I've got pneumonia again. Yup. Last time it hit me when I was totally run-down and stressed out and exhausted. It's like a bad memory: hits you when you're most vulnerable to it. Click here for a recap of the last time I was down with this...
This time is harder than last time though. Last time I didn't have a rambunctious 2 year old hanging on me that demands you keep up with her. Last time wasn't the end of the school year where I just can't take a day off because of all the stuff I still have to do. This time I just can't seem to feel better. All I do is lay on the couch and cough, move to the bed and cough, move to the chair and cough and doze. It's awful. In the meantime, I can't breathe. My lips are purple and I'm coughing violently every 20 minutes or so. My whole body is sore from the coughing and I just can't seem to shake it.
Good thing it's a 3 day weekend and I don't have to go back to work till Tuesday. However, with the way this is looking, I'll be surprised if I make it back to work next week at all. I feel that awful.
One bright spot: Maelin has not caught this yet. She's just as healthy and crazy as ever. However, she started imitating my coughing today. She says, "Mama coughin" and then goes, "ack ack". No sweetie: don't imitate sick Mama. That makes me sad...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wow...Almost Forgot I Even Had A Blog
10 days since my last post. I blame the following:
1) Have crazy awful cold that sent me to Urgent Care last week and will possibly land me in the ER tonight. I've been coughing like crazy: violent coughs that aren't getting better and come about every 10 minutes. I even had to pull over on I-25 yesterday on my way to work because I was afraid I was going to crash us. Maelin was in the back saying to me, "Mama otay?" over and over. Haven't slept more than 1 hour at a time since Saturday night.
2) Crazy busy time at work. Have two field trips, Literacy Plans due, reading tests, math tests, computer and language tests, writing tests, report cards, committee meeting after committee meeting. Typical end-of-the-year craziness. This is what is preventing me from taking a day off to rest from this vicious, horrible cough.
3) We've been trying to get the yard up and going for Maelin. We spent last weekend weeding, planting flowers, and generally cleaning up after the years of neglect from the former owners. They didn't do a darn thing for years so we have a pretty good battle ahead of us to get the yard the way we want it. However...we still have a killer view of both downtown and the mountains from our backyard, so I'm not complaining.
4) Auntie Vanessa is coming into town this weekend for a quick visit! She's really coming to see her friends (they bought her ticket) so we won't get to spend a whole lot of time with her but that's ok. She's planning on coming back in June, so we'll see her again soon.
So for those of you who are wanting your Maelin fix: I have a 3-day weekend coming up so I should have some time to post the latest pictures of her. Gotta warn you though: she's super cute lately, so there may be quite a few of them!
1) Have crazy awful cold that sent me to Urgent Care last week and will possibly land me in the ER tonight. I've been coughing like crazy: violent coughs that aren't getting better and come about every 10 minutes. I even had to pull over on I-25 yesterday on my way to work because I was afraid I was going to crash us. Maelin was in the back saying to me, "Mama otay?" over and over. Haven't slept more than 1 hour at a time since Saturday night.
2) Crazy busy time at work. Have two field trips, Literacy Plans due, reading tests, math tests, computer and language tests, writing tests, report cards, committee meeting after committee meeting. Typical end-of-the-year craziness. This is what is preventing me from taking a day off to rest from this vicious, horrible cough.
3) We've been trying to get the yard up and going for Maelin. We spent last weekend weeding, planting flowers, and generally cleaning up after the years of neglect from the former owners. They didn't do a darn thing for years so we have a pretty good battle ahead of us to get the yard the way we want it. However...we still have a killer view of both downtown and the mountains from our backyard, so I'm not complaining.
4) Auntie Vanessa is coming into town this weekend for a quick visit! She's really coming to see her friends (they bought her ticket) so we won't get to spend a whole lot of time with her but that's ok. She's planning on coming back in June, so we'll see her again soon.
So for those of you who are wanting your Maelin fix: I have a 3-day weekend coming up so I should have some time to post the latest pictures of her. Gotta warn you though: she's super cute lately, so there may be quite a few of them!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
How I Continue To Breathe
I'm exhausted. Utterly exhausted. My day today was crazy. I had duty this morning so I had to race to get to school on time. I was in a PBS conference all day yesterday so I had to clean up from the sub. Additionally, I am in charge of the scrapbook we are giving our principal as a good-bye present so I spent 2 hours making that this morning (as I was running literacy centers: good thing my kiddos have learned how to take directions well!). Then I had a meeting with a parent. Then I worked through lunch as I have a school-visit on Monday and have to get sub plans ready. Then I taught the kids how to add quarters and half-dollars. Then I had a meeting with the interm-principal and the PBS team. Then I had to get the room cleaned up and the kiddos out the door. Then I had to set up my room for the Volunteer Appreciation Tea we host every year. Then I had to race downtown to pick up Maelin. Then we played at the mall for a while. Then I came home and she "helped" me water the flowers. ("Mae Mae do it!!" as she gets the hose and puts water everywhere). Then I got her ready for bed and sang to her while she fell asleep. Then I started some laundry. Then I worked on her 2 Year Questionnaire for her 2-year check up next week. Then I pulled out my laptop and started working on my latest book orders.
Then I stopped. I just wanted to sit still for a minute. Whenever I'm totally stressed out and lose sight of what really matters to me, this picture is what I think about. (I should preface this with no, it's not a picture of MaeMae. Of course she's the most important thing in the entire world to me and is the reason I do what I do every day and is my reason for continuing to breathe...) but she's not what I thought about tonight as I forced myself to breathe. This picture below is what I thought about:
I took this shot in Sorrento, Italy in 2005 when I went for a week with my girlfriends. Sorrento is on the Amafli Coast: directly across the bay from Naples and just up the coast from Positiano (the famous hill town featured in lots of movies..."Under the Tuscan Sun" had a bunch of scenes there). Anyway, this is my FAVORITE town in Italy. Bar none. Even beats out Venice. This shot was taken around 9pm as we were heading out to dinner. You can walk everywhere in Sorrento and it is the lemoncello capital of Italy. Never indulged in this Italian treat? You are missing out. Next time you are at a real Italian restaurant (Olive Garden doesn't count), check the dessert menu for this treat. Order it COLD and with an espresso. Alternate sips between the cold, alcoholic, lemony-sweetness and the bitter heat of the espresso and oh...you will be experiencing just a small amount of the true Italian lifestyle.
So why do I think about this picture when I'm insanely crazed and busy? Because it grounds me. After the time I spent teaching in Italy, I learned how to stop and just take it all in. Italians do not rush around like we do. They can't do errands at lunch because everything is closed for siesta. No biggie...I'll just go home and drink some wine or birra (beer) and wait for them to open tomorrow. Busy at work? Too bad...it's time to go home and I'm going so I can spend time with my family and drink some more wine or lemoncello.
This picture reminds me of what is important because when I see it, I'm instantly transported away from my crazy classroom. Away from the bills I still need to pay, the Mother's Day card that is going to be late getting to my mom this year. Away from the laundry and away from the "should dos", "could dos" and "need to dos." It brings me back to the place where I am sitting on a sidewalk cafe with my lemoncello and my espresso watching the sunset. Watching the old men play checkers. Watching the children play with the dogs as their "nonnas" water the flowers that are hanging off of their balconies. The sun is setting behind me, the breeze is blowing, the smell of lemons, flowers and the sea is in the air and no one is rushing to be anywhere because everyone is just where they want to be.
Exactly where they are. No one is forcing themselves to breathe here.
Then I stopped. I just wanted to sit still for a minute. Whenever I'm totally stressed out and lose sight of what really matters to me, this picture is what I think about. (I should preface this with no, it's not a picture of MaeMae. Of course she's the most important thing in the entire world to me and is the reason I do what I do every day and is my reason for continuing to breathe...) but she's not what I thought about tonight as I forced myself to breathe. This picture below is what I thought about:
I took this shot in Sorrento, Italy in 2005 when I went for a week with my girlfriends. Sorrento is on the Amafli Coast: directly across the bay from Naples and just up the coast from Positiano (the famous hill town featured in lots of movies..."Under the Tuscan Sun" had a bunch of scenes there). Anyway, this is my FAVORITE town in Italy. Bar none. Even beats out Venice. This shot was taken around 9pm as we were heading out to dinner. You can walk everywhere in Sorrento and it is the lemoncello capital of Italy. Never indulged in this Italian treat? You are missing out. Next time you are at a real Italian restaurant (Olive Garden doesn't count), check the dessert menu for this treat. Order it COLD and with an espresso. Alternate sips between the cold, alcoholic, lemony-sweetness and the bitter heat of the espresso and oh...you will be experiencing just a small amount of the true Italian lifestyle.
So why do I think about this picture when I'm insanely crazed and busy? Because it grounds me. After the time I spent teaching in Italy, I learned how to stop and just take it all in. Italians do not rush around like we do. They can't do errands at lunch because everything is closed for siesta. No biggie...I'll just go home and drink some wine or birra (beer) and wait for them to open tomorrow. Busy at work? Too bad...it's time to go home and I'm going so I can spend time with my family and drink some more wine or lemoncello.
This picture reminds me of what is important because when I see it, I'm instantly transported away from my crazy classroom. Away from the bills I still need to pay, the Mother's Day card that is going to be late getting to my mom this year. Away from the laundry and away from the "should dos", "could dos" and "need to dos." It brings me back to the place where I am sitting on a sidewalk cafe with my lemoncello and my espresso watching the sunset. Watching the old men play checkers. Watching the children play with the dogs as their "nonnas" water the flowers that are hanging off of their balconies. The sun is setting behind me, the breeze is blowing, the smell of lemons, flowers and the sea is in the air and no one is rushing to be anywhere because everyone is just where they want to be.
Exactly where they are. No one is forcing themselves to breathe here.
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