Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Must bring attention to: The Snuggles Project

If you love animals and making things (crochet, knit, quilt or sew) then you will probably be interested in The Snuggles Project. It's making and donating blankets for animals that are in shelters, where the floor can be cement or other harsh, cold environments. Check it out!

http://www.snugglesproject.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Monday, February 15, 2010

Life is better without sickness!!

It feels Sooo Good to not be as sick as I was! I have energy I feel so good!:) Can we have a halleluah!!!! Say: You know it, Girl!!!

I have gotten a few things done today.

Tomorrow is an 'In Our Own Voice' presentation, weather permitting.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day from Jungletart!

Panda with baby, Webshots
Buddy system, King Penguins, Falkland Islands, Webshots
Chocolate hearts, Art Life Images, Webshots

Happy Valentine's Day from the Jungletart!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Went to the doctor/a sea of red hearts!

My cold is subsiding. No rattling in the lungs. I am done with antibiotics - yay!! Now we can talk about other things, as I am not as consumed with being sick.:)

Tomorrow, work is throwing a Valentine Party. I have been somewhat consumed with that. I went to the 'Dollar Store' and got a ton of decorations. We also made our own, cutting out red valentines and putting white crepe paper on them to hang them on the ceiling. It is a sea of red hearts flowing from the ceiling at work!:)

Also, our second 'In Our Own Voice' Presentation is coming up on Tuesday. The weather is a little 'iffy' so we'll see what happens. I need to go over my presentation again and mentally prepare myself. After the party tomorrow.:)

I am thinking of picking up my knitting needles again and working on my first slipper ever. It makes me happy.:)
I hope others are doing well in the midst of the snow and the wintertime. I send my sincere prayers out on the blogosphere.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Snow in the Jungle!

Here in the land of this JungleTart we are experiencing Massive Snow. Two feet is on the ground already and 10 to 20 more inches expected in the next day or so.

Please let that sink in.

This is a place that just doesn't experience things like this. This is not Wisconsin. As a matter of fact, my husband's 91-year-young Grandma has been calling us to gloat and frankly laugh at us!

We are exceptionally lucky and blessed as a large evergreen tree went down in our backyard and went in the best possible direction - away from the shed, all other trees and best of all - away from from our house. We also have our power, knock on wood that it continues, our electricity has not gone out at this time.

***
How have I handled the snowstorm and impending snowstorm as a bipolar? Well, to be honest I was kind of looking forward to it this weekend. It was the Laura Ingalls Wilder in me - have you read those books? I ate them up as a child and still imagine a day where I could farm, albeit I want to farm Alpacas, and live the simple life. I imagined being cozy in the house, maybe with some cocoa, covered in Pugs and knitting a slipper, all concepts that very well could have come true except for one thing I believe.

Antibiotics.

I officially have bronchitis, I was diagnosed last week, and have been taking my antibiotic as prescribed since then. I'm telling you it dilutes my psychotropics (medications for my bipolar). I'm telling you this not to say it's true for anyone else, as I would never want to presume for anyone else. But for me it feels that this is the second time that this has occurred. And because of it, it feels to me like I am less medicated and frankly this weekend was H*ll.

I couldn't sit still. I NEEDED to sit still and sleep and recover and Stop feeling Revved up. No doing. I was not fun to live with, I understand, since my husband pretty much ahem told me so.

I have a prn pill (that's a take as needed pill) that I take as a last resort to stop the madness. It pretty much knocks me out. I had to take it once a day, each day of the weekend. I hate to do that, but there was no peace without it. Without it were crying jags, practically running around the house (I was stuck in it, there was no going anywhere) one way or the other, feeling like I had to get a million things done yet a sense of complete ineffectiveness and a general sense of massive anxiety. Perhaps non-bipolars do not relate, I do not know. Maybe plenty of people do relate, I still don't know. But it was awful.

I had sincerely hoped it would be a good experience. I get excited about snow. It is utterly beautiful when it is coming down, especially if you don't have to go anywhere.

I survived this last one and I will survive.

If snow is in your life or in your forecast, I wish you all the beauty of it. I hope all are well. Sincerely.:)