Amanda Finds A Lot to Say When She Doesn't Have Anything to Say

Hmm . . . I haven't written in a while because nothing is really new with me. Same old stuff, different day. I think that was in a Stephen King novel called Dreamcatcher. I loooove Stephen King novels.

I went to see the Lion King with my mom on Saturday. That was super cool. If you haven't seen it, the costuming and staging creativity is amazing. Great kid singers too:) I wish I could take all my kids to see it.

Also, Harley (the cat) is recovering from another bladder issue. This time, he was blocked, which is a deadly condition if not treated. I woke up early Saturday morning and saw him squatting in a corner like he was when he had his last bladder infection. I had just taken him in to the vet a few days before for his follow-up appointment. So, I called the vet as soon as they opened and got him in. I'm sure I seemed like a heartless mom because I was kind of shocked into silence when they told me that they would have to keep him for the weekend. I guess I couldn't deal (at least not at 9:00 on a Saturday morning!) So, he is back at home. I had to isolate him in the bathroom for a day because he is still "leaking" a little. Oh, I hated it! He finally gets home and I go and lock him up again. And if you never met Harley, he is very vocal. He cried and cried and I wanted to cry too:) (By the way, Harley "sings." He hums when he is contented and I swear that one time I was doing an analysis at my computer for my music classes and Harley was humming along with me in the same key! Either he got it from me, which would be amazing, or I was humming in his key, not so amazing, but either way, pretty funny that I would even realize that my cat and I were humming in the same key! I'm a dork!)

Amanda Would Like to Buy Some Patience, Pat

So, right now, I am struggling with patience. Do you ever just want to get something over with? That is so me right now. I try not to be the kind of person that just lives for the next exciting thing, and miss all the stuff in between. So I feel frustrated that I am so impatient now:)

When I was little, we sang this song in bible class called "Have Patience." It goes like this: (You have to sing it really slowly like you are turtle or a snail, because we all know how turtles and snails sing)
Have patience, have patience,
Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient,
You only start to worry.
Remember, remember,
That God is patient too,
So think of all the times when others have to wait on you.

Was I the only one that sang that song? Just checking.

And I do know that lots of times, people have had to wait on me (if you have ever eaten a meal with me, you know what I am talking about!)

So, that is my job right now: to work on my patience. I believe that God works things out just the right way in just the right time, so why is it so hard to wait? Sometimes I think that God must get so tired of how thick-headed I am that I am always so surprised how things end up working out. Do you ever say, "Whoa, I did not see that one coming. God sure knows what he is doing."? That is me, except every time it happens, I am surprised like I have short-term memory loss or something!

Amanda Proves She is a Music Dork

Did you see the Emmy's where Josh Groban sang? That's the only part that I happened to see, but it was so neat. I am not too cool to say that I thought that was really spectacular musically:) I mean, yes, I am a little embarrassed that I sometimes cry when I hear a Josh Groban song (and not because I am mourning for my poor, bleeding eardrums!) But, come on, it was awesome. If you didn't see it, Josh Groban sang a medley of TV themes in a giant medley (did I say the word medley enough in that sentence? (medley, medley)). As a certified music geek, I can tell you that the logistics of orchestrating that and then being able to perform it so well is amazing. So . . . check out the link to the Emmy performance if you missed it, and don't try to tell me you are unimpressed.

Also, a totally random and strange question: when Rachel Ray puts de-thawed spinach in a kitchen towel to squeeze out all the juices, does her spinach then taste like laundry detergent? Just wondering.

If Sleeping was an Olympic Sport, Amanda Would Win Gold!

So, you know how I said that I was going to sleep? And for a really long time? Well, I practically went into hibernation. What? OSU played a game Saturday? I was sleeping. People ate breakfast and lunch? Yes, I slept through that too! All the glorious way from 9PM Friday night until 5PM Saturday. See, I told you I like to sleep.

Today I went to my friend Tricia's house for her twins second birthday party. It is so cute to see them growing up! They had so much fun and made out like bandits. I decided that I am going to invite everyone I know to my 28th birthday party (and pretend like I have a twin sister so that I get double the presents.) I may even make it Barney themed like Emily and Madeline's . . . hey, it worked for them! (The last time I saw so much purple was at a Capital vs. Otterbein game.)

Amanda Returns From Camp

I'm back from camp with the fifth graders. They were so good this year! This is the second year that I have been able to go because I only go to be a substitute. We had a lot of sick kids though:( We each take a night sleeping in the cabin with the kids, and the night that I stayed over, there was a night sweat/ stomachache girl at 10:00 PM. At 1:00 AM, a girl woke me up crying with a headache (where I took a brisk nighttime stroll to the teacher cabin to get some Advil for her . . . who doesn't enjoy waking up from a dead sleep to walk in the cold night air?) The icing on the cake was a councilor waking me up at 4:00 AM telling me one of the girls threw up three times. That turned into a two hour comforting session! I decided that I might just be too lazy to be a mom (lol)! I mean, I really like sleep . . . a lot:)

We came back around 12:00 PM today and I stayed at my friend Megan's house until about 4:00 because today was the 100th birthday celebration for Pataskala school. The kids sang a few songs and there was a dedication for a historical marker for the building. It was pretty cool!

Now I am going to lay in a bed that is more than a wooden board for longer than a few, interrupted hours:)

Amanda Bids Farewell for Three Days (She Thinks)

Tomorrow starts fifth grade camp (I think.) Even though it seems unlikely that we will have school, unless the power miraculously returns, we've been told that fifth grade camp is still on because they do have power there. What does this mean for you, fair reader? You will not be able to read of my fun adventures until Friday! Try not to cry; you'll get through.

(I added a counter to my page and I think it is funny because it is on number 6 and I think I am four or more of those! Ha, ha, I LOVE reading about myself!)

So I will be at Camp Oty'Okwa (check out the link!) for the next few days reliving my days as a girl scout! I'll be teaching in an authentic pioneer cabin, talking about pioneer life and helping the kids decorate pieces of fabric using dyes from leaves and flowers.

Amanda Is Shocked by Ike's Bad Behavior

Today is September 15 and we already had our first calamity day! Boy, we are starting early this year! No school today for most of central Ohio because there is no power in most of central Ohio. I feel like I am one of the only (lucky) people who never lost power. When I went to Kroger down the road, they were closed which meant I came really close to losing power.

Here are some pics from 10tv's website:





One of these was taken at Capital, right in front of the library!

Amanda is Afraid of the Upstairs

It's windy! I got afraid of my upstairs because I thought I'd be blown away when my roof flew off the house (I really, really hope that truly doesn't happen).

So, for my exciting Sunday: I paid my bills, am doing laundry, and am packing for fifth grade camp this week.

New insight: Applebee's has great music! I heard (and danced and sang to) ABBA's "Take a Chance on Me," and reminisced about a Disney special that had Minnie Mouse singing with Elton John when I heard "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." (Follow Link to YouTube video of Elton and Minnie!)

Amanda Uses the Internet to Post Details of Her Medical Examinations

Here is more in depth info. on my endoscopy yesterday: (because I am sure that all day you have been wishing to hear more about it).

If you know me, then you may know that I have some super-weird medical issues. If anything strange can happen to a person medically, it has probably happened to me (that is why my friend Julie calls me a freak). Usually these things don't amount to much or aren't very serious, so it just adds to my personality. For example, I am probably the only one that you know who (when having a bad bout of TMJ) can only get her jaw open by pushing on the left side and eats with one hand holding her fork and one hand holding her jaw in place!:)

Well, I am probably the only 27 year old that had an endoscopy yesterday at Doctors Hospital! I went in at 8:15 and registered (had to pay a $200 co-pay! What good is insurance anyway?!) Then they took me to a little endoscopy "unit" which had rooms divided off by curtains (like an ER). By 9:00 I had my IV, heart monitors and oxygen all hooked up and I was in the most freezing little examination room. They wheeled me there in my bed which I thought was pretty cool and kind of weird because my feet stuck out the end and I kept kicking the nurse.

By 10:15, I was heading out the door after sleeping off the sedation (about 20 minutes). It all seemed to go so fast that, at the time, I thought that I was a speedy recover-er. I was thinking, "Hey, they said that I would have to wait about 30 minutes after the test, and I only had to wait five!" Ha, I was sleeping through most of it!

People also told me that I wouldn't remember a thing, especially about the test, but I do remember feeling the tube moving around about three times and thinking, "Hey, people, I can feel this! I don't like it!" But then, two seconds later, I didn't really care, so I guess the drugs worked!

So that is the more detailed version of my endoscopy adventure. Now on to the ERCP which is like an endoscopy on steroids. The good news is, I don't have any reflux or ulcers and my gall bladder is perfectly healthy, the bad news is I don't have any reflux or ulcers and my gall bladder is perfectly healthy (all of those things are pretty easy to fix.)

What is wrong with me? Stay tuned to find out. (My life is like an intriguing episode of General Hospital!)

Amanda on Drugs

I had my endoscopy today. It went so well; the people there were awesome! In my medicated state, I am told, I was a crazy blanket hog; they just kept on bringing me more and more:) I guess at one point I told my mom that my butt was cold and could she please get me another blanket. (At that point I must have had at least five because I remember asking for the first three.) I can also remember feeling the tube moving around a few times. That wasn't the most pleasant of sensations.

I'm kind of sore now (had a biopsy done while they were in there), and have a sore throat, but other than that, I'm feeling great for having a tube threaded through my insides. Modern medicine is so cool and strange.

On to the next test!

Amanda Wishes She Was Here

With you!

Amanda Takes the Power (and Man it Feels Good!)

Have you heard the song "Defying Gravity?" It is from the musical Wicked. I have always loved the song because evokes such strong emotion with the combination of music and lyrics, and, as a certified music geek, I love that kind of stuff.

But lately, I have been thinking about the lyrics, and about how they relate to my life right now. I am changing and growing, and learning about myself. I'm figuring out how to love myself and respect myself so that others can do the same. I'm learning to not be afraid of conflict and how to be comfortable with sharing my feelings. (And all due to great (expensive) therapy!)

Here are some of the words that seem to speak to me and how things are going in my life:

"Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap!

I'm through accepting limits
'cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down."

It speaks to me. The strong me!

Amanda Adds a Side Bar Comment on the Philosophy of Blogging

Is it wrong that I like to read my own blog. Is it self-centered that I laugh at myself when I look over my past posts? If the answer is yes, then "I've never done it and I don't know what you're talking about." If the answer is no, then "guilty as charged."

Just checking.

Amanda Comtemplates God's Plan for her Stuffy Nose

Maybe two bad things equal a good. (Although adults always tell you,"Two wrongs don't make a right.") But I was just thinkin'. One bad thing: Harley, my cat who is slightly like my child, has a bladder infection, and he can't help but pee all over the place. Bad thing number two: I have a super-stuffy nose and I cannot smell a thing. Taken separately, these might seem like two bad things, but maybe they are working in combination for good. A stinky-pee house and I have no sense of smell? It can't be a crazy coincidence, it is probably an act of God. (And if not, the irony still makes me laugh.)

Amanda's Equation for Stress

Have you ever had a tea egg? I was just watching some Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, and he was eating tea eggs. I'm having a craving. I think I am going to make some soon.

What a crazy day! So stressful. Usually, I don't really get caught up in stress, but I kind of did today. Restless sleep with pain in my side + waking up with a sick cat (and I mean every part of the word "sick") + ultra sound at the crack of dawn (not pregnant, unless I am giving birth to a sick gallbladder) + trying to schedule a vet appointment + not being able to find a substitute for the afternoon + walking into the building two minutes before my afternoon classes started = one stressed out Amanda.

And to top it all off, I have a sore throat and stuffy nose! I've been trying to find something good in every day (thank you, Energy Bus, lol) but I'm not sure I'm gonna try to hard on this one. Maybe going to bed early or eating chocolate ice cream can count as my favorite moment of today:)