So this week is National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week! a mouthful, right? Well, I’m excited. For me (and others with invisible illnesses), there are seminars and articles and guest bloggers! I’m looking forward to it - do check out the seminars, after they are over they will be posted to read as well!

For those who DON’T have an invisible illness - consider this: nearly 1 in 2 Americans have an Invisible Illness. And 96% of illnesses are invisible. so the chances that you know someone with an invisible chronic illness? Really, really good. We’re talking about diabetes, cancer, depression, back pain, migraines (hello!), chrohn’s, etc., etc. I could go on and on. There is a lot of information for you - the purpose of the week is to raise awareness about invisible chronic illnesses. So check it out - here is an article about ways to encourage friends or family members with invisible illnesses. Here is a great article about the paradox of looking good but feeling bad. And last but not least, here is a short article regarding one woman’s personal experience with invisible illness.  I hope you’ll take a couple of minutes to read and maybe learn something new!

I’ll be talking more this week about how invisible illness has affected my life, and am happy to answer questions if you’ve got ‘em.  :)  The main website for National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week is www.invisibleillness.com

it seems i want to blog frequently, but most often have very little to say! i will give you a round-robin update and hopefully i can get back into a blogging groove!

i met the Magical Mama this past week — not that we planned it, but my sister had her birthday party and i finally got to meet her! she is at least as magical in person as on her blog AND she has great skin. such fun times.

the migraines continue, as though i wasn’t doing anything and everything to prevent them. sigh. next on the list of THINGS TO TRY is acupuncture! i’m excited for this, and hopeful. the acupressure was somewhat helpful, but if you know me, that’s much more than we usually get. when i really think about it, i’m kind of blown away that i take so many (preventative) pills - and that they do NOTHING. not only that they don’t prevent my migraines, i just most of the time have absolutely no reaction to them. and these were drugs that have been formulated specifically to DO something in the human body. just weird.

the weather is starting to cool off - i hope fall will stay around for a while! it seems like we in Utah often just go from blazing hot to snow. i LOVE the in-between seasons…wish they could last a bit longer. 

and last but not least, my dear husband has completely revamped his website - see what you think of his new look! he also has his first article on Digg; called “Merging Google Syntax Highlighter and TinyMCE“. if you know what that means, check out his article too!

do i actually blog here? or just share links?

ah well.

this is a great one, not to be missed. shannon over at Rocks in my Dryer has a series called ‘What I’d Like You to Know’ — and this entry is about Chronic Illness. Worthwhile for those who suffer from a chronic illness and for those who know anyone with a chronic illness.

the August Pain-Blog Carnival is posted at How to Cope with Pain. lots of good entries are included, as always.

I’m home from my brother’s wedding in Nauvoo, IL. it was a great weekend, and I’m still recovering.  hopefully I’ll have some pictures to share in the near future!

i was heading to a doctor’s appointment in a part of town i don’t frequent, when i saw this sign (on one of those electronic sign boards) –

Do your insurance look FISHY?

which prompts just one question from me -

Do your ad lack grammar?

or maybe they are trying to bring the LOLcats speak into the mainstream? if so, ur doin it wrong.

do you guys remember my entry over at How to Cope with Pain earlier this month?

today and tomorrow, How to Cope with Pain is holding a vote (for prizes, even) on the favorite article! you have to leave a comment — go check it out, wouldja?

well due to a auspicious comment left by my muum, i came to realize that my tiny orange tomatoes were actually ripe! what great news! the only thing is, their size left a little to be desired. when i say tiny….well, have a look for yourself:

luckily, they were delicious. also fortunate is the fact that i have a few more still on the plant - they are green, but soon will be ripe! and a little bigger.

then, just a few days later i bought some tomatoes at the store. i was cutting them up for some sauteed vegetables, when look who was looking back at me!?! this evil little grin –

reminded me of caryn’s happy bell pepper. er, that would be ‘The Placid Pepper of Eternal Happiness’. she’s a writer, after all. when she writes a blog entry, it sounds good!

i have been tagged for another meme! my sister gretchen tagged me this time.  away we go!

3 Joys
1) my husband
2) my family - i am so lucky to have such a loving and supportive family
3) music

3 Fears
1) ferris wheels — i have this recurring dream of dying on one. weird, i know.
2) …..
3) ….really don’t think there’s anything else.

3 Goals
1) research and work with my doctors to improve my migraine situation — less pain or fewer headaches; i wouldn’t mind both!
2) and more immediately, to finish hanging our pictures — then we’d be totally MOVED IN!
3) also to schedule a few more doctor’s appointments…one of those things i’ve been putting off

3 Current Obsessions
1) Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Peanut granola bars. really more of a candy bar. so delicious.
2) Burt’s Bees minty chapstick
3) sparkly hot pink toenail polish

3 Random Surprising Facts (*possibly not that surprising)
1) i love to be on time.
2) my tomato plant has 2 orange tomatoes, and half a dozen little green ones. i can’t wait for a red one!
3) my favorite movie is Gone With the Wind. LOVE the costumes, love the southern accents, love the story.

I tag …. no one! not in a tagging mood tonight. but if you want to play along, let me know in the comments — i’ll come visit.

i just read about this over at A Chronic Dose — the House of Representatives recently voted to pass Michelle’s Law - a law which would allow seriously ill or injured college students to take up to a year’s medical leave from school without losing their insurance.

i can’t tell you how pleased i am about this. my chronic (daily) migraines began in November of 2004 — I had about a year left of school. that first semester, beginning in january 2005, i believed (and my neurologist believed) that this would be quickly taken care of — we just needed to start a preventative medicine and rule out everything ’serious’. i’d be on my way. obviously, that wasn’t the case. consequently, i got my worst ever grades that semester, both from poor quality work, and not being able to practice and play the piano as much as was required. i came home from school every day and just collapsed. i was in so much pain and so exhausted from just walking around campus, dealing with all the bright lights and loud noises that come with college attendance. it was a very trying time, especially as i was adjusting to being in pain all the time, all the while trying to attend my classes and practice my four hours a day.

ultimately, my neurologist recommended that i take some time off school, to focus on getting better. she felt that school was adding stress, which was only making it more difficult for me to recover. i don’t know about that — what i DO know is that i was in much more pain than i needed to be, trying to do so much with a migraine.

so i went to the office of the registrar, and asked to defer — the maximum allowed was a semester, regardless of the reason. once my semester was over, i was no better. so i appealed to a committee to be able to defer longer, including a note from my doctor, and filling out oodles of paperwork. no dice. i had to drop out and reapply once i was ready to start again. as for insurance, that meant that i was no longer a student, but a student spouse. the situation would’ve been even more difficult if i hadn’t been married. but being a student spouse as opposed to a student is a lot more expensive for insurance. it was just, in my mind, a lot of needless heartache and money spent.

i don’t fault my particular university, because i believe it would’ve probably been the same no matter where i’d been. it was difficult to feel like no one really cared, and that there was nothing i could do. maybe things with my headaches would’ve been the same, regardless of having a year deferment. but maybe not - and it would’ve certainly saved some heartache and some money.

three cheers for Michelle’s law! the bill is moving into the senate — if you want to support it, please contact your senator.

so i am slow in writing about this, but a couple of weeks ago, i won two prizes! can you believe it? me either.

someone should take me to vegas.

so first, i won the board game Quelf from the fabulous $-saving site Want Not. i haven’t played it yet, but i’m excited to. it looks like fun. and i LOVE playing board games. so it’s kind of fun to have a really new one!

and *then* i won the Club 17 drawing from Holy Mama! she sent me this fabulous set of bath gels. they look delicious, the flavors are things like lilac & almond blossom, water lily & jasmine, and lemongrass and white tea. basically, it’s going to mean a lot of fantastic shower experiences for me. i’m mean and told spencer i wouldn’t share.

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in other news, i am feeling markedly less awful lately — no, the preventative isn’t working. but my doctor in chicago said i could take the muscle relaxant (baclofen) everyday if i needed to - without the risk of rebound headaches! hallelujah. it doesn’t get rid of the majority of the pain, but it does take the edge off. we’ll take what we can get! it helps me get more things done. is this my excuse for neglecting my blog? no, not really. i have missed you all, don’t worry. i just had a little streak of feeling like i had nothing to say!

happily, that’s over with and i’m back to my long-winded ways.