Stress Rains Down - and More Rain Rains Down

~My Wonderful Cat, Now in Need of Dental Surgery~

I've had a bad week. A really, really bad week. I'm sore, exhausted at nothing, and broke. Broke, broke, broke. I haven't been able to work since last November. I can't afford my medications for my fibromyalgia (not that they were doing anything anyway, but I always had hope), I can't afford my physical therapy for my fibromyalgia, and now, on top of hydro bills, phone bills, and other everyday expenses, my cat went to the vet for his annual check up and apparently needs dental surgery. $1100 of dental surgery to be exact. He is 12 years old, and has been my bud since I was 13, so I will not let him suffer. The vet says I need to do it before Christmas, but the sooner the better. I want to. I really, really want to do it now so he doesn't have to go another day with bad teeth (I can't even imagine). The obvious problem is, of course, that I don't have the money to pay the hydro bills, or get my hair cut, or replace my socks with holes in them.
I need help! Please pray for me and the cat. I don't know how we'll get the money for this - my fiance anf I haven't even been able to save anything for our wedding next year.
......And it is raining AGAIN. Jeez, will someone please turn it off for more than a day?
The good news: the dog is in perfect health, and so is the cat, apart from the dental stuff. The cat isn't in obvious pain, and still eats, though now I'm moistening his food slightly so it's easier to chew. It could be worse, I suppose.
I try to stay positive, and make more jewellery in the hopes that it will sell. I have more coming, so keep checking the jewellery blog and my website for more details (the links are on the bar at right).
Take care, I'm off to overturn my patio chairs full of rainwater.
Meghann

Bad Week, But Hope Still Reigns

~Front of My House in Blooms~

It's been a hard week. I thought that Sunday was going to be a good day so I did two and a half hours of gardening, and boy did I pay for it. Sure, the weeds are gone (mostly), and I love that the flowers are finally reaching their mature sizes and bloom states - the smell is heavenly - but this has been one of the worst weeks all summer. I've been so sore, dizzy, tired and crappy-feeling that even exercise is getting to be a painful chore. I normally love to exercise, and try to get about an hour everyday, but it is getting harder and harder to do even 1/2 hour of light exercise.
That being said, I know that it will pass. I'm trying to continue to plan my wedding and stay positive. This too shall pass!
I'm off to bake my 'Make You Melt Ginger Cookies' - as predicted, they are a HUGE hit with everyone!
Stay healthy,
Meghann

Procrastination - The Way to Creativity?

~Some of the projects I have started, or have yet to start~

I hate to admit, but I procrastinate when it comes to my art. I don't know if it is because I am scared of messing up a piece, or the fact that once I start something, I can't stop it until it's finished (and then I miss being in the process of creating my art), or maybe I am scared that I'll be interrupted and put it down, only to forget about it for months (sometimes years), and come back to it and regret not finishing it when I started. This is because I then can't figure out where I was (creatively speaking) when I started it (Fibro-fog strikes again!). Maybe it's a combination of all of the above. I certainly know that any distractions are usually bad distractions and for me to create really good art: I need to be practically insomniac and avoid the phone, email, T.V. - civilization in general to hear that teeny voice telling me what, where, when, how to create (I don't need the why - it just IS).
So I procrastinate. I read book after book after book (not always bad as it's usually something I'm learning), or I clean, or I'm sore so I watch T.V. or sleep. All things that keep me away from my beading, camera, pencils, etc. It's frustrating.
I get so frustrated I finally start my project, whatever it may be....and then I LOVE it. I can't get away from it. I dream it. I see it dancing in front of my eyes. I wonder why it took me so LONG to start it.
Then I'm sore and sick and need to rest, but I've DONE it. I love it. I am it. It is wonderful :-D
Today's quote sort of makes me realize that maybe my procrastination isn't a bad thing - or at least that I am not alone in it. It all adds up to a period of time where I almost forget that I am sick, and that is heaven in itself.
Today's quote is by Brenda Ueland: "So you see, imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering."
HA! I'm not alone :)
Happy creating,
Meghann

Love is the Best Medicine

~My 'Lil Love Bug, Gandalf~

When my fiance is at work and I'm alone and sore during the day, there is nothing I love more than to sleep. I should say, that I love to sleep and have my animals keep me company. My cat Gandalf sits on my tummy and purrs, making him my personal massaging heating pad. My dog Arwen takes my fiance's pillow and most of his side of the bed, puts her head on his pillows and stares out the window into the backyard. Sometimes she'll sleep on her back, spread eagle with her paws straight in the air and SNORE! It's amazing how a 50 pound dog can snore louder than an adult more than 3 times her size! That being said, I'd rather have her snore than not have her at all.
Knowing my animals are always there, loving me no matter how sore and cranky I am, makes the day better and go by faster. Love truly is the best medicine! That, and my animals are hilarious! Laughter helps too. They play together, and when that gets boring, they sleep side by side, sometimes touching paws, tails, even noses! I am blessed to have companionship - even when my fiance is at work, my animals are always by my side. On my most painful days, they hardly go more than a few feet away, and I am grateful for that!
That's all for now, I'm off to play with my dog,
Meghann