My Chinese New Year

I'm not gonna lie. The past few New Year's Eves have pretty much come and gone while I was dreaming away (read: asleep). For some reason, (maybe because I have sleep issues) we don't really celebrate New Year's Eve. I'm basically a downer. :) ha! But anyway, THIS year is gonna be different. Actually, technically, it's going to be the same, but for Chinese New Year, we are going to PARTY LIKE IT'S 2010-- in Singapore.

I'm kind of, no, actually, I'm REALLY excited about Chinese New Year in Singapore. It's a 2-day Holiday! We'll actually be arriving on the night of the 14th of February, which is the first night of the Lunar New Year, so that should be really interesting.

You can look forward to reading about all of our Chinese New Year fun starting in just a few weeks. I'll be blogging about our entire trip to Singapore and India, just like I did a couple years ago.

I really love writing about my travels, and look very forward to going away especially because I get to write about it. This is going to be a fun trip!

What It's Like To Get An Endoscopy

So you want to know what it's like to get an Endoscopy? Well I just had one yesterday, and I had my first one about 2 and a half years ago, so I'll try to piece my anesthetized brain cells together and remember what it was like.

The first thing you have to do, which probably goes without saying, is that you have to schedule it, but I mention this because, for me, this was an annoying process which took a very long time. It involved referrals and hoopla and rigamarole and nonsuch. In short, it was annoying. But eventually, I did get scheduled, and a packet was sent to me which basically said that I shouldn't take any blood thinning medications (like aspirin and pepto) 7 days in advance of the procedure, and that I shouldn't take any antacids the day of the procedure. And most importantly, it wanted me to make sure I had a ride home from the hospital. (There was also some other information in the packet. You'll get your own packet before your Endoscopy.)

My Endoscopy was scheduled for 2:45 pm, and you're not supposed to eat or drink anything 8 hours before the EGD. But I take pills in the morning. No big deal, though...my packet said that it was okay to take my meds with a few sips of water, so I was good to go. (Check with your doctor on your specific medications if you're taking them before an Endoscopy.) It was a little bit rough to go all day without eating, so I don't recommend that you make your appointment in the afternoon. I didn't end up eating until 5:30pm, although, really, the procedure only lasted about 15 minutes.

I checked in an hour early, and they actually took me in the back fairly soon after I checked in. I had a pretty big purse with me and I was worried about where I was going to put it during the Endoscopy, but the nurse said it would go right into the room on the bed with me, so that was cool. I was taken into a little room and they told me to put on a gown. (Make sure you tie your gown closed in the back!! You'll be glad you did later!) Wear socks. They hooked up monitors that looked like they were for my heart and the one that sticks to your finger (I guess that's your pulse), and they attached IV fluids. Meanwhile the nurse was drilling me with questions about my health. My doctor came by and chatted with me for a few minutes and I signed a consent form. After they were gone, I got to watch TV for awhile, until another nurse came and wheeled me into the Endoscopy procedure room (or whatever you want to call it).

In this room was my doctor, a nurse, a technician (who hands the doctor whatever he wants), and the person who administers the medication. It's a pretty small room. The first time I had an Endoscopy done, I remember being wheeled into this room, seeing these people, getting sprayed in my throat, and that's about it. This time, I was awake for the whole thing. The first thing they do, after administering the anesthetic, is spray your throat with a numbing spray. It doesn't taste too bad. Then they have you lay on your side (this is when you'll be glad you tied your gown shut). They put some large piece of plastic in your mouth to hold it open (and this is where things get a little fuzzy for me-forgive me, I was on some powerful meds!), and they string long spaghetti-like tubes down your throat. You feel it a little bit, as it's going into your mouth, but it doesn't make you gag at all. I think I remember them putting something down my throat at least 3 times. Probably more. Now, I know these tubes have cameras on the ends of them, but I didn't see the camera and I didn't see the images they captured. I do have pictures from my first Endoscopy, in which I tested positive for Celiac Disease. My doctor talked to me after the procedure yesterday and told me he would call me in a couple days and send me some pictures in a couple weeks.

After the Endoscopy, I was wheeled back to another little room where they took out the IV and gave me a little juice. I put my regular clothes back on and they called my ride to come and pick me up. They wouldn't let me walk out of the unit. I had to be wheeled out in a wheelchair.

Later on in the evening, after the Demerol wore off, I had a little bit of a scratchy throat, and my stomach kind of ached a little bit. The stomachache could've just been "me". Today, the scratchy throat is still there, but barely noticeable, kind of like a tickle in my throat. I don't remember this happening the first time I had an Endoscopy.

So that's basically it. It's pretty simple, really. Nothing to get too nervous about. :)

If I can just say one last thing...if you think you have Celiac Disease and your doctor is looking at you like you're crazy, insist on getting tested. I went through the same thing and my life is so much better now that I know how to eat. It really makes a huge difference in your life.

Be well.

Travel Blog Announcement

Our tickets are booked (FINALLY!) and we'll be going to Singapore and India for 2 weeks in February. We had a bit of a hold up because my cousin, Abby has decided she'd like to come along with us, so we were waiting for her to get a travel visa. I'm telling you though, this trip has had a bit of bad luck from the start, so I don't hold out for a very smooth trip, to be honest. First, we had trouble booking Abby's tickets. Now, we're having trouble again- changing Abby's tickets. She seems to be the opposite of a four leaf clover. I'm used to having luck on my side...my husband is the luckiest guy I know. I don't know how many times now he's been pulled over and hasn't received a ticket yet!

But anyway, a trip to India and Singapore means that I'll have some great stuff to write about on this blog (for 2 weeks, anyway!). Seriously, though, I've had like 2 months of nothing but hospitals and sick people, and that's not fun stuff to write about or read about, so there haven't been any posts for a long time. Plus, I haven't had any time at all. I think my life has opened up just this week, though, and I should have more time to write about my projects...and to actually complete a few of them!

One cool thing about our trip is that we'll be in Singapore for Chinese New Year. That should be pretty wild. I don't know what to expect, but I'm sure it will be pretty festive there. Chinese New Year lasts 2 days. Another cool thing about our trip is that we will be going back to Bombay and Jaipur...two places we went on our last trip to India. We have family in Bombay, and I loved Jaipur so much last time we went, I wanted to go back again. I wish February was next week, but I'm sure the time will pass quickly.

On a totally different note, I finished another piece a few weeks ago and gave it to my husband for his birthday. It's pretty cute. I'm working on another one right now, which seems to be going well, but has a few missing pieces I have yet to figure out, so we'll see.

That's my update. Hopefully next time I'll have pics. TTFN.

The Hospital

I feel like I know the hospital a little too well lately. For the last month I've been back and forth to the one hospital or the other, like, daily. My very dear aunt has had some surgery and is now recovering, and we've been wanting to be with her quite a lot.

The good news is that she's doing quite well and will probably be able to walk with her walker in about a week. The bad news is that she will have the hospital in her life for at least a few more months as she is treated for her illness.

I think her outlook is great, but I feel bad that she will has such a long road left. She'll be fine.

As for me, I've not had time to work on much of anything creative lately. I did a mixed media piece about 3-4 weeks ago, which I'm in love with, and I made some prints of it which I will probably put up on Etsy eventually (when I get some TIME!). I also made some prints of another piece I did and will put those up as well.

I have some ideas for other pieces, too. It just takes time to get them going. I need at least half a day of uninterrupted time to work on a piece and get it started, and I haven't had that in I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG. :) I may take a day off someday soon and try to put my head down and work. The problem with a day off is that I would be tempted to rest and not work on creative endeavours! :)

I have a pic of my aunt that I almost posted here, but I thought about it, and I don't think she'd appreciate a picture of herself posted when she's not completely healed yet, so I won't post it- but I will say that I'm very proud of how far she's come, and I really wanted to post it to show everyone how great she looks!

Who knows when I'll post next, but hopefully it will be a post with a picture of some new artwork or bead work! After all, the Bay Area Bead Extravaganza is coming up in about a week and a half!

City Trip

A short trip to the City warrants a little post, doesn't it?

We went to San Francisco last weekend and spent the night in Union Square, where all the action is. We actually left on Friday and had lunch at a great Mexican restaurant called Tropisueño. I had read some good things about the place, and we found it to be excellent. You

order at the counter (one of the few places I've ever found that has quesadillas made with corn tortillas!), and then you seat yourself and your order is brought to you. I, of course had the aforementioned corn quesadillas and a chicken tamal, and the hub had 2 super tacos. We each had a Jamaica. Mmm.

From there, we proceeded to visit many shops...mostly at Westfield San Francisco, which is beautiful. By the time we were finished exploring Union Square, it was about time for us to get all dressed up for our dinner. We were celebrating our anniversary, and had not yet decided on a dinner destination by the time we had donned our duds, so there was a little bit of a discussion about that. I, personally, didn't think we would get in to any restaurant at dinner time on a Friday night without a reservation...plus, it was rush hour. So, we decided to eat at the steak house inside the hotel (Mission Steak). This was a good decision, by the way. Dinner was soooo-ooo good. We each had Chimichurri Skirt Steak with fingerling potatoes (even though my husband doesn't like to order the same thing as me), and polished it off with a hot fudge sundae. After dinner, we went back to the room and changed, and then went back out and watched a movie at the Metreon.

It was a great trip San Francisco...but our anniversary celebrations weren't over. We also spent Sunday at the Spa getting a Massage, a Facial, and a Pedicure (the last two were for me only). To be honest, I was a little disappointed with our spa experience and would leave that out next time. Not my fave. Maybe we just didn't go to the right spa...

Anyway, that was our fun weekend. Look for a post soon with pics of new Mixed Media pieces.

Gallery Day

I thought I might show off a few of my recent Mixed Media pieces...two of which are finished and one is still a work-in-progress. The first one I call Cherry Winks. It was inspired by one of my grandmother's cookie recipes and includes part of the recipe in her handwriting on part of the page. It also has a few of her vintage buttons attached. It was pretty much one of my very first Mixed Media pieces, so it's very basic, but I'm not ashamed of it or anything. I like what it represents. I'm still a beginner, and you'll be able to see that in all 3 of the works I'm posting.

Cherry Winks

Inspired by my Grandmother's Recipe

This next piece is one that is still a work-in-progress, and I have not yet named it. Who knows? It may never get a name. But I was just inspired one day to paint an Indian guy with green skin and a pink turban with big bug eyes. I could see the picture in my mind and I just had to get it on paper. After the guy was painted, I showed it to a few people and it didn't go over too well. They didn't understand it. The truth is, I made it for myself, and it really only mattered to me that I understood it, but I did get some constructive criticism, so I worked on it. One thing I added later on was the mustache. It's a paper mustache with multiple layers so that it's kinda bristly. I'm going to add some more dimension to it, as well, but I've got some more thinking to do. Anyway.

Buggy Eyed Guy

Finally, here is my most recent piece, which also doesn't yet have a name. It's the first time I've used an inspirational word as a catalyst for a piece. In this case, the word was "welcome". I think I may have gotten the word from illustrationfriday.com*. After I had the word, I typed "welcome quotations" into Google, and found this fitting traditional quote about cats which really painted a picture in my mind and formed the basis for the painting. In the painting, my cats, Boogie and Corny are depicted as angels (on the left) with a host of other cats, awaiting me in heaven. I think the yellow cut-out stars are a nice addition. This may be the first Mixed-Media piece that I've done that tells a story.

So that's what I've been working on lately. I've got another "quotation" work in the pipes, which is about 1/4 of the way finished. It's cute.

*Illustrationfriday.com is a really cool website that I've just discovered that provides inspiration via an inspirational word every Friday. They encourage you to create your own kind of art, whatever it may be, and submit it to their site to be viewed by everyone, without the pressure of being criticized or judged...or contacted by anyone, for that matter. They describe themselves as a weekly illustration challenge with a safe creative forum. Joining is free, so, hello! Join! :)

So What's the Dill, Yo?

So we went to the East Bay...San Ramon, to be exact. It's actually a really nice place, despite my initial misgivings. I thought it was going to be in the boonies, and it turns out it was much, much closer than I gave it credit for. It also has some really new amenities that make it an up and coming community, and a great place to live.

We checked out a few new construction homes. We're talking expensive here, folks. And, of course, we pretty much fell head over heels in love with the most expensive one. As we were walking through the model home we couldn't stop saying to each other, "I could live here". It kept repeating over and over. The house was like a Disneyland ride for us...it kept getting better and better and it seemed like the Happiest Place on Earth. And then reality hit. We can't have that house. It's too expensive. Or can we? My husband and I couldn't wait to go home and crunch the numbers.

We got home and he got out the mortgage calculators and all that crazy stuff I don't understand. (I know I should understand it folks! He keeps reminding me I should understand it!) It turns out that if we brought in just a little more each month, we could swing that house. But where are we going to get the money? That's what's killing us.

So we're going back again this weekend. We're going to look at lower priced homes, but we're also going to torture ourselves and look at our dream home again. We'll be crushed if we don't get that house. All signs point to us getting crushed.

On a lighter note, I've started making Tooth Fairy Pillows. I have one up so far in my Etsy Shop and more to be posted soon. I don't want to post them all at once because they'll all get buried. I love Etsy, but I do liken it to a neverending giant heap of cute stuff, that people keep shoveling more and more cute stuff upon, and my cute stuff never really gets a chance to breathe because it kind of suffocates from all the other people's cute stuff that has been shoveled on top of it. So that's my Etsy/Giant Cute Stuff Heap Analogy.

One of my Tooth Fairy Pillows

I'll have more on the too-expensive new-house sit-chew-ay-shon in my next post. Until then, do keep your fingers crossed that a money cloud opens up in the sky right above me and makes a commitment to follow me around for awhile.