If Looks Could Kill

This was the result of me leaving work early on Thursday to pick up a sick child ~ must make the best use of my time off, right? Captain Kirk so did not enjoy the DUDE hat ~ I blame him for me having lost my voice completely today!

Conquer Chiari Walk ~ 2009

So I am a little late on posting about the chiari walk that took place on September 26th ~ life has been crazy busy. The morning of 9/26 was absolutely gorgeous ~ the sun was shining and the air was crisp. I don't know the final count of how many walkers participated, but there was a good size crowd of brain tails and their friends/family. I ended up being the grand Marshall for our walk, because I was the only one who knew the route. Thank goodness the vertigo is gone or it would have been a swirly walk for everyone!

The best part of the brain tail gathering was being reunited with my brain tail friends who came from near and far. So good to see everyone and spend time catching up on our lives. We are all a hearty bunch. On the outside you might see smiles, but inside we are all struggling with either pain, financial burdens due to the aftermath of insurance bills, emotional stress ... We have our good days and other days when it's a struggle to crawl out of bed. Getting together reminds us that we are not alone in our chiari journey ~ we draw strength from one another ~ and make that choice to keep taking the next step forward in life. It's not easy, but we are all fighters ~ bound and determined to not let chiari win.

Thanks to all of you who support a chiarian in one form or another ~ every day we are one step closer to conquering chiari.

Happiness Is Like A Butterfly

A month has flow by without any blog posts and yet in my draft blogs cue I have at least 70 post ideas just waiting for me to breathe life into them. ~sigh~ Oh how I wish I was wittier and had an uber interesting life ~ but truth be told ~ I am finding it hard to put my thoughts down so that they will make sense to anyone but myself.

The past month has flown by in a flurry of bug spray and cheerleading practices. I have probably swallowed a gallon of deet by now in a fruitless attempt to ward of the skeeters (that's Texas for mosquitoes). I volunteered to be an assistance coach for Hannah's cheer squad this year and I have had a great time getting to know all the girls and learning the cheers and stunting techniques.

On September 1st I passed my Microsoft SQL Server 2005 exam ~ this was my second attempt and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Funny how sometimes life throws a big road block at you. Most of the time the only option you have is to remove the barrier by passing through it. For months I felt stuck ~ unable to move forward in my life. When I sat down to take the test at the computer testing center, I bowed my head and prayed right then and there ~

'Lord ~ Please give me the brain power to pass this test so that I can focus more on my purpose for being on this planet. I don't have to make a perfect score ~ just help me to pass.'

After completing the book questions I felt pretty confident that I had passed the first part of the test, but as soon as I started the application piece of the test I felt the despair creeping in as I was certain there was no way in hell that I would pass. You can imagine my complete surprise at the end of the exam when the message popped up on the computer screen exclaiming that I had made a 70 and passed the exam. I remember answering the computer out loud with ~ 'Are you freaking kidding me?!! I proceeded to do my happy dance all the way to my car with great relief and humbling tears of joy as I thanked the Lord for answering my prayer.

When I wasn't looking ~ I think a butterfly, or two, alighted on my shoulder ~ happiness, is that you?