the dr. must have known i was coming...

britt and i were serving napoleon his last notice and while we were there this was on the wall. i want it.

while the leg is busted...

oh the most annoying week has passed and i'm happy to say that the knee wasn't broken just badly badly badly bruised. while i had to rest (the HARDEST THING IN THE WORLD for me), i decided to save my knee from the peddle of my sewing machine and paint and draw for a while. it worked out fantastically as i was able to finish the faces of all 113 remaining sewn haitian dolls and now they're ready for our trip in march! in addition i have started a new series of dolls inspired by a true warrior. more to come on these and more pictures of all dolls will be posted soon!

in the mean time, i have been drawing this:

rachey and cody sittin' in a tree...

they're married and off to vegas and cali! congratulations! have fun y'all! ;-)

i present mr. an mrs. cody and rachel coggins!

the back of the house...

this house really is a gray-ish taupe, even though it looks brown. and we need decks really badly!

it's really cold if you live outside...

i often ponder what it must be like to sleep at night on the streets. i complain that my bed is not big enough or has a lump or a sag, but i don't wrap myself up at night with a bag. i don't lay my head on "yesterday's news" or wake with every breeze that scrapes my cold cheeks. for those who do, i think of you.

sweeper sound, snow on the ground.
tucked in tight for a winter slumber night.
little pink nose seen from under the cover, pull in your toes one after another.
the crisp air outside tightly pushed away, we are lucky we are warm and can live this way.
those out in the cold keep your head held high.
cross your arms and protect your soul, and know that you're loved by someone you don't know.

brrrrrrrrrick!

honey it's cold outside but there is a double work crew of the world's best sweethearts working on bricking our house. it is looking really good! it's very encouraging to know that we actually will live in this house one day soon!

grab-it!

so the granite situation may be solved because white diamonds are looking good!

wednesdays make me stronger!

i have cronn's disease. crohn's is an inflammatory bowel disease, which is the delicate way of saying there are so many things wrong with my butt it's not even funny. i was diagnosed with crohn's at the age of 19 after about 7 years of undiagnosed symptomatic ailments. one side effect of having this disease is that i'm chronically anemic. anemia is another disorder that i've been dealing with since i was about 15 years old. to battle the anemia, i am now undergoing iron infusions. it's safer for me to have these infusions than to take an oral pill. i've experienced a severe bleed at the ileum from a tablet fusing to the lining of my intestine where i have a stricture or narrowing in the tube; and eroding it. we don't want to do that again, so for now i receive weekly iron infusions at magee women's cancer center here in pittsburgh.

i receive my liquid my energy every wednesday afternoon. for now it's six weeks on, then i'll go monthly. there are cozy chairs, warm blankets, friendly faces, a tv, a good book, dimmed lighting, and wonderfully sweet women fighting the good fight in abundance. sometimes i'm in quiet corner by myself. other times i'm in the middle of the hustle and bustle. some days i read. other days i just sit and listen. but one day someone did something really sweet. an anonymous stranger had dozens of pink roses delivered to the ward. one solitary beautiful pink rose was handed out to every single patient that day. so of course, i had to stop and smell it. it was a good day.

some days there are bruises and some pain, but other days not much more than a little time spent cozy in a chair with smiling faces. i'm thankful that i have really good insurance and that i'm lucky enough to be able to receive my infusions. i often think of the many hundreds of thousands of people who have this disease who are not as lucky as i am. and for them, i follow my doctors orders, i go for my infusions and i try to live my life as happily and productively as i possibly can because i know that i am lucky to receive this help!

cheers to wednesdays! smell those roses when ever you can! ;-)