahead. I've got about 6weeks left here in DC. Where I go next is to be determined, but we will start looking seriously in 2 weeks.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Interesting week

So the last week has been a full one. In particular the 3 days following my birthday were filled with lots of activity. I actually had a gall bladder attack my birthday night. Woke up in pain in the middle of the night. Not so painful to go to the emergency room, but enough to sit up for a few hours, uncomfortable and troubled. It was a "wakeup" call in more ways than one. Certainly it woke me up and rendered me tired and crabby the next day at work. But more importantly, it made me really take a look at my health and my eating habits, yet again.

I'm not used to being sick anymore. My family may remember when I was constantly sick with some sinus related issue or another. But those days are gone. And despite my weight, I've been blessed with relatively good health. Until the past few weeks. And, in the midst of the uti issies and now my gall bladder, my blood pressure was up and of course my cholesteral was too high. Sigh.

I've actually been doing well on the weighloss realm. I've lost a total of 32 pounds since arriving in DC, about 20 of those since I decided to really work on eating healthier. I stalled when I got sick and since then, but didnt gain, which is a good thing. But I'm just really worried about my health. I'm 42 years young, but my body feels 42 years old now and its not tolerating my weight very well anymore.

I spent the day after my birthday feeling dejected and defeated. I journaled alot while I was up most of the night with my gall bladder hurting. And I decided I needed to at least consider the option of weight loss surgery. This is something I really haven't considered an alternative for me. I feel like we (as in the the world) don't know enough about the long term issues that come from these surgeries that alter our interal systems so drastically. Also, I've been successful in the past in losing alot of weight, so I want to do it through healthy eating if I can.

By Saturday, I was feeling better physically, and emotionally as well. I realized that while I want to continue to eat heathier, I need to explore all the possibilities out there to help me get to a healthier body size. And I need to get back on track with my plans for healthy eating in the here and now as well as safe and healthy movement. No matter what I decide to do, I need to be able to make healthy food and movement choices. And, no matter what I decide to do it will entail a long term, permanent commitment to those healthy options and choices.

So, I've spent the last week trying to really redouble my efforts at making good choices about food, and trying to be more active just in everyday life. Such as actually doing the dowel exercises with my patients and parking a little further down so I walk just a few more steps each day. I don't get on the scale again until tomorrow morning, but I can see a difference in my uniforms, so I think it's been a good week.

Besides my health, my other disappointing moment was the news that Hawaii is not going to happen in terms of a travel OT assignment. Disappointing. But only in small ways. Now I can focus on other options. Including possibly spending 3 months in Florida near one of my best friends, Ann, and Mickey! Or somewhere on the Gulf Coast, or back in Louisiana. It will probably be after thanksgiving that I get to start looking in earnest for a new assignment location, which will be somewhat dependent on where my licensure comes through the fastest. Procrastination rules...NOT!

Saturday afternoon my brother and sister in law hosted a lovely dinner party for my birthday! Nana and PopPop Deily were there with Nana's famous birthday cake, and Barbara cooked me a great dinner. Rich took the boys shopping for me. They each picked out a different winter scarf for me. Lucas was giving me hints about what they got me earlier in the evening. His hint was: it goes all over you. Isn't that a good hint for a scarf?! I have a picture or 2 to share somewhere, I will try to post them soon!

My work week was long and got busier and longer each day. I've got several tough patients who take alot of physical and emotional energy right now. I worked late a couple of days. But I did make it to the eye doctor this week. I haven't had new glasses since 1996, and I haven't had an eye exam since before the storm. The Optometrist, Dr. Bruce Kellner, is the father of the SLP I work with, Jen. He was great! I had a thorough exam and he helped me pick out the most fabulous new frames for new glasses and sunglasses! I will post pictures with them as soon as I get some!

Time for bed! I hope all of you are having a great weekend!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

It's My Birthday!

Nice day at work, fun dinner with work friends. Phone calls from loving family and friends. My 42nd birthday has been a success. Thanks to all of you who emailed or called or thought of me today!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!

I got off work a little early today and jumped into the traffic to ride out to Virginia to see the kids get ready for trick or treating! Lucas was so excited he could hardly stand it. Jacqueline really had no idea what was going on and was overwhelmed at times. After a quick supper of cereal it was time to donn the costumes. First Darth Vadar (Lucas), then Storm Trooper (Richard) and finally Tigger (Jacqueline). I said I thought she should have been Princess Leia or at least Padme, just to keep it all in the Star Wars family! We took a couple of quick pictures then they headed out for trick or treating with neighbors and I headed home.

Tomorrow night a bunch of us are going out to dinner after work for my birthday, which I'm excited about. This weekend my brothers family is having a birthday party for me. Next weekend I am going for my first ever facial and manicure with my friend Michelle. It's nice to be here with family and new friends to celebrate my birthday.
I hope you all have a safe Halloween!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Happy Birthday Nana!

On Saturday, 10/06/07, Nana aka Rosemary Deily (my brother's mother-in-law) celebrated her 80th birthday with her family and friends! It was a very cool shindig and a good time was had by all. Her daughter Terry Geck flew in from San Francisco (as a not so surprising surprise...ruined by her husband telling Nana Terry had her ticket!). And her grandson Kevin got a ride up to Great Falls, VA from Duke to go to Nana's party (a big surprise!). And one of Nana's college friends, Susie was there too. It was alot of fun and very interesting to listen to these two octogenarians sharing stories of going to parties, meeting their husbands, raising their children, etc.

Nana's family all put in together to buy her a huge portrait of the entire picture taken this summer at the beach. It was beautiful. And, apparently, in this age of the digital picture, the portrait was actually pieced together from several shots so that everyone's eyes were open and facing the right direction, etc.


I made Nana this box of greeting cards for her birthday. It was really nice when she called me to thank me again for them a few days later. She is such a sweet lady.


Other October Birthdays in my family include my kind and wonderful Aunt Rosemary, my Uncle Candy, my cousin Bert, my godchild Meridith's daughter Eva. Hmmm, I hope I'm not forgetting anyone else!


And 1 week from today, I will be 42!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Monday 10/1/07

Back to work today and except for a brief period of fatigue in the afternoon, it was business as usual. My friends and my patients were glad to see me, and I felt the same way about seeing them. Glad to be feeling back to normal. Going for labwork in the morning to make sure everything has cleared up with the infection. I certainly feel like it has, finally.

So, the title of today's blog refers to the date 3 weeks ago today. That Monday was the first day that I realized I did in fact have a uti and that i needed to get some medical treatment for it. I called in late to work so I could wait to hear from my doctor and go pick up my prescription to start it before I went to work.

While I was waiting to hear from her, I went online to read the paper at Nola.com, which I do everyday to try to stay informed about happenings at home. The 'headline' of the online newspaper stated that Jefferson parish sheriff Harry Lee had been hospitalized over night and was in serious condition. Harry Lee had been fighting an aggressive leukemia. This news saddened me. Harry Lee is a local political legend/icon. When I lived in Metairie, La., I used to joke that I lived in Harry Lee Land. When I returned home after work I came online to check email and the newspaper again. As I was sitting down I wondered if I would find news of Harry Lee's death when I opened the online newspaper. And there it was, the headline "Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee Dies". This is one of many articles about Sheriff Lee if you are interested in reading about his life and political career. I actually read a good biography of Sheriff Lee: Wild about Harry: A Biography of Harry Lee by Deno Seder. You can still find a couple of copies over at Amazon.com, including one signed by the author that someone is trying to sell for $99 as a collectible!

Later Monday evening after I had eaten supper and was relaxing watching some tv, my dad called. He told me that a good friend of ours had died over the weekend, Sherry Nunez. Sherry and her family had been friends with my family for as long as I can remember and even before that. She had been ill recently. When I visited home in July I heard about it from my dad and from another of her relatives, Joan Nunez, an old neighbor of mine whom I visited while doing my Katrina sightseeing. Sherry and her husband Ronnie were die hard Saints fans, and therefore were there with me week after week for the torture we call New Orleans professional football. Our families had also vacationed together, and I taught her daughter Melissa back when I was a chemistry teacher. I know that her illness had been difficult on her family, and I know that her death has been even more difficult.

I realized when I started this post that it has only been 3 weeks since her death. I can remember vividly what the world was like for me 3 weeks after my mother died. I was still in a state of shock, walking around pretending everything was ok, trying to figure out how to make it ok. It is my firm belief that weather death is preceded by a short, long or no period of illness, it is still devastating and you are never prepared for it. So despite the fact that she had been ill, I know her family is still dealing with their feelings on a daily, and possibly even still hourly basis. The same goes for Sheriff Lee's family. Here and now 3 weeks later, they are still dealing with their feelings, and will be for a long time to come. I am keeping both of these families in my prayers.

I will try to post again soon. Til next time . . .

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Going back to work tomorrow

Well I'm finally starting to feel like myself. I am going back to work tomorrow. I am going to try to catch up on my blogging during the week even if its just a bit here and there.

I watched the kids today for a couple hours. We made some halloween decorations from construction paper, simple, handmade, fun! Lucas loves decorating :)

Blog soon I promise!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Sidelined...

So yah, I haven't had a chance to blog anymore since I tried to start again on Sunday. My nuisance of a bladder infection has turned into a full fledged kidney infection. I'm home from work, resting, drinking lots of fluids and taking all my medicine like a good Chris should. The weather here has turned oh so fall like, highs in the mid 60s, lows in the 40s, and here I am stuck inside.

I'll be feeling back to normal soon enough. And I'll have alot to catch y'all up on once I'm up to it. Here's hoping the rest of you are starting to feel the pleasant effects of fall.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Long time no blog . . .

Yes, I know, I've been a bad blogger. LOTS going on in life in all areas. So much I want to share. And I will. I've been a little under the weather and just really exhausted after work the last week. So since I'm not going to major blog catch-up all at once, here's a preview of some of the blog topics you will be seeing soon: death of a friend, death of a local political legend, visit to the national air and space museum stephen f udvar-hazy center, happy birthday nana, card project, in search of a pool. So yah, there's lots I want to share with all of you. Lots of pics to share as well. I hope to be back online later tonight to start working on that list of topics. Blog soon . . .

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Happy Birthday Jacqueline!







2 years ago tonight I was celebrating the birth of my first (and only) neice. And hunkering down preparing for the landfall of Hurricane Rita at my friend Mary's house. (Because my house was not in livable condition for several months after Katrina.) Jacqueline's birth was the biggest positive thing for me about 2005. For a long time after Katrina I was ready to throw out the whole year. And then I would remember my little neice and be reminded it wasn't all bad. In fact this day was fabulous.

Jacqueline's birthday is special to me for another reason, as well. One year ago I came to DC for Jacqueline's birthday, and while I was here I accepted a traveling position and gave my notice to leave my old job. A huge blowhorn for me!

My dad was here this weekend for Jacqueline's birthday. He took all the kids to Toys R Us. Jacqueline had a blast. I think she hugged every stuffed animal in her reach. She had a blast! She had fun opening presents, but is still not quite understanding the concept that there were more presents to open and wanted to play with each one as she opened it! Nana and PopPop (Barbara's parents) joined us for the party. Nana made her deliscious chocolate cake. (I only had one small piece.)
I hope you enjoy the pictures of Jacqueline from her birthday!

Happy Birthday Jacqueline!

Love,

Aunt Christine
PS...here is a link to my Scrapfest photo's at Shutterfly.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Scrapfest Fall 2007


What a blast I had at Scrapfest last weekend! Sorry it's taken me all week to write again. Came back to DC to much cooler temps that wreaked havoc on my sinus'. But I'm back to normal now :)

So I went to Scrapfest with 2 of my best friends, Ann and Dee. Ann flew in from Melbourne, Florida to meet me. And Dee owns my favorite scrapbook store in the universe, Scrappersaurus! Dee actually sat and cropped with us for a few hours each day, while her gem of a husband, my friend Felix, and her awesome son Emery, ran their vendor booth. It was great fun to sit and visit with my friends while I was creating. I have truly found a creative outlet in scrapbooking. I never dreamed it was possible to feel as creatively free as I do when I am scrapbooking, stamping and paper crafting.

I've been working on layouts for my Disney book, from my trip to Disneyland for Thanksgiving 2005. I've got a good system worked out for my crops. I leave all my Disney stuff in my storage unit so that I only have to bring my tools and various odds and ends with me from DC. It has worked out well since I've moved to DC to work. I got several layouts done last weekend that I'm really proud of. Unfortunately they are still on my camera. I will try to download them this weekend and post a link to them.

Many of my friends and family don't really understand my obsession with scrapbooking. But for me, scrapbooking/stamping/papercrafting is the creative outlet I have looked for all my life. My mother was so incredibly creative and artistically talented. But I could not and still cannot draw, paint and create beauty in the ways that she could. I tried, but I just didn't get it...shading, shadows, depth...it just never came out in my attempts. For many years I was extremely perfectionistic about many things, including creativity. And so for a very long time I stifled any attempts at creativity that tried to surface, because, in my eyes, they weren't perfect so they were no good.

But in the last decade as I have worked on healing and growing, I have rediscovered my creativity. I have also become much less perfectionistic in this time as well, which has made sharing my creativity with others a pleasant experience. Scrapbooking, stamping and papercrafting have provided me with an outlet for years of stored up creative energy. I just love it. I'm good at it. And I'm not perfectionistic about it. In fact, one of the things I love about it is that mistakes and imperfections are what make pages and projects special, makes them look homemade.

I went to my first big crop in Natchez, Mississippi in July 2006 and I was hooked. 3 days of classes, time to work on your pages and projects and vendors galore for shopping. What more could a girl ask for? For those of you who aren't into scrapbooking, a crop is a gather of people who work on their scrapbook pages, cards, and paper projects in a common area. Local scrapbook stores often host small one evening/night crops on a weekly basis for their customers. Its the 21st century equivalent of the quilting circles. And like those quilting circles, there is as much socialization as their is work. I have met so many wonderful people through scrapbooking. In fact, one of the things I most look forward to when I go to a big weekend crop is the friends that I will see there.

Well, I've got a big weekend ahead, so I'm headed off to bed. Til next time . . .

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Living La Vida NOLA

Long time no blog. I've been living it up in the big easy this week. Visiting family and friends. Eating at all the good restaurants. Relaxing and reading alot. Most likely I won't be home again in NOLA for over 3 months, so I'm enjoying it while I can. I've also been on a dial-up internet connection from my dad's apartment which has limited my online time and speed for trying to blog.

I spent a couple of days with my Aunt Rosie this weekend (my friend Ree calls her my "kind and wonderful Aunt Rosemary"!). We had a relaxing time chatting and catching up with each other, making plans for possible future travels, and generally enjoying spending time together. I also got to see my Uncle Candy who is currently running for Senate District 1 in Louisiana.

My dad took me to 3 of the city's best places to eat. Saturday night we went to Stella! I had Heirloom Creole Tomatoes with Jumbo Lump Crab and Gulf Shrimp Remoulade, Local Cucumber Salad, Three Heirloom Tomato Gazpachos and Wild Mexican Tomatoes; Followed by “Iron Chef Chili Prawns” ~ New Orleans Style and Caramelized Wild Burgundy Escargots with Fresh Thyme, Local Garlic, Lemon Zest, Basil Pistou and Lavender Meringue. It was all totally delicious!

Monday Night we went to Mr. B's Bistro, where we split Crabmeat Au Gratin Baked in a rich béchamel sauce, garnished with panko crusted Louisiana crab claws as an appetizer and I had one of my New Orleans favorites MR. B'S BARBEQUED SHRIMP - A Mr. B's signature dish! Gulf shrimp barbequed New Orleans style, served in the shells with peppery butter sauce and French bread for dipping, complete with paper bib! It was messy and delicious!

Tuesday night we went to K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, where I had the trio of soups (turtle soup with sherry, chicken and andouille gumbo, and onion soup); followed by a wonderful soft shell crab dish with a tasty sauce and stuffed potato. Again, as usual, it was delicious.

My poor digestive system is on overload for sure and will be glad to get back to more normal and healthy eating patterns again. We only had desert one night, at Stella! where we had some concoction of Banana's Foster French Toast which we split. Other than that I successfully avoided the sugar temptations.

I've been reading The Company: A Novel of the CIA which I picked up at Olsson's bookstore at Reagan Airport heading out of DC Friday afternoon. I enjoy reading on the plane when I travel, and I often will pick up a book at the airport specifically for each trip. My last two were complete duds which I stopped reading before finishing, something I rarely do. But this is an interesting historical fiction type book. Its a big one and I'm over halfway through it. So I'll have lots left to read on the trip back to DC on Sunday.

The rest of this week I will be attending Scrapfest with one of my best friends, Ann. 3 days, 45 hours of scrapbooking, stamping and papercrafting. Oh, and lets not forget the all important shopping for scrapbooking, stamping and papercrafting supplies! I will try to post some pictures of my layouts and the Scrapfest crop.

Well, its late and I need to be ready to play with my scrapbooking toys by 9 so I'll say goodbye for now. Til next time . . .

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Baby Steps . . .

So getting back to real life can be a challenge. Choices are difficult to make in the hectic crazy schedule of everyday real life. I have tried to make healthy choices in everyday life. But its hard work. And there are *so* many choices to make. What to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, what to drink, how much to drink, when to drink, take vitamins, which ones, how many, the choices seem endless and are overwhelming to face on a daily basis.

So, if I'm going to have a chance at making healthy changes, I need to take baby steps. Last week I started taking my vitamins again. Have you ever walked down the vitamin aisle at the grocery or drug store? Hundreds of vitamins and supplements out there. How do you know what to take and when to take it? I have a regimen I have used over the years. It's a compilation of several years of suggestions and exploration. I take my vitamins at night, because i hate "vitamin burp" that i have for hours if i take them in the morning. I take a multivitamin, superB complex, C, and E. I also take glucosamine/chondroiten twice a day and have started taking flax seed oil capsules twice a day. Are there more I need or might benefit from? I don't know. But at least I'm taking them daily again.

This week I've started changing my drinking habits. Trying to get in those recommended 8 glasses of water a day. Cutting down on cold drinks to one a day. Cutting back on caffeine and cutting back on artificial sweetener.

I've been reading a couple of books about healthy eating/dieting. You on a Diet by Drs. Roizen and Oz, and The 3-Hour Diet and 8 Minutes in the Morning by Jorge Cruise. I'm also looking into finding an indoor pool either at a rec center or fitness place where I can start doing some walking in water and possibly aqua aerobics in the future. I've also been checking into yoga places for some gentle yoga classes.

So I've taking my first 2 baby steps. I'm trying to make good choices while i prepare for the next steps in my quest for a healthy lifestyle. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I'd appreciate them. Til next time . . .

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

In Memorium Zeus Gauthier 1992 - 2007


I doubt that you expected me to be writing a memorial to Zeus on Katrina Day. But there's a good reason behind it. Many of you may not know that I had Zeus put to sleep earlier this month.

He started having odd labs before I moved from New Orleans to DC. When I had him checked out it turned out he was in the early stages of renal failure. The treatment is a type of 'poor mans dialysis' where you give fluids under the skin and let the body process them to keep hydrated. There is no cure. So we started the treatments, staying at the vets office, when I was in New Orleans in July and he seemed to respond well according to the vet.

When I brought him back home his stopped eating and became very VERY clingy. Clingy was normal for Zeus for about 24hrs after I had been out of town for a few days. But this never stopped. He wanted to be in my lap, next to my head, being held, constantly in the days after I got home from my NOLA trip. And he still wouldn't eat no matter what I offered him, the special renal diet - no; his old soft food - no, tuna from the can (his favorite) - no.

After a few days of this I realized he was not tolerating this illness or its treatment very well. And I could not imagine having to stick my cat with a needle twice a week for the rest of his life (up to 2yrs at best). I talked to several of my friends with pets about my concerns. All of you were very supportive and helpful. I finally decided to have him put to sleep. I just did not want my final memories of him being sticking him with a needle and watching him get sicker and sicker.

So on August 4, 2007 I took Zeus to the vet to be euthanized. I was fortunate to have a new friend from work meet me at the vet to be with me through this ordeal. I hadn't even thought about having someone with me, but I am so thankful she offered because now I cant imagine going through that alone. I have to say the people at the vet were magnificent. The front desk ladies, the vet techs and the vet who we saw that day were amazingly compassionate. I had steeled myself against the possibility they would try to talk me out of it. But they didn't, in fact the vet told me she truly believed that pets tell their owners when its time.

I was able to hold him the whole time except during the 2 injections, the first a sedative and the second the euthanization injection. My friend, Michelle, had not met Zeus before this so while we waited for a room I was able to take him out of his carrier and hold him and tell her all about him. Every person at the desk came over to pet him and commented on how beautiful he was. Once in the room I became more emotional and just held him and told him how much I loved him and how thankful I was to have had him as my faithful companion over the last almost 14years as my life has changed significantly. The the vet came in and explained everything to me and when I told her i was sure this was what i wanted to do, she gave him the first injection.

By this point I was sobbing, holding him close, telling him again and again thank you for being with me during some difficult times in my life, thank you for coming with me on this new traveling adventure, i told him i was sorry for doing this but i just couldn't bear to have him suffer and i told him i loved him over and over.

It was by far the most honest I have been in grief ever in my life. When my mother died i was so completely overwhelmed and in many ways so emotionally shut down, stunted and immature that I was not able to express my true feelings for several years. But over the last few years, with alot of hard work, I have come to understand and acknowledge my feelings and begin to express them in healthy ways. And that is exactly what I did with Zeus. I was able to cry as much as I wanted to, I was able to tell him anything and everything I wanted to. I was able to honor the depth and breadth of my relationship with him. I was able to do this very hard thing and have no regrets. I held him as he died. It was peaceful. He was not anxious or in pain. And I was able to hold him for as long as I wanted/needed to afterward. Which was a long time but shorter than i would have imagined.

You may ask why am I sharing this today on the Katrina anniversary? Well. One of my patients asked me today about what it was like on this day 2 years ago. What happened when I got back to my house. And I remembered going back there. Seeing *every* tree on the treeline behind the house laying *on* the house. Having to crawl under those trees and branches blocking the carport and side entrance to get into the house. Walking into the hot humid house and finding water in the hallway kitchen den and bathrooms. Seeing the bulging ceiling in the back bathroom dripping water and obviously about to fall to the floor. Searching for Zeus. The only thing I took out of my house that day was Zeus. I found him under the bed in the spare bedroom. Normally he would have run from me if I tried to grab him from a hiding place. He never flinched and hardly moved even once I had pulled him out. He was hot, his nose was hot and dry. I grabbed his carrier, his litter box, a bag of litter and a bag of food and headed back to HMFranklinton.

So that's what has me thinking of him today. He was the only thing I was worried about 2 years ago tonight. And once I had him safe and sound in my office at the nursing home I was not worried about any of the 'things' in my house. And in the incredibly hard and scary days that followed August 29, 2005 as I worried about friends and family and struggled to find all of you and communicate during the aftermath, it comforted me to have him there with me, living in the therapy office.

I miss Zeus. Alot. I think of him everyday still. And i feel sad. His picture is still the wallpaper on my cellphone, and whenever my niece sees it she starts "meow, meow, meow, meow" and i smile thinking about him.

I have no plans to get another pet at this time. Partly because I want to let myself grieve Zeus' death. And partly because there are other opportunities for me as a traveling OT without a pet, that I did not have with a pet. For example, the possibility of taking an assignment working in Hawaii! (more about that later!)

And so tonight, as I grieve all the loss and changes in all of our lives, in our homes, our parish, our city, i continue to grieve for my beloved companion Zeus.
I want to thank my new friend Michelle for truly being there with me on that very hard day. And I want to thank the fabulous staff of Benson Animal Hospital for thier kindness and compassion for both me and Zeus.

I love you my boy, you truly were the king of the gods. Thank you for loving me. I will remember you always.

Post K + 2

Sigh.

Hard to believe its 2 years since 'The Thing' (to quote Chris Rose). But it IS really hard to believe its been 2 years. 2 years ago tonight I was hunkering down at HMFranklinton, helping them to get ready for Katrina. I was bunked on the floor of the therapy office, with my laptop and my radio. I was still in that pre-K delusional state where I told myself, "we are 100 miles inland from where the storm will make landfall, it will weaken significantly by the time it reaches Franklinton". Boy was I wrong. Sigh.

I'm pretty wound up tonight. No big surprise there. Last year I was wound up for days, even weeks, before the anniversary. I told a friend tonight that I guess I can live with a couple days of anxiety. NOT being in NOLA or even LA is making a HUGE difference I think. Also, not working in the place I survived the storm makes a HUGE difference too. Of course my fabulous trip to Hawaii last week has to be helping as well.

When I was home in NOLA in July, I went riding around to see what had changed and what had stayed the same. It was a completely depressing ride. I took a few pics with my cell phone camera. You can see them here if you are interested. They are from the lower 9th ward, Arabi, and Chalmette; many of them places very familiar to me when I was growing up, such as my old church, the bowling alley, the park, neighborhoods and streets, as well as our old house and my grandmothers house I lived in when I was a teacher. I know its not all bad, there are some good changes happening, but it is still visually overwhelming for me, and I wont be going back 'Katrina sightseeing' again for a while.

I do have to say though, that in my travels, here in the DC area, anytime I tell someone I am from New Orleans, their face changes and they ask how things are, if they are getting back to normal, and what will it take to get things back to normal. I found this when I was in Hawaii too. So the world has not forgotten about us completely, though they do not understand why things are still so difficult for so many (of course many of us probably wonder the same thing).

Last Friday night (8/24/07), I was flipping through the channels and came across a special on the weather channel marking the 15th anniversary of Andrew in south Florida. I kept on flipping, but wondered what things will be like for us and for NOLA and the gulf coast in 15years.

I will spend the day at work, at my little nursing home north of DC. It will be a positive distraction for me, as well as a reminder of the huge changes I have been making in my life. I will be thinking of my family and friends that will also be living through this K+2 day. And I will say a prayer for all of us and our hometowns as we/they struggle on this road to recovery.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Back to real life . . .

Well almost, since my real life now involves traveling to fabulous places, visiting family and friends and working at a different job every 3-6-9 months. :)

I'm back 'home' in DC, and I spent the day getting ready to go back to work and back to real life. My apartment is a wreck (no big surprise there!) and my fridge was empty when I got back last night. So I made groceries and started picking up around here. Cooked a couple of easy things so I have lunch the next couple of days, put new sheets on the bed, etc.

It's here in the everyday life that I hope to make new changes. But it's also here in everyday life that changes are the hardest. Old habits are hard to break. I know I need to start small.

My friends Dave and Karen love me very much. They took a huge risk when I was vacationing with them last week. They talked to me about my weight. It's been my experience that you have to love someone a whole lot, enough to risk hurting their feelings and possibly losing your relationship with them in order to bring up such a touchy subject. It made me cry to know that they cared that much about me.


I know many, most, probably all of you in my life worry about my weight and my health. So do I. And that is a blow horn right there. I spent years not really caring about it at all. But now that I've regained all the weight I lost in 2000-2001, I find myself uncomfortable in my body. It is a new feeling to me. I know that may be hard to believe, but it's the truth. I've often joked that I am a reverse-anorexic, I look in the mirror and I see a 'normal' sized person. And for years I didn't even notice my body was so big. But believe me I notice now.

My life has changed so much. I am open to new opportunities in my life. But there are just so many things I can't do that I want to do. I've never really noticed it before, I guess because I was so closed in by the walls I had put up to protect me from the world. But as the walls come down, I see things I want to do, and right now I just cant do them. I feel sad, angry and frustrated. And I think, I hope, I know I'm ready to do something about it.

I didn't start this blog as a weight-loss journal. I *did* start it to communicate with and get support from my family and friends as I make changes and take advantages of opportunities. In 2000 when I started making changes in my lifestyle and diet, I did it secretly for a very long time. I was pretty sure it wouldn't work, and even when it started to, I was very sure it wouldn't last. My life is significantly different now and I want to take advantage of that difference. I am more connected to the world in general and to my friends and family specifically. I don't want to try to make hard changes in my lifestyle without asking for and getting the support I need from all of you.

So, if you have any suggestions, ideas or thoughts you would be willing to share with me I'd appreciate it. I have the comments set to be moderated (by me) so that I don't end up with a ton of spam clogging up the blog.

It's getting late, til next time. . .

P.S. I'll post a link with pictures from my fabulous Hawaii trip soon!

Friday, August 24, 2007

Welcome to my blog!

Aloha!

I'm writing this blog from Waikiki, Hawaii! Flying back to the mainland early afternoon, but already all packed up. I've been staring out the lanai doors of my friends Karen and Dave's apartment at a view of the beach and Diamond head. Life is rough I tell you. :)

The idea for doing a blog was first inspired by my friend Dee at Scrappersaurus, who started her own blog here. On my first full day here in Hawaii, I encountered the *blow horn* and it became an additional inspiration to start my own blog.

I've made many big changes in my life in the last year. Leaving my job of almost 7 years in Franklinton, beginning to work as a traveling OT, and leaving Louisiana to take a travel position in the DC area. Big huge changes for someone who never imagined living outside of the New Orleans area, and who planned to retire from my job in Franklinton. Talk about your hard right hand turns!

As my life continues to change and I am more open to the opportunities that are available to me, I see more big changes I want to make. However I am, and will be, far from home, family and friends. So I invite you my friends and family to follow my journey both in my travels and in my changing world. Please leave comments as your support is important to me.

Mahalo (thank you) for reading. Until next time. . .