A good Monday...is that possible?!

CONGRATS, AMY AND CHRIS!!! My friend Amy who I used to work with (well, sort of -- she worked across the hall) is now engaged, and I couldn’t be happier for her! I was almost in tears when I read it. She has waited for this and knew it was probably coming, but still...now, it’s official! Amy manned the registry table at MY wedding. Aw. <3 I’m waiting on all the details.

I’m so excited -- this is a short work week, woohoo! Plus, my mom and I are getting our hair done tonight. I’m getting mine trimmed (I’m letting it grow out), and I’m getting these hideous “blonde” ends colored to match the rest of my head. I did that with a “rinse” about a month ago, and what was supposed to last 4-6 weeks lasted maybe a week, with 2-3 washes. Mom said this was part of my birthday present, and I know she wouldn’t let anyone touch her hair that wasn’t great. She’s very particular, to say the least. AAAAAAND, when I get home, my sweet hubby said he’d have a candlelit dinner ready for me. Whoop whoop! :)

Today’s pretty slow at work, which is good, b/c I need to catch up on my filing...but how I hate filing. Blahhhhhhh. It takes forever, so at least time will pass quickly. I only took about 35 minutes for lunch.

We got some snow last Thursday, I think, and we may get more tonight. My hubby hates snow, he had a bad wreck once while driving in snow. But, I adore it. It’s beautiful and peaceful. <3

F is for...filing...or something like that.

P.S. - Still in love with my CrackBerry.

Busy Bee

Wow, could I be any busier? Between being my local NAMI affiliate president, attending With Hope in Mind classes each Thursday, praise choir practice on Wednesdays, going to the gym, going out of town last weekend and this weekend, work, and trying to maintain a household, I’m climbing the walls. But, that’s a good thing. Being busy keeps my mind off of things OCD-related for the most part. I tweaked our In Our Own Voice blog (http://inourownvoice.blogspot.com/) a little today, adding links to NAMI TN, NAMI National, this blog, and EveryMinute.org, a suicide prevention website run by one of my IOOV trainers.

I’ll tell you, sometimes I get a little scared. I’ve heard more than one person talk about their meds losing their effects, and that worries me a little. What if mine stop working, and we have to go through that drudgery of trying different meds and different doses, all the while battling my returning symptoms? *sigh* Well, the good thing is, my husband keeps a close eye on me, asking me if I’m compulsively picking my skin (which he can observe at times) or if I’m having obsessive thoughts as a result of which I have to ritualize. I guess I shouldn’t worry about something that hasn’t happened, huh? It may never happen. I can only hope and pray.

Well, my check engine light came on today in this 2-year-old car that’s being doing just fine. I took it to Auto Zone, and they did a diagnostics test and came up with “catalytic efficiency”, which could be anything from an oxygen sensor to the catalytic converter. Good news and bad news -- good news is that if it IS the catalytic converter, it’s still covered under the 80,000 mile warranty. Bad news -- there are two oxygen sensors, one cheap, one expensive. Let’s guess which one mine will be during the holidays, shall we? Must...think...positively.

Life-Changing

I just got back last night from the best weekend of my life (other than our wedding). I traveled to Chattanooga to train as an In Our Own Voice Presenter (IOOV) through NAMI. IOOV is a program for “consumers” (those with mental health issues and/or brain disorders) who want to share their story with others to educate, instill hope and stomp out stigma. I trained with 11 other amazing people. These individuals went through some of the hardest times I could imagine and are thriving to tell about it. From being homeless and/or incarcerated to being a role model. One lady was bipolar, ended up in jail because of one of her manic episodes and lost custody of her children. Now, she’s very involved with her children (of whom she regained custody) and her church. She is a strong, vibrant, yet humble, woman. Another lady had five suicide attempts, yet it was her undiagnosed sister who succeeded in her attempt. Now that lady writes for a bipolar disorder website and hopes to have her autobiography published soon. These were intelligent, caring people with big hearts. We received our certificates at the end of the training, and the trainers commented that they had learned alot about my disorder (OCD) this weekend They didn’t know much about it, and they said they felt I was going to do a very much needed work to break stigma and educate about OCD. People think, “Oh, I’m so OCD. I have to have my pens and pencils lined up, and my house has to be perfectly in order.” Yes, but does that control your life? Do you have intrusive “bad” thoughts in response to which you have to perform “rituals” or compulsions (silly little acts that make no sense) over and over and over again until you can’t even get out of your house? Does your mind control you to the point where you can’t even do the things you enjoy, even something as simple as enjoying a glass of sweet tea? If you do, then you have OCD. If not, you’re just a neat freak. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! ;) But, to minimize OCD is hurtful and diminishes the severity and painfulness of this disorder.

On to happier things - NAMI is awesome. They put us up in a comfortable, clean motel, fed us and paid us for mileage. We had the best trainers EVER, a very sweet newly married couple and a hilarious, life-loving guy. All in all, it was great. I want to say “awesome”, “amazing”, etc., but words honestly can’t describe. I am refreshed, inspired, and motivated. Thank each of you that were there. You changed my life.

P.S. Everyone, I still love my BlackBerry. <3

My Precious

My birthday/Christmas present, I'm so excited! :)

Vroom, vroom!

So, I'm a little too excited for the drop of Britney's new CD "Circus" on December 2nd (her birthday). I'm rooting for a big comeback for her. It was rumored she was bipolar, and I hope if that's true, she's gotten the help she needed. She looks much better and actually seems to have it together now. I was perusing britneyspears.com and found my fave pic ever of her.



It's princess and hotness all in one. I heart her. :) I guess I want her body and money, LOL! Anyway, I guess that's all for now. Just figured I should update.