Just Telling Our Story

It's so NOT allergies

Well, I broke down and went to the doctor today to figure out what the heck this bug is that's kicking my behind. The nurse practitioner who saw me (one I have never been to before) diagnosed allergies -- even though my eyes don't itch, I haven't been sneezing or coughing, my nose isn't running, I'm not congested... just have a sore throat and a headache that won't quit and am fatigued.

I wasn't convinced that it's allergies, but I just decided to give the meds a try for a few days and go back to a different person in the practice on Monday for a new diagnosis if it stuck around.

Well, just picked up my little boy from the bus stop and sure enough, he's nearly lost his voice, has a terrible sore throat, and is feverish. It's bit him, too. Lovely.

Am I wrong, or are allergies not contagious? :o)

By the way...congrats are in order!

My neighbor, Brooke, had her third baby on Monday at 11:56 a.m.! Welcome Kenzie Brielle (I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong)! Micah and Delaney are sure to be great at being Big Brother and Big Sister!

And because I have a sneaking suspicion that my friend Kelly is at the hospital right now, congrats to her and Kevin as well! She was due this past Monday, and I just have a feeling this baby girl (whose name is to be revealed upon birth) is coming today! Kelly hasn't updated her blog yet today, either, which makes me wonder... If you're not in labor yet, Kel, good luck!

(I need to get to feeling better so I can visit these new babies!)

Finally, congrats to my friend Stacey, who just got a new job! She starts on Monday...her first full-time job after being a stay-at-home mommy to her two boys for five years. Good luck, Stacey! Hope you love it!

OK, now back to work..

Crawling out of my funk with Totally Rad Actions

I am in a funk. Ever since the ick bug bit me on Saturday, I just haven't been my same old self. I have been extremely productive with work until about, oh, 11 a.m. today. Then I hit a brick wall, and I feel like I could keel over and collapse. I am worn out, simply put. I haven't had my normal amount of energy in a few days, and adding on top of that two and a half days of basically nonstop work, and it's taking everything out of me. So I'm granting myself an extra hour for my lunch today, and I'm playing, knowing full well I'll be back to work soon enough this afternoon...and then this evening/night...and then bright and early tomorrow. I'm trying not to feel guilty about a little bit of a stretched-out lunch hour.

So here's what I've been up to. I read a number of scrapbookers' and photographers' blogs when I need a five-minute mental break here and there, and several of them often refer to Totally Rad Actions. I have been curious before and checked out the site, and while I have been eager to try out the actions, I haven't been eager to spend $260 to get 'em (because I'd want to have them all, not just randomly pick one set of the two and wonder what fantastic stuff I was missing in the second set). (BTW, actions are little macro-like functions that you can upload to Photoshop that help you edit your photos in different ways...I know...nerdy, but I don't care...they're pretty darn cool.)

Imagine my surprise today when I read Donna Downey's blog and realized there were FREE actions waiting to be downloaded! That's when I decided to grant myself some extra lunch time and play. I'm hoping it will help get my creative juices flowing again so I can get some serious writing done this afternoon.

Here are a couple of examples of what you can do with the Totally Rad Actions in the demo mix sample. Love it!

My original photo of my "baby" girl:

Edited with one of the actions (can't remember which one, and Photoshop just crashed, so I'm being lazy here...something like "super fun" something):

And my very favorite (LOVE IT!):

In case you're wondering why this is so cool when it looks like your simple black-and-white: it's not easy to convert a color photo to a good, high-quality, solid-blacks-and-bright-whites-with-good-grays-in-between black-and-white shot in Photoshop. It takes a million steps and tweaks. This is awesome. So hassle-free.

If you have Photoshop, go get these actions! I can't wait to get the whole set! :o)

OK, back to work...

Feeling crummy & tired of lying around

I hate being sick. Yesterday I woke up with a bit of a sore throat but didn't think too much about it. Then at the kids' nap time, I was trying to work and only made it about an hour into it before I had to go lie down myself. And sure enough, by the time nap time was over, I was sick as could be. Weak legs, aches and pains, headache, earache, sore throat. Lovely. The rest of the day was spent lying on the couch or in bed, and today it continues. This is the first time I have felt like I could sit up and do something semi-productive in more than 24 hours. And it's not going to last. Just the way it goes, I suppose. I was planning on getting about six hours of work (or more) in this weekend, and it's just not happening. Of course this is another crazy-busy week, and I know I will feel the wrath of not working bright and early tomorrow. But what can I do? I just hope my sore throat subsides enough to be able to talk for my seven phone interviews I am supposed to have tomorrow. Yes, that's right...seven. Perfect timing, I know.

I'm feeling a little bummed that we didn't get out today like we had planned. We were going to go shopping for baby gifts for my two friends having baby girls this week. Brooke is scheduled for delivery tomorrow, and Kelly is actually due tomorrow. So we won't have gifts ready for them, and I might be in no shape to visit them...which makes me very sad. But good luck, ladies. I can't wait to meet those precious baby girls! :o)

Deep in thought

Two of my favorite people, my Uncle John and Aunt Colette, were in Indy last month for my sister's wedding. They live in Florida, and now that my father and stepmom moved to Colorado, I'm a little worried we won't see them as often as we'd like. So we savor all of the times we do have with them.

This was one of those times.

The day after the wedding, we visited the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It's just beautiful, and it's always been one of my dad's favorite places, so we try to visit when he comes into town if it's warm. (He and my stepmom, Anita, were here, too, along with John & Colette.)

This particular day, E's first time at the IMA, a statue of a woman deep in thought under a bridge caught E's attention. She stopped moving and stood silently, arms folded, thinking. After staring at it for quite some time, John joined her, and the two stood by each other in the quiet, contemplating this woman's story. E softly said to John, "She doesn't have any clothes on."

She began to imagine how this woman came to be here by herself under this bridge. After several minutes of both quiet and conversation (John was perfectly happy to stand with her silently), John walked slowly back to where Colette and I were standing, not wanting to rush E or disturb her thoughts. E stood there, not ready to leave.

It was my turn. I stood next to E until she started talking. She had told John a little, but she is very shy, and I could sense that was holding some of this woman's story inside. She opened up to me. She started to tell me the story of how she thought this woman came to be here. She said she probably walked across the bridge above her, then came down the path and through the leaves (landscaping) and sat down, watching something in the leaves. E wondered what she was looking for: maybe an animal or a baby (a baby doll, which E is almost always toting along with her...she must have thought this woman lost her baby). She was concerned that she was not moving and was not dressed, but I think in her mind, this woman was very much alive. She had a story to tell, and E was going to figure it out.

It was a moment I will probably never forget. E's imagination was on fire that day, and it was amazing to watch her be so still and contemplative for such a long time, then find out that she had imagined an entire story for this stranger. (At just three years old, her imagination is certainly more powerful than mine.) And she was so concerned about this woman, not wanting to leave her and wondering if she'd find whatever it was she lost.

To watch her with John was touching. It was a moment that is so typically John, a man who is often deep in thought, contemplating many things about the world and sharing some of the most profound observations with the rest of us, often through his writing. I so enjoyed seeing these two share a moment like this together.

***

The rest of the family — Dad, Anita, Chad and G — had long since wandered off, and after she felt satisfied with the woman — and after she asked me several times if we could come back and see her sometime — E was off and running to go find everyone else.

I love this little girl.

-----

Edit, 2:24 p.m.: I just reread the post from this morning. There were a few extra details I have remembered throughout the day that I wanted to include in my notes, so I have made a few additions. This is definitely a page I want to scrapbook some day, and I want to make sure I have all of the details written down!

Also, John: Do you happen to remember anything else she had said that day? If so, I'd love to hear it! :o)

Miscellaneous Monday

Here's a short update. There's more going on...but not much time to share all of the boring details!

• Sunday School teacher...me? I know, weird, right? I have to say I have never thought this would be something I would do. I mean, it's crossed my mind before, but the thought never stuck around long. I like to do things I'm good at, and Sunday School lessons don't fit that bill. Let's just say I'm not very smart when it comes to Bible stories. I'd fail any Bible quiz out there. I don't remember much at all from the many years I was in Sunday School as a student - other than memorizing the Lord's Prayer. (It's weird, but I can picture where I was sitting at a round table in the exact room at the Apple House when I learned that. The things that stick in my mind, I tell ya.) And even though I worked for a large church for a year and a half and heard stories about every day there—and now that church and another are two of my biggest clients—they just don't seem to stick with me in much detail. It's not for lack of interest, though.
  
  Anyway, this morning as I was dropping off G and E for Sunday School, the Christian formation director snagged me and asked if I'd be interested in teaching the preschool-kindergarten class. I hesitated. Noticeably. She said, "Just think about it." I said, "OK." And I walked my distracted little self over to the church, which was unusually packed today. Chad was painting the interior of his mom's house, so I was alone with my scattered thoughts. But I couldn't help but catch little fragments of things that were obviously meant to catch my attention. The first hymn had some verbiage in it that I don't remember specifically, but it was enough to make me think, OK, I get the hint. Then the congregation joined in the reading of a Psalm (#119: 33-48) that said something about not hesitating to do something for reasons of selfish gain. (I'm too tired lazy to go look it up right now.) Well, that's exactly why I've been hesitating. I am selfish with my time on the weekends. It just goes too fast, and I'm committed to so many other time-consuming things that I've been avoiding adding something along these lines. THEN, Father John, God love him, did his entire sermon on the fact that it's our job to tell the story of Jesus to the next generation. We're storytellers. That's our job. (Both literally and figuratively in my case.) Seriously, God. I get the hint. So I stopped that same director on her way out of the service and gave in. "I'll do it," I said. She hugged me. I was proud of myself for getting over my selfishness and going for it. Yet mad at myself for getting my already-stressed self signed up for something else. I need to focus on the positive, though, right? It's a good thing. And I should have fun, right? Bible stories, snacks, art projects, sweet little kiddos...what's not to like? Even better, it's E's class. And even better still, only two kids showed up for her class today! (Last year, the same class had more like 9 or so each week. So I'm not holding by breath.) Plus, there are three other teachers for the class, so we should be teaching just once a month. I can do that.
  
  I'm a little nervous about this. I'm hopeful, but nervous. It just doesn't seem like "me," you know? But it's a challenge that will hopefully be good for me. I loved working for a church (aside from all the politics), so this is a good way for me to get involved in my little church on a level that includes more than just attending on Sunday morning. Who knows? Maybe I'll even learn some people's names. (I've only been attending regularly again since 2004, and it's a small church...about time I learned some more names! I think we all just come for Father John and leave without interacting much. Kind of sad, really.)
  
  OK. I've babbled enough about that.
• Little Riley. I've been thinking about my friend Becky a lot lately. She just sent me a note about her little 4-year-old son, Riley, who has juvenile diabetes. He's the little guy on the far left of this picture of Becky's kiddos. (I apologize for the poor quality. My scanner is pooped.) The poor little guy has had to endure more than 3,500 finger-pricks and more than 2,100 insulin injections in just the year and a half since his diagnosis. Becky and Brian weigh and measure everything he eats, and they have to check his blood levels constantly, even when he sleeps. Riley often asks his mommy, "When is my diabetes going to go away?" or "When am I not going to have to deal with this any more?" Becky has to look into his hopeful eyes and give him bad news. It's a tiring process for such a little one and his family, and yet he is smiley and full of laughter. And Becky manages to see the brighter side of things, knowing there are many devastating diseases in the world, and this one is manageable. Still, it affects the family on an almost hourly basis.
  
  Becky and her family are going to walk for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation on Oct. 18 at Military Park. I am going to join her team. If you know Becky from any of our Saturday scrapbook adventures (for which, BTW, we are WAY overdue), please keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers. If you want to help their team, send me an e-mail at corie at corie communications dot com. (Yes, there's a reason I do it that way!)
  
  By the way, I met Becky through another unfortunate experience she and her family endured. Their third child, Abigail Hope, died just a few hours after birth due to a disease called anencephaly. They knew throughout most of their pregnancy that their daughter would not survive for long, and yet Becky carried her little miracle and savored every kick she felt, every hiccup, every nudge of the elbow inside her belly. When she was born, she wanted to make sure Abigail lived on. Abigail became one of the first infant organ donors at St. Francis. Their story touched me so deeply. Part of that was because of their powerful faith and hope, and part of it was the timing. I met Becky when I wrote a story about her for St. Francis' newsletter and worked with her to share her story with several television stations in Indianapolis a few years ago. (Her story was very public at the time, so I don't think she'll mind my sharing it here. It's actually quite inspiring.) During the time we were working on this, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. As any mom knows, stories of children dying or being injured are 1000 times worse when you have a child of your own. Suddenly you can imagine (although we'll hopefully never really know) what that mom is going through, and it breaks your heart into a million little pieces. You're never quite the same. That's how I feel about Becky's story. But man, she's a trooper. Despite all she has been through, she always has a positive attitude and can see the brighter side. I admire you for that, Becky. And I want to stand by you in this walk as you fight for Riley. Hang in there, girl. I know your daily life revolves around your children, and you are such an angel for that. You're a wonderful mother.

Well, I have other miscellaneous thoughts, but that should do for now. I need to go to bed! It'll be another round of early mornings for me this week (I hate seeing 5:00 on the alarm clock) as I am still working on three deadlines for tomorrow, one for Tuesday and one for Friday. I'm really looking forward to the weekend!

Have a good week!

Probably not going to hear from me for a while...

...I'm SWAMPED! It's a good problem, I know, especially after my two or three weeks of near-boredom. That's never fun. So it's good to be back in the very busy swing of things.

Except that I don't know how it will be possible for me to do EVERYTHING on my list by Monday. Probably just won't be possible. Why does everything have to hit at once? No Wednesday-night scrappin' tonight. No lazy weekend for Corie. I can feel it.

The good thing is, I got to go visit my old place of employment, the Indianapolis Parks Foundation, today. Even though my good ol' pal Donna isn't there anymore, it was still a good time. Lori had me cracking up a few times. I would have enjoyed working with her, had she been there when I was there. (Thanks for the laughs if you're reading today, Lori!) Yes, it was work, but it was good to get out and have some social time with adults, you know? And I love my drive in (now that I don't have to do it every day). An hour each direction -- just me, my music and my scattered brain. And, if it hadn't been for the 92-degree weather, the wind in my hair. I needed that.

Now back to more scattering. Have a good one. You'll probably hear from me next week, assuming I dig myself out of this hole I have here.