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I am not blogging very regularly on this blog for now. I'm writing all about my survival through this hell called cancer at My Honey and Me. I post there almost daily! Go check it out and please feel free to update your bookmarks accordingly!

See you there!

Monthly Pictures - January

I saw this thing on the interwebs a couple years ago, but I can't for the life of me remember where. The idea is you take a picture in the same spot of the same thing on the same day each month for one year. Then you can compare and watch how the seasons, your hairstyle, your messy house look as the months go by. I finally got around to taking the pictures this month today so on the 28th of each month, I will take these same pictures for one year. Enjoy!

The view from the back porch.
The paper tree in the back yard.
The front of the house.
The dogs greeting me!
My own mug shot.
January Flip-It Bits Cross-stitch (I'm making a quilt from all 12 months once I stitch them all.
Chinese Butterfly Cross-stitch. This is my running "big" project. My attention span requires more variety so I like to alternate between a big project and some smaller ones at the same time so I don't burn out and leave the big one unfinished.
See you next month!

100+ Things About Me

100+ Things About Me *updated 1/18/07

1. I was born in St. Louis, MO
2. I was born the day before Groundhog Day and my father won’t ever let me forget it
3. I’m deathly afraid of spiders, all kinds, all shapes, sizes and colors
4. I love Mexican food. Especially my Honey’s enchiladas (he ain’t Mexican)
5. I’m 5’7 ½” but I just round up and say I’m 5’8”
6. I’m overweight
7. I love Yankee Candles
8. I have a Chihuahua named Dobby and a Rat Terrier named Scarlett
9. I went to a private, Episcopal school from 4th through 8th grades
10. I graduated from Heritage High School in 1994
11. I attended Univ. Northern Colorado for two years after high school
12. I hated UNC
13. I developed a severe addiction to IRC in 1996 (lasted till about 1999)
14. I developed a slight addiction to alcohol but have since cut way back
15. I dropped out of college in 1996 (see #s 13 & 14)
16. I think I’m hypoglycemic
17. My left foot is just slightly smaller than my right foot
18. I' m a very good speller
19. I like to give identities to my body parts and organs "my hair is not happy with me today," or "my bladder is trying to clock in some overtime"
20. I am a Pagan focusing on Wicca traditions
21. I collect crystals
22. I’ve been reading tarot cards for almost 15 years
23. I am a closet computer geek
24. I love the colors purple, pink and light shades of green
25. My dad calls me Scout
26. My husband calls me Honey
27. My mom used to call me Abbeish
28. My grandmother calls me Lady Abigail
29. My internet friends call me Garnie
30. I used to write a lot of poetry
31. I haven’t tried to write poetry in years
32. My grandfather used to call me Alligator Ann
33. I love it when the digital clock reads 11:11 or 3:33, etc
34. I hate math and history
35. I love literature, art and science
36. I have three cats
37. I love dolphins
38. I’ve been to Maui and I desperately want to go again
39. My favorite authors are John Irivng, Tom Robbins and Barbara Kingsolver
40. My favorite artists are Georgia O’Keefe, Salvador Dali
41. I’m pro-choice
42. I’m liberal on most issues but generally, I am unaffiliated in the political realm
43. I hate it when people think that “alot” is an actual word
44. I don’t like phrases that include the word pop: “Just pop it in the oven,” “I’ll just pop on over”
45. I hate seeing other people’s feet
46. I love drinking water
47. I feel strongly about the toilet paper going OVER the roll, rather than under
48. I love seafood
49. I’m a frugal bargain shopper. Some call me "cheap."
50. I lost my virginity at 18 and was well-prepared for the experience
51. I’m a sucker for Lifetime movies about serious mental or physical illnesses
52. I think showering is a pain in the ass (but I still do it every day!)
53. I am slightly Obsessive Compulsive
54. My favorite poets are Emily Dickenson, e e cummings and Rainer Maria Rilke
55. I believe in fairies
56. I believe in aliens
57. I really wish I could have a close encounter of the second or third kind
58. Two of my favorite movies are Gone With the Wind and Pulp Fiction
59. I’m a total grandma driver in the snow
60. I can’t stand commercials on TV (I'd die without my DVR!)
61. I’m a decent poker player
62. I have abandonment issues
63. I love salty and soury things
64. I can only drink one cup of coffee a day
65. I get migraines
66. I hate cooked broccoli
67. I’m a crafting fool
68. I’m obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and the Scooby Gang thereof)
69. I'm big on ritual
70. I burp as naturally as I sneeze or cough
71. I love to take pictures of my pets
72. I only check my snail mail once a week (if that!)
73. I love symbolism
74. I love to help people solve problems (big or small)
75. I don’t like to see movies at the theater on opening night
76. I used to be obsessed with Pearl Jam
77. I am now obsessed with Dave Matthews Band and Sarah McLachlan
78. I met my husband in high school
79. Then I met him in a chat room 3 years later
80. Then I started dating him 4 years after that
81. I wanted my wedding to be outside
82. I had my wedding indoors at the University Park Holiday Inn in Fort Collins, CO
83. I designed my own wedding programs
84. I used to want to be a psychologist
85. Then I wanted to be a dream researcher
86. Then I wanted to be an preschool teacher
87. I completed my AA degree in Early Childhood Education in May 2007
88. I've been a preschool teacher since 2004
89. I have a mild case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome
90. I love quoting movies
91. I can’t tell jokes to save my life
92. I love to hear/read good jokes
93. Most of my dearest friends have been at least 15 years older than me
94. I’m an only child
95. I dyed my hair Hot Hot Pink in January 2008
96. My biggest goal in the next five years is to become a mother
97. I got pregnant rather quickly in October 2007
98. I had a miscarriage at 4 weeks
99. My mom died suddenly on Halloween 2007
100. I was diagnosed with cancer (large tumors on my liver) mid-November 2007
101. The fall of 2007 was the worst and most challenging time of my life
102. I am currently undergoing chemotherapy to help shrink my cholangiocarcinoma so that the doctors can surgically remove the tumors and a majority of my liver
103. I am determined to kick this cancer in its ass and get pregnant again when I'm healthy enough
104. I have five tattoos and I want one more but I have to wait until I finish my chemo treatments

Away...

I haven't been posting here much because I'm very busy having cancer. Joy.

You can read all about it here: My Honey and Me

I update that one almost every day. Come see me there for now! I'll post pictures here though because it's just easier posting pics to Blogger than it is on WordPress!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
Ann is my middle name. I would not change any of my names, although there was a time in high school where I refused to respond to anyone who called me "Abbey" and would only answer to my formal "big name" of "Abigail." Don't know why. Probably one of those teenage identity crises!

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
I would use lots of silk organza, alpaca cloth and other soft natural fabrics in deep burgandies and light, heather greens.

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Putting clean laundry away. I don't mind sorting it, washing it and folding it but for some reason I detest putting it all away. I don't know why. But I've managed to work out a deal with Honey: I'll sort, wash and fold the clothes if he carries it down and back up again and puts it all away. Sometimes I do help him put it away because we get it done faster if we work together.

Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
Being abandoned is one of my biggest, deepest-rooted fears. Naturally, it's traced back to first when my mom used to travel out of state almost weekly for her business when I was 7-10 years old. Then later, the travelling had taken such a toll on her that she became unwell and subsequently would be in and out of mental hospitals for the next 8 years or so. I still struggle with that fear of being abandoned but I've gotten a much better handle on it in the past few years.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
I am sitting in the living room of my house in Honey's recliner. Three things I see at the moment: Scarlett, the TV and a box of kleenex. (Oh how I wish those were the only things I see around me! I am drowning in clutter!)

Colorado in Pain

Yikes! Look what happened today at two separate churches in Colorado! I'm still in Houston where it's almost 80 degrees and no known shootings going on. We're going home tomorrow. I'm worried. What happened? Why? So scary.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride?

Mostly, I detest carnivals and avoid them at all costs. And, as an empath, the vibrations from most amusement parks are too much for me to handle. But when I have gone to amusement parks, I've really enjoyed the roller coasters! But not the old, wooden rickety ones...those are just moving death wishes!

Soup
How do you react in uncomfortable social situations?
I freeze up and wait for it to pass usually. Sometimes, I'll randomly change the subject and pretend it never happened, though, usually, I tend to be the source of the uncomfortable social situation because I just blurt out everything that comes to my mind!

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics?
As long as it's a discussion, rather than a deep, heated, strongly-opinionated debate, I'd have to say I enjoy the a 6.

Main Course
Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to?
No because Honey has convinced me that the government might be tracking people with something they've added to the flu shots. We're non-conformists (he's a little paranoid!).

Dessert
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television?
Really, it depends on the week. But I'd say, on average, about 12 hours per week. Ugh. That seems like a lot. Don't go telling everyone!

Brought to you by Friday's Feast and the letter B.