My Life in Pictures

Recently, I've been spending some of my Quarantine time going through old files on my computer. Clearing out duplicates & files I don't need anymore as well as organizing my files into folders so I can actually find ones I'm looking for! I've been going through my thousands upon thousands of pictures and came across loads that I had forgotten about.

I thought I'd share some of them for lols:

 A rather Grainy picture of Issy, Louise and I having SUSHI in Birmingham for my birthday one year. It's kind of become a tradition for me to want to just eat good food surrounded by my friends on my birthday and more often than not it's Sushi, because I LOVE sushi.

My Dad giving the kids 'Flying' opportunities. I want to say that's my niece Kaylee in the picture but I'm not 100% sure. I remember dad doing this for me when I was a little kid. He also used to take me (when I was little) and the grand kids 'surfing' when we were on vacation. When we went to a swimming pool, he would dive under water, we would 'stand'/float on his back while he coasted along the bottom of the pool. 

Rob giving my niece Hailey a ride on his shoulders. This was when we went home for Christmas one year and he kids were helping 'Uncle Rob' find clues during the Christmas game.

Another time we were in California, Rob reenacting the Lion King with my poor old kitty Twister. Still funny to this day.

One of the things I found adorable when moving to England was the idea of a 'kissing gate'. It's just a swing gate that lets people through fields but prevents livestock from getting through. The kissing thing is just because the gate doesn't latch and only 'kisses' one side of the gate post or the other depending on which way it swings. Still...I couldn't resist this artsy 'Kissing Gate Kiss Shot'.

 Me and my fellow High School Thespian Society Officers: Shawnie, Victor, Rachel and Ryan.

Me Performing The Box monologue from 'Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' at an acting festival in high school.

 Me(In red) as Emilia from Othello I remember the actor who played opposite me as Iago was SCARY good. We did just the one scene for a festival in high school, but his energy was unbelievable. I felt exactly how Emilia would have...terrified and yet so in love with him.

One of my absolute favorite scene performances. It was a scene called 'Sure Thing' and I spent a lot of time yelling into this poor guy (Robert)'s face when rehearsing one monologue bit in this scene. In the script, we were 2 people on a date and whenever either of us said something the other didn't like we tapped a bell in the middle of the table and the scene would reset as if nothing ever happened. The scene would keep playing out further and further as we got 'better' at saying the right things.

One of the things I miss most about theatre besides the acting and crazy shenanigans was tech. I wish I had done more of it because I really did enjoy that side of the theatre. Although I think I found my true theatrical calling when I was Stage Manager for our 'kids' show in High School --orchestrating taking a whole show with sets and equipment to the local primary/elementary school was a Mammoth task that I will never forget.

 What I see as my crowning achievement in Theatre...when I auditioned for and got the lead role of Nancy in Oliver!

 It may come as a surprise, but I was not the best dancer when it came to musical theatre and not the most musically trained when it came to singing either. Although I auditioned for local musical productions, I lacked the training to even get into the chorus. :(

There was a production company that did musicals for under 18s that someone told me about. I didn't think they'd allow me to audition since I was a senior in high school and turned 18 that year. I auditioned and low and behold, I got in. The production company always double cast roles, since it was a cast of all children and the production would run for a whole week's worth of shows--6 shows total. When I auditioned, they ended up triple casting the role of Nancy BECAUSE OF ME. The directors said that my emotion when singing the audition song was so good they had to give me a shot.

There were 2 other girls who got the role, Valerie and Francesca, who were both FAAAAAAAR more technically trained than I was so it was a real confidence booster to be told that I had something special. Valerie was on the rise to becoming a pop singer so her voice was phenomenal and Francesca was one of those stereotypical theatre girls who ALWAYS, and I mean always, got the lead role that they wanted because they were a powerhouse triple threat.

Funny Story...the week leading up to the show, we were running blocking on stage for the show and because we were short on time, all three of us Nancys needed to run through a number at the same time on stage. At one point we had to walk up a set of stairs to the top of the platform, stand and sing our part, then continue off the other side of the platform and back downstage centre again. The platform rise was at the back of the stage and probably 12-15 foot high. 

Since the three of us were all walking the stage at the same time during this song there wasn't much room. I was so afraid of getting in Diva Francesca's way that I took a step back when we were at the top of the platform to let her walk past me to exit the other side and I stepped OFF the platform!!!!!! Luckily I fell onto the crash mat that was behind the platform, used during the 'bridge' scene in the actual play, so I walked away uninjured but it was something I have never forgotten. 

I think I've gotten away with story time....But it was fun having a walk down memory lane. Let me know if this was fun, if you want to see more random pictures from my life. Until then...here's one last one. Circa 2013....

“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller

No one can deny that these are strange times we are living in. With the run of Corona virus, mass gatherings have been banned, flights have been grounded, and whole countries have been sealed off in hopes of containing the disease. For as many people who are trying their best to contain the spread of the virus, there are idiots who blatantly don't care or are ignorant to how serious the situation is.

Protesters in America, refusing to go into lock down because it violates their rights as citizens, are a prime example of the stupid that is out in the world amidst this corona virus. Well we can't 'fix' stupid and I say let Darwinism happen. If people are stupid enough to go out in mass gatherings, risking their lives to protest that their freedoms have been violated, then I say let Natural Selection weed out the weak.

The thing that riles me up more than the obvious protesting idiots who will most likely contract COVID19, are the 'normal' seeming, usually law abiding citizens who all of a sudden think they are the exception to the law. It upsets me when i see people (especially my friends and family) 'interpreting' guidelines set out by the law so they can sneak around the 2 metre/6 feet rule.

I'm sorry but the 2 metre rule is a guideline in and of itself. It was set out so that people would be able to do NECESSARY activities (working, essential food shopping, outdoor exercise, etc) at a safe distance to minimize the spread of the disease. In reality the W.H.O. advises that you stay at least 1 metre away from another person as COVID spreads though tiny droplets in the air, but are heavy and don't travel too far.  HOWEVER, this does not mean that this is up for interpretation when it comes to rules set out by governing bodies.

I've seen people meeting up with others, albeit staying 3-6 feet (1-2 metres) away from each other, but in a setting that is not necessary to do in person right now. Video chatting is a thing people! Don't risk you lives, the lives of those you love, or the key workers who are risking their lives for you just so you can have your jollies.

Here is a short list of 'reasons' for breaking Social Distancing I've seen so far:

• Going over to your girlfriends house to have sex
• Having a drink with your friend for their birthday. 
• Being with family who live outside your household ("we're each in isolation, so it's safe...")
• Going Camping with another family ("who are also social distancing..." "It's safe outdoors...")
• Going to Botanical Gardens

Bare in mind that these things have happened in either the UK, or in California and there are laws against public gatherings that people are ignoring.
Current UK guidelines as at May 4th
California State Guidelines

I get that we all miss our families and our friends.I understand that it's hard to stay away from those we love. I understand that staying in isolation by oneself can be damaging to someone's mental health. I also know that I am in a better situation than others--I have my child, and husband to keep me company, and we have a beautiful garden to enjoy, but I know people who have it worse than I do and are doing their best to adhere to the rules set out by governing bodies.

My friend Stacey lives on the top floor of a building of flats, with no garden, no balcony. The closest she has to outside on her doorstep is sunbathing on the fire escape, so fair play she's making the best of a bad situation. Before things got bad, I was thinking she could come over to my house to do Yoga (she would bypass the house and go straight into the back garden--she would set her mat out on one side of the decking and me on the other side which would be about 3 metres apart I reckon), but in the end I gave up on the idea because that would mean both of us bending the rules to our will. Instead she makes the most of her daily walk set out by the government, and does online exercise classes on Zoom.

Also, my mother is an empty-nester, who also lost her husband a little over a year ago, so she is totally alone and coming off the back of the emotional trauma of losing the person most close to her. She's also a social butterfly who regularly goes out to social events-- book clubs, lunches with friends, Mahjong group, etc. and she has stopped going to all of them and elected to stay home and do Zoom/Skype calls where she can. There was once a thought of her going to stay with one of my brothers and his family so she wouldn't be alone, but since he is a key worker he didn't want to risk bringing COVID19 home to her. I am so incredibly proud of my mother, who even though it is lonely and despairing, she stays home--Safe.

The point I'm trying to make is that people need to adhere to the guidelines set out by their governing bodies. In the end, if the rate of infection spikes we will be in lock down for a lot longer than we need to because someone decided they are above the law. I'll get off my soapbox now....

"M-M-M-My Corona"... Virus Process

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that there's a global pandemic going on right now.

Like most people, I've gone in stages of taking this seriously. Let me just say that I'm pretty slow on the uptake anyway because I refuse to watch the news. I've largely relied on other people to tell me what's going on in the world because whenever I see anything related to the big giant Cheeto POTUS in the white house, I get angry.  Seeing as how he is such a colossal idiot and he's always being featured on the news, I decided years ago that I won't subject myself to feeling some type of way and just stopped watching the news altogether. Which makes me fall a bit behind on things going on in the world like Corona virus.

When it all started I thought, "okay it's in China, it won't effect me."
Then it started to show up in other countries and I thought, "okay there are a few cases, but it's being contained."
And when it kept spreading because of the silent rate of infection I thought, "Okay. Time to be a little bit more careful, but I'm not going to stop living my life."

I have been on maternity leave and darling son and I were going out a few times a week for Mommy and Baby groups so I wasn't cooped up in the house all day. We also took walks through town, went to the markets, and did a little bit of shopping just to keep the day fun and interesting while hubby, Rob, was at work.

It was around the week before lock down in the UK that hubby started to get a little overprotective. He wanted me to stop going out, stop taking our son to baby groups, stop visiting with friends who wanted to see the baby. I was disapproving of his request, especially seeing as how the same rules did not apply to him. He was still working at the time, but beyond that it was okay for him to go out and do things and take our son to see his family and friends when he wanted to, but I just wasn't allowed to go out with him. Double standard much?

It was the week before lock down that I decided, "Fine, I won't take Henry to Baby Yoga this Friday if you're so worried, but we are going to do it together at home as a family. He needs baby yoga to help with his motor skills to prep him for crawling."

The following Monday was when Boris Johnston, the Prime Minister of the UK, addressed the nation saying that all non-essential contact should be avoided. He recommended that people avoid large gatherings and gatherings in smaller spaces such as pubs, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, bars, clubs, etc and that it was advised we all stay home. At this point it was only suggested....not decreed.

That night, my father in law (who runs a Hotel/Restaurant/Bar that my husband works at) decided to make the difficult decision of shutting the doors of his establishment. Even though people were only advised not to go out to pubs, my father in law thought of the safety of his staff and patrons and decided it was best for all to remove the business from the equation.

That week Rob helped his dad in closing up the business. Cancelling future rooms requests, locking up the store room supplies, and getting rid of the perishable food that was left at the hotel(either taking it home or giving to staff to take home). It was the last week we went out of the house for anything other than an occasional food shop or exercise because stricter rules were laid out later on in stages:

*Non-essential Travel is banned
*Non-essential business (Pubs, Gyms, Cafes, etc) are ordered to close
*Any one able to work from home should work from home
*Vulnerable people (elderly, pregnant women, & people with health conditions) should stay at home and NOT leave the house for any reason.
*Everyone else should remain home unless they are working, having 1 form of outdoor exercise a day, taking supplies to a vulnerable person, or to get essential supplies - food or medicine - themselves, and only when absolutely needed
*Where possible everyone must adhere to social distancing measures: only so many people allowed in shops at a time, keeping 2 Metres apart, washing hands frequently
*GATHERINGS of more than 2 people (unless you are from the same household) is banned in public

Until the government actually started to take action to ban things and close establishments, I was of the mindset that I will try and be safe...washing my hands, protecting myself with gloves and masks and sanitizing on top of that, going out when I know I could do it safely...but I still wasn't going to stop my life from ticking. When the stricter measures were put in place I began to get more and more cautious and limited going outside of my property to a bare minimum--I didn't even want to take walks or exercise outside because I knew I could do yoga at home.

Now I go for the occasional walk to help with my mental health (but still not anywhere near once a day), my husband does an online shop and goes out to collect it/ go to the butchers once a week (unless we can't get an online click and collect slot, in which case I go out and do a speed shop with my PPE). Occasionally, when we can't get Henry to sleep for his morning nap we will all go in the car together to the butchers/food shop. Henry falls asleep in the car, i stay in the car with him and hubby goes out to collect food then it's straight back home.

Other than that we are confined to our own little bubble. Rob does go out running every other day but he's smart about not getting close to other people and he showers immediately when he comes In fact whenever one of us enters the house after being outside we always thoroughly wash before touching anything in the house. The same goes for anything outside entering the house (post, parcels, food shop); everything gets wiped down and we wash after.

It's a strange turn of events and everyone has their own way of dealing with life as it is now, but I know that I've gotten more and more anxious as time goes on and I've started noticing certain anxiety ticks I have creeping back into my life (and even some new ones)...but more on that later.

The Weakness in My Strength

Hello again, 

If you are just tuning in. Welcome! ...And things are about to get deep, just warning you now.

For those who have read my blog before, this entry is going to be a bit more psychological rather than 'here's what I did today'. So let's begin.....

Something that people may not know about me is that I am very passionate about knowledge and intellect. I see this as both my greatest strength and greatest weakness.

STRENGTH:

"ipsa scientia potestas est" ("Knowledge itself is Power") -Francis Bacon

I believe there is great value in continued learning. As children we learn everything from reading and writing, to expressing thoughts and emotions and how to interact with others. And society would have us believe that we stop learning, in the majority, when we finish school and become adults. My opinion however is that when one stops having a desire to learn, that is when one's soul begins to die.
Without the constant thirst for knowledge, human beings can't evolve as a species.

Those with the desire to learn and achieve more have the capacity to not only grow individually, but they have the potential to advance society. Without people who are curious enough to want more out of life, we might not have inventions such as the light bulb, the telephone, or the first aircraft. Without the desire to learn and grow, these wonderful advancements in technology might cease to exist because people were satisfied with the status quo.

And even if you don't plan on being a great inventor of 'the next big thing', there is always room to grow individually. You can always learn something today that you did not know yesterday. There's a power behind the saying 'You learn something new every day'. I am constantly seeking information and trying to improve myself in some way or another, be it picking up random facts, attempting to learn a new language, reading up on a lesser known subject, or taking up a new skill/hobby.


WEAKNESS:

"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." -Proverbs 16:18

My pride in knowledge is the thing that gets me into trouble...a lot. As much as I am open to learning more, when I know something I am almost boastfully pride at the fact. I also will not be challenged and stand my ground when I know with 100% certainty (and sometimes with only 70% certainty) that I am right.

I'm also hyper sensitive when it comes to people misunderstanding/misinterpreting what I've said. I make it my personal mission to get my thoughts to a place where others can understand them. (Side note: In this way I have become a good mediator between sides to get someone to understand another's point of view, which would fall under the STRENGTH category above.)

I get deeply upset when I am perceived as anything similar to stupid, incoherent, dumb, or ill-advised. It really, REALLY does get me worked up and in a day and age where social media and typos happen, where people skim and just get the jist of something it is VERY easy to be misunderstood. So I find a lot of the time I get worked up, and insist on pleading my case and sounding like a broken record in the process because I cannot be seen as unintelligent or incomprehensible.


Pride in my own intelligence is by far my worst sin.
But you know I am human, so there is Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Lust and Wrath there too.


The thing I try to remember is that there is a way to change....if we want to change and not stay stagnant.  Every day I try to use the knowledge I have and the information I obtain to learn to be a better human and change my vices.

Too much pride? - take the time to be humble and grateful for all that you have.
Enough lazing around eating sweets and watching netflix? - stop being a sloth/glutton and start being productive! Make something new! Learn a new skill! Or just do something different for a change.
Want something you don't have? - Work towards achieving it yourself.
Lusty urges? - Keep it in your pants hun.
Anger Management? - Yoga and meditation my friend.

And everyone has their different processes with dealing with life; those are just mine.

An Excerpt on Motherhood

So back in November, while I was recovering from giving birth, raising a 1 month old, and learning how to crochet 2 blankets....I also wrote a book!

Every year I participate in NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth, or "NANOWRIMO" where the goal is to write a 50,000 word or more novel from scratch within the 30 days of November.

November 2019 was no exception!

Having just given birth I had no expectation of finishing my novel, but I wanted to at least try. I tried, and succeeded in writing a tell all of my experience on motherhood titled:

Tsunamis, Motherhood, and Other Natural Disasters

I'll credit my mother for that title. :) 

Having written this book half delirious, I don't consider it a great piece of work. I do however love re-reading what I wrote and having a laugh at it. So, good people tuning in, I present to you one of the Chapters of my book titled "STILL MORE ABSORBENT THAN A MUSLIN CLOTH":

"Here is a wonderfully controversial thing to talk about: Muslin cloths. What are their actual uses? I was given a pack of three muslin clothes from a dear friend of mine after I had announced that I was pregnant. I looked at them and I wondered what they were actually for. I had never heard of muslin cloths being used as a baby accessory but apparently they are widely used here in England for babies. The Muslin of muslin cloths is just the type of material, so I knew roughly what they were – a cloth made of muslin – but I didn’t exactly use the fabric before so I never knew much about it.

So like everything I do now a days, I googled it. I typed the key phrases ‘Muslin cloth’, ‘baby’, and ‘what are they used for?’ into the google search engine and this is what I came up with. Muslin cloths can be used as swaddling blankets. This I understand because the muslin material does not stretch and when you want to swaddle a baby tightly and not have them wiggle out of it muslin cloths are perfect because there isn’t much give to them although they are breathable.

I did find on some mum notice board forums that people use muslin cloths for various make shift items, you know things that can be used in a pinch when you have nothing else. For instance, some mums use muslin clothes just as clean up rags if they need to wipe away a bit of dribble. Other mums use muslin cloths as a light blanket in the summer or something to tuck over the child in the pram to keep them feeling secure, similar to but less extreme than a swaddle. Some mums use muslin cloths as a protective barrier or blanket when using public baby utilities such as a public bathroom changing table or a shopping trolley’s baby seat just so they can protect their baby from whatever went down on those surfaces before their baby. Another good use would be for mums who don’t want to nurse in public, it can be used as a light cover up to shield the baby breastfeeding from view of the public eye.

All of these uses of muslin cloths seem perfectly understandable, but the one thing that muslin cloths are most used for, that I CANNOT get behind, is a burp cloth. I am sorry, but why? Why would you use a material that has no absorbency whatsoever as a burp cloth. When you burp a baby, the whole point of a burp cloth is to soak up whatever fluids spit up out of your baby’s mouth so it does not get on your clothes- either on your shoulder or down your back. When I found out that THAT is the number one use of muslin cloths here in the UK I was in disbelief but I decided to give it a go.

I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe I was wrong and the super thin material would wick away moisture, or would be so tightly knit that it stops liquid from seeping through. As stupid as it sounds, I pretended to be a baby, lathered up some saliva in my mouth and then spat into the muslin cloth to see how absorbent it would be. It turns out, it’s not very absorbent, just as I originally suspected. Baffled, I questioned why people would EVER use this as a burp cloth and I looked in store and online for anything that resembled an over the shoulder type rag that I could use that would be more absorbent than a muslin cloth. 

Everywhere I went, even online, I could only find muslin cloths when I typed in burp cloths. It was utterly ridiculous that people would find these stupid little cloths of material useful when burping their baby and I thought of all the mums using them that had dribble stains and throw up all down the backs of their shirts. I eventually found some proper cotton burp cloths on Amazon and an app called Vinted, but this spawned the question: ‘What is more absorbent than a muslin cloth?’

There are so many more things that can be used as burp cloth that are more absorbent than a muslin. To give you a few practical examples, see items listed below:

A paper towel
A tea towel
A hand towel
A shower towel
A bath towel
A beach towel
A flannel
A rolled up bed sheet
An angora Sweater
A cotton t-shirt
A baby’s onesie or footie pajamas
A knitted scarf
A pair of Jeans
A baby’s spare dry nappy
A set of old curtains
A table cloth

Now, although not always completely practical due to the size or the type of material there are many more items that are more absorbent than a muslin cloth. A mattress protector? Its too overbearing and big to be used as a burp cloth to be thrown over the shoulder, but it is more absorbent (and some are even water resistant) than a muslin cloth. A couch cushion cover? Yes, it is more absorbent than a muslin cloth. A fleece blanket? This too, although rather large, is more absorbent than a muslin cloth.

How about the compacted recycled card board bowl that i had to pee in in the hospital? It is absolutely more absorbent (and in fact liquid proof) than a muslin cloth. A card board box? Certainly, after some time it will crumble, but in the short term it is more absorbent than a muslin cloth. Have you got some spare squares of grass turf laying about in the garden shed? That should be more absorbent that a muslin cloth! Have you been to any sporting events recently and regrettably bought one of those foam fingers to wave around in the stadium? Well, this too could be used in lieu of a muslin cloth and will wick away moisture better than the muslin will.

There are many uses for a Muslin Cloth when it comes to babies, but I am sorry, a burp cloth is NOT one of them. When I am going to burp my child, with the potential for a load of projectile puke streaming over my shoulder, I want something that is going to be as reliable as a flood defense system. Flood defense systems are put in place near rivers and areas that are likely to flood easily with the goal in mind that if the water levels get to a certain point, the flooding defenses will relieve the pressure and direct the water elsewhere to prevent one particular area from flooding.

Usually this is either a wall, that directs the water back into a corralled area, or some grates or holes that take a little bit of water from the area liable to flood and distributes it elsewhere. Imagine then if a flooding’s defense system was as flimsy as a muslin cloth. Imagine for instance that a wall that was built to keep flooding from going any further was made out of chain linked fences.

“oh yeah, this chain link fence is made up of several holes, but we use it all the time as a flood defense wall!” What is then the result of that? The area would get flooded immensely because the water would hit the chain linked fence and go straight through it because the links in the chained fence are so wide that they stop nothing from getting through, well certainly not water. The only thing that might not go through is anything that washes up in the flood such as trash, tree branches, etc. And actually, depending upon the force of the water (for instance if a river, which is forever flowing, gets flooded and the current is fast and furious) it could completely bulldoze the ‘flooding defense system’ in place if that flooding defense system happens to be a chain linked fence. I have seen that happen.

With that in mind, why would you EVER think that a muslin cloth, which is full of tiny woven holes and is as anti-absorbent as they come, would be able to wick away moisture if a baby were to spit up or throw up while being burped over your shoulder? The simple answer is, you would not. Muslin Cloths are certainly not suitable to be used as a burp cloth, unless you want to be caught in a flood."

Return of the Blogger

RETURN OF THE BLOGGER

Well now.....I realize it's been a hot minute since I last blogged on here (nearly 3 years to be exact--Yikes!) with the last post being about life after getting into a RTC and breaking my arm.

and YES I know that I do this. I start something like blogging, life gets in the way and I leave it for a chunk of time, then miraculously get inspiration to write again after 3 or 4 years and go back to it. *sigh*

So get strapped in for another catch up on life, a few whirlwind posts, then prepare to be ghosted while I go on hiatus for another 3 years. Cool? Cool.😂

So, what has been happening in the last 3 years you say? I'll give you highlights version of the good, the bad, and the weird with pictures! Cause pictures make blogs more fun.

Multiple Comic Cons: Sept 2017/Nov 2017/March 2018/April 2018/May 2019...

October 2017: Went back home to visit my familia

November 2017: Bleached my hair until it turned white for a cosplay (Gender Bent Quicksilver from Days of Future Past).

 December 2017: SNOOOOOOOW... and legit being stuck working at home

February 2018: Another friend (Nicolette) visiting the ex-pat (me)

June 2018: University Charity Challenge.....(Night Hike, Canoe, and Archery for me.)

& The Last Family Vacation (Virginia)

August 2018: Canal Boat Holiday

& New Wheels

September 2018: Winning my first Pole Competition

October 2018: The shortest trip back home to California (only a week) and The last time I saw my dad

December 2018: Back in LA for dad's funeral, and staying for Christmas.

February 2019: The last performance

 I've done (Burlesque show)

July 2019: Buying our first home

September/October/November/December 2019: Mom visiting pregnant me!

October 2019: Giving Birth to Henry Scott Vidler 


November 2019: Wrote a book on Motherhood/Giving Birth & my experiences of it for NANOWRIMO-NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth




December 2019: My son's 1st Christmas. 





2020: Pandemic Central. Plans Cancelled, Lock-down commenced. But more rantings on that later.




Most of this is already shared on my social media via Instagram or Facebook, but I thought I'd do a highlights reel before I get back to writing the meaty stuff. Social Media is for funny memes and quick sharing, whereas maintaining a blog lets me delve deeper into my thoughts behind stuff that can be expressed in MORE THAN 150 characters.

For that reason, I do think that I should continue my writing, especially seeing as how I've got more time being on Maternity and not being able to leave the house due to government regulations surrounding the current state of the world *sigh*

So that's all for now, but be on the look out for: 

Life Updates

Funny Anecdotes

Rantings of a very passionate speaker

Drabbles from a bored Writer

Tales of Motherhood 

And More!
 

Until Then...This is Jenny, signing off. x

No one prepares you for the trauma of being in a car crash....

No one prepares you for the trauma of being in a car crash, so let me offer a few insights. 

It’s chaotic. It’s confusing. It’s debilitating.

All logical thinking leaves you once trauma hits and your body goes on auto-pilot or ‘survival mode’.

Tuesday July 25^th, I was on my way home from work when I hit a patch of still water on the motorway and hydro-planed off the road and into an embankment into a low stream. I didn’t hit anyone else, or any land markers/signs, etc. I somehow managed to roll my car several times before landing on the driver side of my car.

Not that I remember ANY of it. I was told my car rolled. I was assured that no one else was involved and I didn’t hit anything besides forestry/brush on my way down. I was conscious the whole time, but I barely remember anything and it’s all in flashes. 

I remember hitting the water and losing control of the car.
I remember trying to correct it several times before going towards the side of the road.
I remember landing, everything going still.
I remember looking up and seeing my blood on the roof of the car.

I remember thinking “I need to get out of here”.
I remember my shoes and the bottom of the car being wet.
I remember grabbing things I thought were important and packing them in my bag next to me.
I remember handing my bag of stuff to someone.
I remember someone jumping into the car next to me.
I remember seeing someone on the far bank—a pedestrian, in hindsight I think it was the guy who stopped and called for help.
I remember standing up and trying to hoist myself out of the car.
I remember my arm hurting like hell.
I remember hands coming towards me, trying to help me out.
I remember crawling on the ‘top’ of the vehicle.
I remember a ladder going from the back of my car to the embankment.
I remember standing and walking across the ladder rungs.

I don’t recall going from the car to the ambulance but I know I got there. I know that I was well taken care of and that everyone on scene was nice. I was treated in the ambulance. They thought my shoulder was dislocated, hence the screaming pain in my arm, so they gave me some gas and air. They took me to Hereford Hospital and I called hubby, who met me there and stayed with me when I was seen in the ER.

6pm until 10:30pm I was in the ER waiting to be seen. 

10:30pm until 3am Hubby stayed with me while I was treated in the ER

After a bit of a clean-up of my wounds, being in and out for several X-rays, having 7 stitches and a diagnosis of a fractured Scapula (broken shoulder blade) they admitted me to a Ward where I was to stay overnight. I told hubby to go home and get rest and I’d contact him in the morning.

I was given lots of medication for pain, but I figured out very quickly that a broken shoulder blade made it VERY difficult to do even the most basic of tasks. I couldn’t do anything with my right arm, which is my dominate arm. Brushing teeth, going to the loo, getting dressed, sitting up, laying down, turning my torso….everything made my shoulder hurt.

I ended up spending the day in Teme Ward, which meant I got to experience IV drips, hospital food, hospital gowns, and ‘visiting hours’.  It was an experience to say the least and one that I wish I never have to experience again with a broken limb.

For a few days I felt hopeless. I felt weak and pathetic. I was unable to do a lot of things by myself and had to ask for a lot of help for a while which for someone who is as independent and self-sufficient as I am is VERY hard to come to terms with.

WEEK ONE: For the first week of my recovery I was in a sling. Couldn’t move anything past my wrist on my right arm and had to adapt to using my left arm for everything—brushing my teeth, getting dressed, picking up things, eating. Hubby had to get me in and out of my sling, bathe me, help me get dressed, administer some of my medicine (that required drawing liquid into a syringe), and cook/clean everything.

I took comparison photos at about the 2 week mark. The
pictures on the left were from after the accident, then the ones
on the right are 2 weeks after. I had a slash across my chest
from the seatbelt, and a gash on my head from where a piece
of glass lodged itself in my head. 

WEEK TWO: I started seeing some improvements. Through my exercises that I was given by the hospital physio I could see my range of motion increasing, but only when I did my exercises. I would lean on a desk or something and let my arm dangle down, then swing it like a pendulum in circles, side to side and up and down. My range of motion increased there, but when I straightened back up I still couldn’t move my arm without assistance. Towards the end of the 2^nd week, I could manage moving my arm all the way up to my elbow. 

WEEK THREE: I was managing most things by myself. I was out of the sling and even though I still couldn’t lift my right arm without assistance (my left arm picking it up), it didn’t hurt to have it moved/placed anywhere other than straight down at my side--as long as i had it resting against something. I was also able to carry things as long as they weren’t too heavy. I saw a Physio and she gave me some new exercises to help increase my muscle strength.

A nice little bruise on my right thigh I probably acquired when
the car landed on that side. Taken during the 1st week. 

She explained to me that the bone probably had healed up nicely and the pain I was feeling was more to do with all the muscles in my shoulder that attach to one another. So, now it was my job to build back up the muscle strength so I could go back to normal. She also mentioned that normally when there is a broken bone, doctors/physios recommend avoiding high-impact activities (contact sports or any hobbies that risk falling on the area) for 3 months after the break occurs….so no Aerial arts—Pole, Hoop, etc—for me until about November time. L

It’s been 4 weeks now and I’m more or less able to do everything I was able to before but with a few aches and pains. One of the last things the physio said would come back to me is the ability to put my hand behind my back (because it creates the most movement in my shoulder). I am now able to do that among other things, including raising my arm straight up, with minimal pain (pain, none the less, but I can do it).

Most of my superficial cuts were on my left arm. Left is in the ER, top right is after 1 week, cause I still had my a bandage on my stitches, and the bottom right is from the other day (the 4 week mark). 

The wound from my seatbelt. Top left is from the ER (still with glitter glass on me), bottom left is from about 2 week mark, and the right is at 4 weeks. 

It seems minuscule but over the past month I had these little accomplishments I could celebrate:

• Able to eat with my left hand without spilling. 
• Able to move my forearm
• Able to take my medicine by myself 
• Able to get dressed by myself including putting on a bra 
• Able to brush my hair, with help
• Able to bathe by myself
• Able to put my sling on by myself
• Able to hold things in my right hand
• Able to go without pain meds for a day when it doesn’t hurt as much
• Able to hold my hand/forearm up, keeping my elbow into my side as an anchor
• Able to lift small things, using elbow as an anchor
• Able to style my hair in a side braid
• Able to go out without the sling
• Able to tip over and use my dangling arm to put my hair up.
• Able to push/pull a door open with my right arm
• Able to assist my right arm over my head without it hurting. 
• Able to move my right arm along a surface
• Able to lift my arm partially away from my side (minimal pain)
• Able to lift my arm straight out in front of me (minimal pain)
• Able to raise my hand (minimal pain)

When I was in the hospital, and while I was struggling to do these things over my recovery it seemed like I wouldn't ever be able to do the things I used to, but looking back on it a month later I’ve done extremely well in my recovery. 

Next week I start driving again and I’m back to work as well so there's that to look forward to....

[accurate]