I have to make this brief because I have appointments to get to. I'll probably be away from dA for a while longer because of new problems in RL. I was finally cleared to return to work on July 1, but when I got to my job, the boss handed me a check and told me I was no longer employed there. After 14 years! So much for corporate loyalty. So, crafts will have to wait while I try to find a new job. *sigh* I'll see everyone later! Bye...

I really wanted to write a journal sooner to let everyone know what's been going on with me but the hard drive on my laptop fried the night before my surgery and my parents' (who I'm staying with while I recover) don't even own a computer. I'm borrowing a friend's computer for a couple of hours so I can try to sort through the tons of email and other messages I've had piling up for me these last several weeks.

First, I'd like to thank everyone who has commented and sent wishes/prayers my way. The surgery went well, though there are several reasons for the title of this journal. Once I woke up after the surgery, my doctor came in to tell me that she'd encountered a few surprises during the three hours she was working on me. The tumors, though benign, were larger, denser and more widespread than all of the tests had shown, so it took her longer to remove them from me. They'd completely screwed up my insides to the point where even the body parts I was keeping had to be disconnected, then reconnected after the tumors were extracted. What my doctor found after clearing out the tumors was the real unpleasant surprise. I was in the initial stages of ovarian cancer. Apparently, the tumors were so densely packed that they completely blocked the cancer from showing up on any scans. Luckily, I had already approved removal of any and all "bad" things, so my doctor was able to take everything (tumors, cancer, all affected body parts) out at one time. I am extremely lucky. The National Cancer Institute estimates that this year alone there will be 21550 new cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed and it will claim the lives of over 14000 women. I won't be one of them.

So, now I've been at my parent's house for a week-and-a-half. I'll be here for another six weeks. I'm still bleeding and in a bit of pain, but considering what might have been the alternative... I'm doing great. Not a whole lot of energy, but that's okay. They sent me home from the hospital with a huge list of "Things Not To Do". No housework, no lifting, no climbing stairs, no driving, no "strenuous" activity of any sort. The toughest thing they want me to do for the next several weeks is try to walk a bit, at least three times a day. I caught a cold last week and it quickly progressed into my chronic bronchitis, so I'm just trying to get over that. Thought I'd be able to work on some crafts, but the pain in my abdomen completely prevents that. Even sitting up hurts and, OMG, how I dread having to go to the bathroom! Yikes!

Anyway, I'd better end this here so my friend can have her computer back. Just wanted to touch base with everyone and thank you all for the waves of good karma I know I've been getting. They've made a world of difference! I'll probably be back when I can borrow my friend's computer again, since I won't be able to do anything about my own dead hard drive until I'm better. Talk to you all later! Love ya!

Yup... I know. I haven't posted a journal here in almost a year. Very good reasons for that. First of all, 2008 sucked... royally. Mom was sick with pneumonia for months, then I got sick, then my Nana got sick. Nana died in June and it was completely downhill from then on. Since losing Nana (my grandma), my family has lost several aunts and a handful of cousins. I have also lost two good friends including the one person who convinced me to join my dance group. It's still difficult to go to dance class and not see her there. In all, I went to 8 funerals in 9 months. Gah! I was starting to feel like the Angel of Death.

When 2009 started, I had very high hopes for the new year. *sigh* Then, I went to the doctor for my annual check up on March 3rd. To make a very long story short, I have been at various doctor's offices for all kinds of tests at least twice a week ever since. I will be having major surgery on Wednesday, April 29. What my doctor found when she examined me were tumors. The good news is... they're benign (non-cancerous). The bad news... they're large (one the size of a grapefruit and two the size of baseballs), they're numerous, and they're screwing up my insides very badly. They're making me very sick and uncomfortable at the moment, so I am actually really looking forward to this surgery. My surgeon says I'll be out of work for about 8 weeks which I'm also looking forward to considering I now have job-related high blood pressure, as well.

I've already organized my yarn and thread so that when I'm mobile again, I'll be able to get to some serious crafting. It's been a while since I picked up the crochet hooks because I completely lost my motivation when my Nana died. She was my mentor and my inspiration. We lived on different islands, so we didn't get to see each other very much, but we spoke on the phone often and our conversations always centered around whatever crochet projects we were working on at the time. It's strange, working on a new project and thinking, "I wonder how Nana would like this?", but not being able to get her opinion anymore. I really miss her.

Anyway, this journal went on longer than I anticipated so I'll end it here so as not to put too many of you to sleep! I just can't wait to put all of this behind me and get back to my "normal" life! I'll be staying with my parents after the surgery and not only do they not have a computer, but they live in an area where my WiFi has a tough time working, so I don't know when I'll be back here. It shouldn't be more than two or three weeks, though. In the meantime, keep creating the wonderful work that you do and stay well! See ya soon!

Yes, in spite of the fact that I haven't been here in several months, I really am still alive. This year just hasn't been as cooperative with me as I had hoped. I have been sick more times than I can mention (I'm fighting yet another head cold and sinusitis attack right now... as a matter of fact). Work has been overwhelming, to say the least. My boss still has not hired a replacement for my assistant and I find myself falling further and further behind, forcing me to work nights just to stay current. Then, just about two months ago, my grandma was rushed to the hospital due to failing health. She lived on a different island from me, so my Mom and I were flying back and forth between the islands every few days just to be with grandma. The days we spent with her were fun, in spite of the fact that they were spent in a hospital (we even ate at the hospital cafeteria so we wouldn't be far from her... oh, yum). Some days she would be a bit glazed and not really responsive to anyone, but on other days she would be just like the grandma I remember, sharp and witty. We did a lot of laughing on those days.

My grandma died two weeks ago and, as she requested, we scattered her ashes in the ocean on July 4th.

I've missed all but one of my Bon Dances thus far this season, I haven't picked up a crochet hook or even touched a beading needle in months. My entire existence since April has revolved around work and grandma. Oh, and various illnesses. I'm slowly trying to get my life back on track. I'm going to cut back on work, even though it may mean falling behind in my paperwork. Maybe that will be an incentive for my boss to finally get me some help. I'm back in my dance class on Monday nights. I will be dancing at a Bon Dance on my island of Maui this Friday night, then I will be crossing the channel and dancing at another Bon Dance on the island of Lanai on Saturday night. And, I'm starting to get a few craft ideas again... small, simple ideas for right now... just until I get used to crafting again.

I know I owe a lot of people responses to comments and notes. I'll get to them... eventually. Hopefully, I'll be able to work out a little more dA time soon. Thanks to you all for being so supportive, though. It's nice to come back from dealing with so many stressful situations and find so many wonderful comments and notes waiting for me. Not to mention the tons of great artwork I get to catch up on! You guys are awesome!

Yes, I know I've been MIA for quite a while! I'll explain in a minute, but first... as one of the prizes in the Bring Out the Trash Contest held by *ArtisanCraft I promised a two week journal feature to the winners. So, without further ado:



Great work to all who entered and congratulations to the winners!


I've been practicing being invisible lately... I'm pretty good at it, aren't I?!

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been nearly a month since my last journal post. A lot has happened since then. I got sick on my vacation and spent most of it medicated and/or unconscious. I wasn't even able to work on a single craft project. Got back to work in time to deal with a ton of paperwork as well as my boss's taxes. Things have been so busy at work, in fact, that once I get home, I have just enough energy to make dinner, feed my fish and fall asleep, although there have been a few nights where I've actually missed the "feed the fish" part. Just when I thought things might finally improve, my boss let my assistant go yesterday, so now I have to do all of the accounting by myself. What this means is that I no longer have time to visit dA during my work hours and now I'll be working about 9+ hours per day to get everything done, so it's unlikely I'll be stopping by after work either. I'll try to catch up with everyone during the weekends, but with my dance classes and performances I don't know how much time I'll have on the weekends, either. And with Obon season just around the corner, once we start dancing for that, I won't even be home during the weekends. This doesn't bode well for my crafts, but I'm still going to try to finish everything in time for the contest I want to enter at the end of September. I also have a few items that I've promised to friends and I will be making a special effort to get those done. I really hope the boss decides what he wants to do about the extra work, because I can't keep doing all of the paperwork and accounting by myself... I'm already exhausted and I've only been doing this for a week. A couple more months of this will be the death of me. Anyway, that's why it's taken me so long to comment on some of your deviations. Right now my message board is saying I've got nearly 400 deviations to look at so it might be a while before I get through them all. Hope everyone is doing okay, though! I miss you all!

Yes, my gallery is rather random, mainly because I have the attention span of a three-year-old. My main craft is crochet, but you'll also find all sorts of other crafts, plus the occasional drawing, painting, and, every once in a while, I get lucky with my camera and capture an interesting shot. I also have a bizarre sense of humor, which is reflected in more than one of my pieces. Enjoy!






_{Journal coding done by me, thanks to tutorials [link] and [link] provided by *kuschelirmel-stock and [link] provided by ~RunaryKat}