Snapshot 01.04.16

January 4, 2017 by Carrie Anne 1 Comment

–I realized the Big Reason why I was so ill during Christmas and into New Year’s must be all of Anthony’s traveling. Solo parenting is rough, and extra rough when you have a barely-controlled chronic illness. If you add up all the time he’s been gone in the last three months it’s almost four weeks, total. I’ve been doing this on my own, essentially, for a month. I definitely would not have been able to do this before I started Humira, so that’s a blessing. As hard as it’s been–on both of us, because traveling for work isn’t at all easy for him, either–I don’t regret it, nor do I resent it. We are so grateful he has this job in a field he loves that has allowed us to stay in our area. Like good health days, I don’t take even a second of it for granted.

–Elias calls rain drops “rain pops,” and not just because the words sound similar. He will whisper “pop pop pop” as drops of rain quietly thump against our umbrellas, or lightly tap at our window. When I told Anthony he calls them “rain pops” he replied, “That sounds like an adorable thing you are going to encourage.” Why, yes indeed.

–Today the last day I have my oral Crohn’s medicine (I have to take two expensive meds to retain even a shaky quality of life), so I will probably start the new year with more rounds of steroids. I’m desperately trying to get all the paperwork with our new health insurance underway so I can start the process of Rx paperwork and pre-auths over again. It takes a lot of work to be sick. It takes a lot of work to take care of yourself just to reach a baseline level.

–I just realized that although I’ve always thought of myself as the opposite of high-maintenance, the paragraph above obviously proves otherwise.

–I’m going to participate in an anti-Trump march with my cane. Anthony said I should attach a sign to it. It will be more of a hobble than a march for me, and I’ll only be able to do a portion of length, but it feels good to get back to organizing.

–I wrote a poem about a glacier while I rocked the baby to sleep in the middle of the night. (We both had bad insomnia: he had a late and poorly-timed nap, I had anxiety about our political future).

–Either our scale died or I lost thirty pounds overnight.

–After Bush was re-elected, I slipped into a depression. After this election, I had a full-on emotional breakdown for a month. It hurts, its hard, but despite this we have work to do. And we have to work together with whoever shows up to pitch in. I don’t have to agree with someone on every issue as long as we can work together on specific issues that need protection. I think the opposition is counting on us being destroyed and distracted by infighting. We can be in different political parties and ideals and still cooperate on many issues. In fact, we have to. We have to.

–Next Halloween I’m wearing a fancy dress and five onions around my neck and say I’M THE LADY OF SHALLOTT! Then I expect to get stabbed.

–Sarah & Duck is very weird and very good. I have placed it firmly in the “Children’s shows I gladly let my children watch so I can watch it, too” category.

–We re-purchased Goat Simulator when we got our new Xbox so that Isi and I could play all the different versions as some new ones have come out. Our new favorite is Pay Day, which has missions, or “pranks” you can accomplish for money which can later be spent on masks for your character to wear. It’s perfect for Anthony, who has a hard time playing a game with literally no objective. Isobel and I aren’t experts at game play, but we are experts at making up our own mission objectives when none are provided.

Anthony playing Goat Simulator: I need objectives.
Me playing Goat Simulator: I’M GOING TO FIND A CAT AND MAKE IT MY BEST FRIEND AND NAME IT DEREK!
Isobel playing Goat Simulator: I’M GOING TO TRY TO BLOW UP EVERY CAR!

–Anthony came home several hours early from his trip to Indiana. I knew he was coming home but let the kids think he wasn’t arriving until the evening, as usual. I dropped the kids off at my mom’s house, and after Anthony got home we drove over to get them together as a surprise. I didn’t even tell my parents, so that everyone would be genuinely surprised. I’ll never forget the look on Isobel’s face when she saw the two of us standing there. She paused an extra second, and I could practically see her brain trying to work out that it was, in fact, her Dad standing there before her. She launched herself into his arms and I heard her whisper, “holy shit!”

–While visiting my cousins, Sam put on all of his fancy clip-on ties at once and not only did he positively radiate confidence, but he got five job offers, too.

Snapshot 12.31.16. I own a log and buy groceries online. The excitement never ends!

Life List Update 2017. We need permission to let go of the past, and we need permission to wipe the slate clean and start again

To the future!

This cat looks like it’s holding a tiny machine gun.

Very disappointed by the Darth Vader button in the lift. It should have a picture of an angry fireman on it instead.

The dog filter on animals makes me happy.

Everyone still posting in-depth recaps of their 2016 and I’m just over here like…

I’m guessing y’all don’t have any bread.

Have you ever seen a headline and somehow knew it was describing your future?

Writing tip:

2017 MOOD.

Here is an actual demonstration of how I just bragged excitedly about my New Year’s Eve. Sounds great tbh

So I walk into the room to find my cat sitting on the bed watching tv by himself.

Just saw this ad on hemingwayslist.

I was going through my videos at work crying today. All is right for these ten seconds.

Are you kidding me

The hero we deserve.

This Vine is so pure.

You can’t unsee Tedlexa, a TeddyRuxpin crossed with Alexa. Via Solar Power Spork

My plus one.

Those who don’t learn are doomed to repeat it.

This Sailor Scouts art is so dreamy.

Know your cephalopods! Adorable and informative!

We’re going where no other spacecraft has gone before! Learn about our two new asteroid science missions. I really hope we don’t blow ourselves up before then!!

Took almost a whole 48 hours of hacking but I managed to find the new Wu Tang Clan album on the deep web.

Squirrel hides his nut in the fur of a Bernese Mountain dog.

Free Coloring Books from World-Class Libraries & Museums! Via Library as Incubator

Please turn on your phone in the museums. This is so great to see!

NASA’s favorite photos of the year will remind you there’s still good in the world.

The Rise of Healthy-ish. This is exactly how I strive to cook and eat, though I chuckled at the part about ‘a family-sized wheel of brie.’ Because, um. I’ve done that.

Thrifty Giving: Soup for You! Give the gift of soup.

DIY Flower Press. Dave’s Workshop smells like sawdust and Good ‘n Plenty.

Snapshot 12.31.16

December 31, 2016 by Carrie Anne 2 Comments

–I’ve been very sick again for the past week and a half or so. I think it’s been all the holiday activities. Maybe I partied too hard during the holidays. My health is a delicate balancing act of factors even I don’t fully understand.

–One of the really fun things we did this year was host a get together with our friend Elbroon, who we haven’t seen in years, and his lovely family, and we spent the day playing with the kids, piping, and eating taco truck. Not even all of Texas can compete with Elivia’s on East Ave.

–Our local grocery store has started an online grocery service and I think it might be life-changing for me. Grocery shopping is my most exhausting and difficult chore of the week. I used it for the first time yesterday and it felt like a miracle.

–Anthony is off traveling for work again, this time to Indiana, where he is experiencing his first snowfall. I always ask him to report on various aspects of his trip: What is the food like? Does everyone have accents? What does it look like there? How about diversity? I’m always worried about that last part, since my husband is dark-skinned. His traveling in general has given my anxiety a new foothold, and I’ve been using various GPS services to watch him as he treks across the map. Our nightly Facetime sessions keep me going.

–My sickness and Anthony’s absence aside, Christmas break has been wonderful for the kids. All Elias wants in life is to wake up an immediately start playing with his sister, and he’s gotten to do that every day for the past week and a half. The kids have also spent lots of time with cousins and grandparents, and although I’ve had some rough bits, we’ve managed to squeeze in some nature exploration, plenty of art time, cooking and food adventures, and of course, playing with Christmas toys.

–Isobel got a rock tumbler for Christmas, and soon we will be tumbling the shit out of every rock within a five-mile radius. I bought Elias a Pikachu costume (since sister has two and he was feeling left out) and for some reason he thinks it’s his new coat. I guess maybe because sister has a Pikachu jacket, and it is sort of fleecy and warm. But now he refuses to leave the house without his Pikachu jacket, never mind that it doesn’t have sleeves. We’ve taken to making him wear a jacket and then putting Pikachu on over it when it’s particularly cold outside.

–I am the proud new owner of a log! Yes, my sister bought me a log for Christmas, and I couldn’t be happier! It’s no ordinary log–it’s been inoculated with shiitake mushroom spores, and so my dreams of being a Fungus Farmer are finally coming true! I also got a molcajete, which Isobel is fascinated with, and I can’t wait to use.

–Elias has recently become even more verbal, speaking in longer sentences and carefully including words like “the” and “your” and other parts of speech he’d previously done without. We’re making good progress on potty training, which is something he decided to start himself (while Anthony was gone–of course), and a few days ago he finally taught himself how to give a thumb’s up! He’s getting to be so big. I know I said I’d stop calling him “baby” when he turned two but I abandoned that claim pretty quickly. He is still in diapers and takes a pacha sometimes, and he still loves to by cradled by mama, so baby it is! Also, he refers to himself as both “Elias” and “baby”, and it’s going to absolutely destroy me when he stops.

–Soon it’s a new year and I’ll have new insurance and at the request of my GI specialist I have a whole host of new doctors to find: ophthalmologist, infectious disease specialist, neurologist, and rheumatologist. It’s going to be a fun-filled 2017 already. Obviously, our troubles aren’t tied to a year. Our year has been terrible because people have been terrible. But labeling 2016 as a bad year ties it to something in the past. It gives us hope, and keeps fear at bay. Here’s to hope in 2017.

Snapshot 12.20.16. I posted again, and the angels sang.

The sci-fi theme park deep underground in a Romanian salt mine. This looks like an amazing place to explore. I wish there were more photos.

The 22 Most Embarrassing Pages Of The 1990 J.C. Penney Christmas Catalog. OMG, I remember all of this. All. of. this. Incredible. I HAD those AT&T walkie-talkies! My grandparents got them for me for Christmas that year. I remember feeling very salty about it because I specifically requested purple walkie-talkies. They worked great, though! I absolutely adore those metallic gold and silver dresses and I’d wear the hell out of them now. I hope a thrift store somewhere still has a few. Via Thriftanista in the City

This is a Vine of a kitty sticking out its tongue while sleeping.

When you just want to look at some knuckles.

Bernie Sanders calls for a national day of rallies to defend health care from Trump: Jan 15. It’s grassroots time.

In the closing days of 2016 one can’t be too sure.

This is actually my brain.

A+, would fly.

It’s a Christmas wine.

YOU GUYS.

‘Tis the season?

Goodbye 2016.

Last year our church bathroom became an accidental minimalist nativity.

They say no musicians will play Trump’s inauguration. Not true.

When u accidentally open the front-facing camera.

Live every day like you are Sandy Ploy, who photo shops herself into her dreams. Aw, I love Sandy. (PS I HAVE DONE THIS)

My son’s Christmas list a few years back. He asked for a “catch-it”. Endless annual holiday embarrassment. We have plenty if anyone wants some!

Hey u! lady! yeah, holding the sunflower!

Browser the library cat isn’t here to lose, pal. A million cheers for Bowser.

There’s a photo booth green screen at the wedding and I’m wearing a green shirt and green tie. I can’t stop giggling.

The only good story from 2016. Definitely a highlight for me.

A Christmas Carol service in Sri Lanka has accidentally printed the lyrics of Tupac’s Hail Mary, instead of the prayer.

Here’s to Carrie Fisher, who drowned in moonlight, strangled by her own bra. A monumental loss.

Eavesdrop on animal orchestras around the world with amazing interactive experience. Beautiful and relaxing.

23 Things People With Chronic Pain Want You To Know. Via Kate the Almost Great

Long-exposure shots of traffic lights by Lucas Zimmerman. Strangely beautiful.

Please try this recipe i made using a predictive text imitator and The American Woman’s Cook Book (1938).

Parrot sings Sia’s “Chandelier”. Speaking of nature sounds, I guess.

That one person that assumes everything you say is about them.

Elephant gets revenge on its bully by farting on him. This elephant has read the Art of War.

I googled “very small raccoon” and found this taunting infographic made by a raccoon explaining how he got in the house.

Our system for classifying stars comes from work done by a group of female astronomers more than a century ago. This was one of my favorite parts of the new Cosmos.

From bog butter to werewolf kittens, here are the best discoveries of the year. This was really incredible.

On Nellie Bly and other women journalists throughout history and in fiction. Nellie is one of my heroes! I remember reading about her in seventh grade and when I got my first job at a newspaper I was thrilled to follow in her footsteps, even if only slightly.

This poem from @maggiesmithpoet is one of my highlights of this godawful year. Thank you. Took my breath away. Thank you, Maggie.