Dearest friends & readers it is with great joy & celebration that I report:
After 11 months trying, countless doctor visits in both Florida and Illinois, med changes, countless sticks peed on, more than 25 pounds lost, and gallons of tears shed:
Martin and I are officially having a baby!!! […]
Blogger’s block is a real thing. And I’m in it. Man, am I in it. I want to try to explain it to you because it’s different from regular writer’s block, in that I don’t write poetry, novels, or stories for a living. Here on my blog, I try to write what brings me joy, sadness or an itch in that moment; to have a healthy mix of stories, funny things, helpful things, and serious and dear-to-my-heart issues. Lately, though, my trouble has begun to grow, and here’s why: […]
It was the summer of 1997. I was 12, and just about to enter dreaded middle school (eek, I know). Old enough to stay home during the day while my parents were at work, and make plans for sleepovers with my girlfriends, and watch all the VH1 & MTV I wanted. I liked to watch the Top 10 Videos regularly on both. This was before the Carson Daly and his Total Request Live (TRL) days. It was the glory days of the 90’s music scene, especially for a 12-year-old girl, with hard-hitting female rock anthem singles like […]
So here’s the thing with trying to have a baby… Much like mental health, there’s this stigma attached to it. We don’t talk about it. Sure, […]
Since I returned from Core Peer Support Training, I’ve enrolled in the Certified Recovery Support Specialist Competency Training, which takes place over three days, spanning three months, in Springfield. I pack my lunch, and a backpack of class supplies and trek over there for the day. It’s about an hour and a half away from our house, so it makes for an ok day trip. Pretty fool-proof, right? – WRONG – […]
Martin and I get the Sunday paper delivered each week. I look forward to pulling it apart section by section and learning more about the new community we live in. I try to read it all, including corn and crop reports and University of Illinois business (FOREVER A BUCKEYE!!!) and save the store advertisements and comics for last.
When I was a kid, I only read two sections of the paper. The two most important sections of the paper, by my “kid standards” were: […]
After Peer Support Specialist Core Training in Chicago, I was in touch with one of our instructors. She and I worked together to gather some insight from my side of the fence… Check it out, my thoughts were published!!! […]
As some of you might have read in my last post, I spent last week up in Chicago taking the Peer Support Specialist Core Training. Holy cow; what a nearly indescribable week it was!
Day 1: There were 22 of us, with two instructors. We spent the morning talking about the definitions of the Peer Support Specialist (which we fine-tuned throughout the week) and shared our […]
FIRST OFF LET’S START HERE The last post I made took a lot out of me. I didn’t realize how much, until two weeks went by and I hadn’t posted again. I didn’t feel like I had much to say, especially after what was said in Not-A-Mother’s Day. I worried that I wouldn’t have enough to say for a substantial follow-up. Truth is, at the moment I feel like I don’t. And I’m sorry. NOW […]
I debated for hours yesterday if it was appropriate to share this information on my blog, and Martin helped me decide that I am the only one to decide this… and if I can’t put my thoughts down here, where can I? So I’ll say it: Yesterday, Mother’s Day in the United States, was particularly difficult for me […]
A Hopeful Midwesterner 