Mom in Mental Motion

We had quiet a busy weekend. Brit and Big J. came in town. We went to one picnic/party on Saturday and had a really nice time. Lisa surprised Bill with a 50th birthday party. His birthday was back in Feb. and she couldn’t do anything then because he was in Amsterdam on business. So she did it over the Memorial Day weekend when they normally have a big picnic/party anyway. He was surprised.

Then we went to Phil’s parent’s place after church for a little visiting with them. They just got in town from SC. We also had the Bish in town for ordinations into the Deaconate at church. My counselor, Ric, is now a deacon! I asked him if I have to call him something different now and he said, no, it just means I am more annointed! lol…he cracked me up.

Monday was lazy. After laying around and messing on the computer, we went to Esti and Endre’s house. It was a Hungarian crowd! Our family plus the neighbors were the only one’s who didn’t speak Hungarian. They are old friend’s of ours. We used to share a duplex in Old Brooklyn (Cleveland). We have boys the same ages and they then had 2 more! We used to be the ones with the big family to her. Now she has as many! Ha!

I have a counseling appointment today. THere is women’s fellowship but I don’t want to go today. I have to clean up the kitchen and do some laundry so I am staying home this morning. I am also trying to get some more cookware sold because I am so close to my goal. Only 75 points or so away. I hope I make it.

I’ve been tagged by Trisha…let’s try to make this interesting…

Four Jobs I have had in my life (same as before!):
1. Microfilmer
2. Babysitter
3. Mom/wife
4. Pampered chef consultant

Four Nicknames that I have been given:
1. Mic
2. Micie
3. Imp
4. Hon..

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Sound of Music
2. My Favorite Wife
3. The Elf
4. Toy Story 1 & 2 and Finding Nemo (they tie in my book)

Four places I have lived:
1. Cleveland, Ohio
2. Old Brooklyn, Ohio
3. Pittsburgh, PA
4. Hinckley, OH

Four TV shows I love to watch (currently):
1. Criminal Minds
2. Deal or No Deal
3. Without a Trace
4. CSI’s

Four places I have been on vacation/a trip to:
1. Virginia Beach in 1985, when I was pregnant with Lauren.
2. Bluffton (Sun City), South Carolina
3. Williamsburg, VA in Nov. 2004
4. Camping in NW PA
Four websites I visit daily:
1. My blog
2. Teaching Mom forums
3. The Big Yellow House
4. My banks

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Spaghetti and meatballs
2. Pizza
3. Roasted veggies
4. Cheeses of all types, sheesh now I gotta go get a slice.

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At the ocean, walking with my hubby.
2. Chatting with my dad about the Indy 500, (He died in 2004)
3. Europe
4. Heaven

Four things I could NOT live without:
1. Christ
2. My husband and children and soon to be grandbaby
3. My computer
4. My bible

Four bloggers I am tagging (I’m sorry if some of you have already been tagged!) :
1. Chris
2. Mrs. Clark
3. Kathy
4. Donna

Abilify is making me feel like that. I was having panic/anxiety in the store and in the van while driving. Not too good. I hope this doesn’t last long. I see my pdoc next Friday. I have a very busy few days next Thursday-Sunday. I hope I survive it all!

We are looking into a new car. Actually it’s used. It’s a 1998 Honda Passport. It’s a V6, 4WD smaller SUV with good gas mileage. The mileage is high but Honda’s go a long way. Phil is going to test drive it today.

from Women’s Fellowship this morning. My safe place in my spirit with the Lord Jesus is on a tree swing in a garden. I like to go there to be still and quiet, which is hard by the way. When I was a kid, I loved to swing for hours when I went to playgrounds. Funny that now, as an adult I deal with a new kind of swing, mood swings! I have to search out a picture of the swing I imagine now.

Well this one is on a beach, which would be cool. Then we have this one…definately not realistic, but….

Well let’s just try this one. It is supposed to be animated.

Well Caleb didn’t feel good so we skipped soccer on Saturday morning. I wasn’t too sad about it cause I didn’t have to get ready early in the morning. Can we say lazy? Yeah, ok, can I blame it on meds? I started Abilify on Saturday morning. It makes me drowsy. I took one this morning too and was falling asleep all through church and yawning like crazy. I took a nap after lunch today. I have to call the pdoc to ask about this. I can’t be taking this and driving.

Phil and I began to declutter and clean the computer room. It looks nice. I finally got to the filing and shredding. Our shredder went caput though so we gotta buy a new one. The dog now has room to lay down next to me instead of behind my chair. He is a loyal little mutt. We even swept and dusted!!

We are using a Flylady approach with most of this stuff. I am not good at keeping organized and clean so having Phil help is huge! He is a keeper.

My moods have still been up and down like crazy but the deep depression has been held off for some reason.

Tomorrow is another morning at APS. I love my work there. But finding out the S. is pregnant again, and so soon after her abortion 3 months ago was not easy. Someone called and told her mom all about the abortion and this pregnancy. I don’t know what she is going to do. I just don’t want to think about it. Makes me very glad that we will have our own grandbaby next January. T. at church, had a boy yesterday. A. lost hers with a miscarriage this past week. So that makes C. and Brittany pregnant right now. Plus S.. Lots of new life and babies.

Ok ending so I can keep up on the laundry. I am not going to have a “shiny sink” before bed though. I am worn out now. And it’s time for more meds.

I found a link to my own blog at Mrs. Clark’s! That was cool. Any of my friends may add my blog to their friends lists if they like. Thanks.

Some days I am pumped for my Pampered Chef business, other days I am not. Today was a good day. I made a few calls, talked with my director and made a plan to try and reach my pan-o-rama goal. I wrote a letter to my customers, which Susan will go over first, hoping to get a few more orders for cookware so I can earn the piece I want. We shall see…..

Ok on to personal junk. Tuesday’s counseling was great. Both Phil and I went so that was a great start there. We brought in the books I bought. Ric said to take it easy on the schedules for a bit. All I want to do is try to get a regular sleeping, eating and medications routine down for now. The rest will wait. But we do have to be reasonable and realistic about a few things. Should the need for me to be hospitalized ever occur, we need a plan for the boys. Emergencies could be handled by my neighbor for about 24 hours, but longer than that and we need another person. And depending on the time of year, we may or may not have Phil’s parents available. They are only going to be here for 3 months or so this year. And then around the holidays for a bit. I think. That leave Lynn who is here year-round and lives in the same school district. I just have to ask her now and get it in the plan.

We are trying to come up with a schedule for when I am well and when I am sick. Depressed is what I mean when I am not well. We also learned that when Phil goes away, it triggers an episode. This last one was complete with rapid cycling. I have to report that to my doctor. And I will. I am good about that stuff. I do take care of myself. But there isn’t much that I do for myself. There is a difference in the two. I haven’t anything to get out of bed for that is important enough for me to make it out of bed by 7 am every day. Not even helping the boys get ready for school gets me up. That is because I hate that responsibility. When Phil was still here in the mornings, I got up sometimes because it wasn’t all on me. But now that he is gone by 6 am, I don’t get up. I wake them up and help them from my bed. It’s sick, I know. But that is my life. I am working on it.

Summer is coming and what will I do?? I don’t know.

I started the day with breakfast in bed. Phil and boys made me eggs, sausage, coffee, and added a banana nut muffin and chocolate covered pretzel. A single rose was on the tray too. Oh yeah, Caleb said it was the “menu” I said. More like the menu he suggested and I said, “yeah, whatever” to him yesterday. So he made sure Phil bought muffins. The single red rose was part of half a dozen red long stems and Jacob picked 3 yellow long stemmed roses for me as well. Then I had them doing most of the work around the house today. We watched the original first Pink Panther movie. Last night we went to eat at a steakhouse, Steve’s Dakota Grill. Good food, long wait. Worth it. Next time, we go as a date night sans the kids.

Ok, now onto serious things. We are working on some housework plans for when I am well and when I am sick. We are using some Flylady stuff, which is at www.flylady.net and some stuff from a book I got called “Parenting Well when Depressed”. I wish I could figure out how to hyperlink these things! Someone tell me how!!!!

All in all it was a good day. Called the moms I know to say Happy Mother’s Day. My brother even sent my a text message wishing me a Happy Mother’s day. How sweet. Here is my mom.

Here goes…

Some more about me
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? Without a Trace, CSI’s, The Office, Criminal Minds
WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? it’s all black with the Belkin logo
FAVORITE MAGAZINE: Creating Keepsakes and Reader’s Digest
FAVORITE SMELL: garlic cooking and wood smoke
WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD: being alone
BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD: feeling loved by my hubby
THINGS TO DO ON THE WEEKENDS: nothing…
FAVORITE SOUNDTRACK: Return to Me
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THOUGHT OF WHEN YOU WOKE UP THIS MORNING?: Do I give into his desires?
DO YOU GET MOTION SICKNESS?: no
ROLLER COASTERS DEADLY OR EXCITING?: exciting
PEN OR PENCIL?: medium pen with black ink or very sharp pencil
HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?: one unless I am not near it.
FAVORITE FOODS: Italian
DO YOU GET ALONG WITH YOUR PARENTS?: yes, for the most part…
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME?: no
CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?: chocolate!
CROUTONS OR BACON BITS?: both
DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE?: YES
DO YOU SLEEP WITH STUFFED ANIMALS?: no
IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY KIND OF PET, WHAT WOULD IT BE?: a self cleaning, non smelly, no hair shedding one ( gotta agree with texee here, but we do have a dog)
IF YOU COULD BE ANY TYPE OF ANIMAL WHAT WOULD YOU BE?: bird, so I could fly
FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK: Irish coffee
WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGN?: What does it matter?
EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?: not if I can help it.
IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED, WHAT WOULD IT BE?: stay-at-home mom
IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?: auburn
IF YOU COULD HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT AND WHERE WOULD IT BE?: my toe
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE?: currently, yes!
WHAT IS ON YOUR WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?: sand painted paneling
WRITE THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND: I don’t want to go to soccer in the cold damp field!
IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?: full
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNAPPLE?: Don’t drink it much
ARE YOU A RIGHTY, LEFTY OR AMBIDEXTROUS?: ambidextrous, only eat and write lefty
DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE CORRECT KEYS?: Of course… that’s why I took typing in 10th grade.
IF YOU COULD BE ONE GARDENING TOOL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?: anything but a hoe (roflol)
WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED?:a dog bed, a bed desk, yarn, sweeper attachments, lots and lots of dust and dog fur
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER?: 7
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?: purple and pink
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR: Red Ford Escort, 2 door
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM CAR?: don’t have one, but a nice big truck would be cool
FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH: football
SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU: She has a genuine caring soul for those she cares for.
NOW WHO DO I TAG? TXArtcGal, Mama, Leni

I found a website that talks about “living with bipolar”! Whoohoo…finally some help. It is very good. It is written by a fellow sufferer with BP. He sounds a lot like me. Or maybe we all sound the same with BP. Anyway, he started his site because there was nothing on the web back in 1999 for living with bipolar. Here is the site in case it would be helpful to anyone. It’s www.livingmanicdepressive.com