A New Year, will it be any different?

Hi All :)

I Hope you are all well and enjoying life :)

So, I hadn't really thought I had given much thought to New Year resolutions until I realized that I had promised myself, some time last year, that in the New Year I would blog more, well.............um, I think I totally failed on that one already, LOL!!!

Then I thought I really see resolutions, for me these days, as more like wishes. So here are a few I have been wishing for a while.

I wish I could be well and healthy. (Totally accepting and grateful that I am still around to wish for that :)

I wish I could earn money. ( I totally feel guilty for being constantly challenged healthwise and therefore am not employable in the ordinary sense of the word and can't contribute to our family's income) 

I wish I could travel farther afield. (Haven't had the energy to travel to England for a very long time, which is rather depressing but am grateful I can at least tolerate 2 hrs flights)

I wish I could expand my business. (I am working on that, albeit slowly)

I wish I could keep everyone safe. (This is a bigger challenge but I wish all the crazies would hop on a jet and go to another planet) 

2012 was not such a good year for me in many respects, healthwise. A LOT of challenging testing and no conclusive results or some rather vague diagnoses, a  LOT of health repercussions because of those tests and also some out there treatments that left me completely wiped out for weeks. It truly doesn't make sense to do that over and over again to myself because some arrogant Neurologist has the attitude "it's my way or the byway :(.  
So, as 2013 started I had a chest infection, then a cold and then a relapse, (Woo Hoo!) I realized it was time to start again, to regroup and look at what my options are. I will keep you posted.

But.......

2012 definitely had its lovely moments. Time I got to spend with my amazing family all together; the trips I did get to take were awesome.
 And when I was able, I got to work on my Art and Photography which truly brings me great joy and being able to share that with others is so amazingly rewarding and uplifting.

This is one of my Favs. from last year :)

SOFT AND GENTLE (Peony)

The subtleness and beauty of nature blows me away all the time and gives me the strength to stay the course. :)

And Knowing that my supportive and amazing Blogger Buddies are there is totally incredible. :)

WHEW!!!!!

OK, then, moving on :)

I also wanted to share with you this beautiful giveaway from one of my Blogger Buddies :)

This wonderful piece of artwork is up for grabs, so amazing, her work is truly inspiring :) Check the giveaway out HERE :) (ends on Wed. so be quick :)

K. has also inspired me to do my own blog giveaway very soon, I haven't done one in forever, so come back soon and see, but don't hold your breathe as I seem to be only blogging every 10 days or so, LOL!!! :)

Have a lovely Monday :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

First Day Of Winter! :)

Hi Everyone :)

I Woke up, this Morning, to this Beauty :)

To see larger photos click on images :)

Beautiful Frozen Cobweb. :)

It is the first day of Winter here in the Northern Hemisphere and it certainly started out amazingly :)

Gorgeous frost and fogs and temps. in the 20's, but the sun tried very hard to break thru the fog :) Of course I didn't have to leave my cozy home so all was well for me :)

My Son's drove to the airport to pick up their sister and now the whole family is together for the first time in 8 months :)

5 Variations of the same image, hope you like these :)

I Love this image :)

It always amazes me that if I move the camera or make slight adjustments my lens will capture a completely different image of the same thing.

This reminds me, that, that is really what this time of year is all about. We celebrate this time of year for lots of different reasons but the beauty is there to be cherished by all :)

Happy, Happy Holidays and I wish you wonderful celebrations with your friends and Family :)

All our "Babies" made it safely home and we are indulging in time together and creating even more joyous memories :)

From our Family to Yours, Have a wonderful , wonderful time of being together. :)

I really want to Thank my lovely Blogger Buddies for sticking with me thru this challenging year, you guys truly rock and you have been a great source of strength to me :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

See ya all in 2012!!!! :)

The Holiday Express Train.

Happy Tuesday everyone! :)

A couple of weeks ago, my Hubby and I went off to visit The Holiday Express Train. I have always loved Steam Engines and so any time I get the opportunity to go see one, and of course to take photos, I will go :)

If you missed the photos and the story about why I LOVE Steam Engines in my blog post from last year you can take a peek HERE :)

Last Year the weather was a little overcast and so it was wonderful to take a few different shots of the Train in the wintery afternoon Sunshine this year. The Train is run by the "Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation" and with the Engine and coaches spruced up, decked with Holiday lights and plenty of enthusiastic passengers, some good old fashioned Holiday family fun was had by all! :)

So, hop on board and enjoy the ride on the Holiday Express :)

I am sure I snapped a photo last year of the same cyclist racing the Train :)

I LOVE this shot with Downtown P.Town in the backgorund.

There is definitely something Magical about a Steam Engine sparkling with Holiday Lights in the Darkness of a Wintery Night! :)

And a few shots of Holiday lights around Town :)

I hope you had fun seeing the Holiday Express. :)

One more thing I would like to share with you and that is my Blogger Buddy Clare over at Tiger Food Press Blog (and I just love that name :) is hosting a lovely Giveaway. A beautiful 2011 Letterpress printed Wall Art Calendar

I am in awe of print making and Clare's work.
Please go and share some love and check out Clare's lovely Giveaway :)

Well, my friends, it has been a pretty exhausting year! So, I am going to be taking a little break from the computer and enjoying my family who will all be home over the Holidays for a few weeks. I will see you all back here in the New Year some time and I will pop over to visit in the meantime :)

WISHING YOU ALL A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!

THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH GREAT FRIENDS!

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Sometimes Life Throws You A Curved Ball......Make Lemonade :)

 Happy Tuesday Everyone!



Have you ever woken up and felt so tired you just couldn't imagine getting out of bed, let alone facing the day, maybe you have had the flu, maybe jet lag, maybe that awful fatigue after surgery. Well, let me tell you a little story about being tired.

The unpredictability of the ocean reflects in life

When my youngest was 6 months old I decided I wanted to do the one important thing in my life I hadn't had an opportunity to do and that was to go to college. I had previously and sporadically taken college classes but not in any shape close to studying for a degree.

With my eldest happily ensconced in Elementary school, my 3 year old very content in Preschool and my one year old safe at home with a girlfriend I hired to Babysit, I took the plunge and enrolled in a liberal arts college and declared a major in Interior Design. I was nervously excited! Having left school at barely 16 and having no formal art training I was trepidacious about going to college with people who had actually graduated High School. I was passionate about most aspects of Architecture, Design and Art, so I chose Interior Design because it combined my talents for decorating and sewing and my passions all together.


I started at 3 quarter time and took as many weekend and evening classes as I could so I was home most of the time during the day to be a "MOM" which was my "REAL" job. Everything went really well, I was a 4 point student (Yay Me!). That was so validating to me because no matter how hard I tried in grade school I never got good grades. I always had the sense that I was not good enough and plenty of people in my life re-enforced that too!


I really felt for the first time in my life I had come into my own. I had a loving Hubby, 3 beautiful, smart, adorable and happy children and a home we all loved; And I was embarking on a college degree that would lead to a fulfilling career once all the kids were in full time education. This was what I had worked so very hard to achieve thru all my earlier struggles. I was really rather pleased, albeit cautiously, with myself and quietly confident that nobody could take this away from me.


I was fit and healthy, I ran half marathon distances, I worked out at least 4 times a week weight training and swimming or step aerobics; I made sure the family and I eat healthily. This was the best time of my life.

So, imagine my surprise when I started getting ocular migraines and blurry vision to the point that it became debilitating. I tried to push thru it and continue on my very, very busy schedule but some days it was impossible. I thought, well I knew, I was over doing it; But you know when you get a headache even migraines, although I had never had a migraine before, that eventually they will go away and even if you feel ravaged afterwards you will be able to sleep it off, but unfortunately that didn't happen. I had my blood work checked for the obvious, thyroid panel, blood sugar, hormones etc but none of the usual suspects showed as the cause. In Fact, according to my blood work there wasn't anything wrong with me. I dragged on for a month or so, I continued driving to school at night with blurry double vision after a day of struggling thru taking care of the kids but I wanted to continue going to school it meant so much to me, I didn't want to fall behind and I knew that could happen really quickly. I shouldn't have been driving I could barely concentrate on anything and staying awake was a challenge.


But then the nightmare happened; so suddenly it came from left field. I awoke one morning and was feeling really weird, I just couldn't get out of bed, I was so tired, unusually tired, I had slept well, I always slept well, so why was I so overwhelmingly tired? I just wanted to curl up and go back to sleep forever. Of course I did get out of bed but with a struggle and pushed myself to have a shower. You know when you are feeling tired a shower always seems to help wake you up right, but not this time. I could barely lift my arms to wash my hair and I had to keep leaning against the wall for support I was too weak to stand. I stumbled out of the shower in a daze and was sobbing uncontrollably. I opened the door, next to the bathroom, that led to the garage, my Hubby was outside playing ball with the boys, as I leaned on the door frame for support, I could hear the joyous giggles from the boys and I could see one running away, with the ball, screaming in delight at being chased by his Daddy. The tears were streaming down my face and at that moment I knew deep in my core that life would never be the same again. I told my Hubby I needed to go back to bed, I just didn't have the energy to stand. I knew the feeling! I had had a really bad case of Mono a few years before, but you can't get that twice that intensely, can you?! So what was happening?!?!


I had to quit school! I could barely get out of bed to care for the kids let alone leave the house. It seemed that my dream was being replaced by a nightmare and I had no clue when it would end and it didn't even have a name. After many, many Doctors and Specialists visits and years of misdiagnoses living with this frustratingly debilitating illness it finally materialises as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. And so, for the past 18 years I have lived with C.F.S. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and for the past 16 years with Fibromyalgia.


You all know how hard it is to look after young kids on a regular basis if you are healthy so imagine what it is like when you are not able to get out of bed and your Hubby is away on a biz trip and there is literally no one to help! My friends either worked full time or dropped away because they didn't want to "Catch" it (It is a myth that either C.F.S or Fibromyalgia are contagious) All my family were 6000 miles away in England. So there was nothing I could do but literally crawl out of bed and try to do what I could to change diapers, feed little people, get the basics done as much as possible and lie on the floor all day hoping that the next day would not be as bad! Of course it was and the next and the next and the next!!!


Over the years I had to become very organised and very careful with my time and energy, it is no fun living with two debilitating illnesses that can knock you to the floor in a heart beat and leave you down for days, weeks or months at a time. I guess I count my self fortunate that this goes in relapse and remission but don't think for a second that a remission gives me the opportunity to have a normal life at all. It just means I have about a quarter of the energy of a normal 120 year old woman to get what I need to do done instead of lying on the sofa all day in a relapse.


Relapse or remission I am permanently exhausted, in chronic pain and have a constant headache. I can only describe it as the worst Mono fatigue you can imagine along with the extreme pain after major surgery, thankfully I am not a wimp but enduring this for so long makes even the strongest vulnerable. There are no cures for these illnesses.


It is debilitating, exhausting, painful, challenging, depressing but mostly downright overwhelmingly frustrating. Because I am constantly in the pattern of relapse and remission I feel like I am constantly mourning a life that could have been.


I feel trapped in a body that doesn’t work well for me and is constantly letting me down and is, at best, unpredictable but it is the only one I get so I have to make the most of it. :)


I try every day to be positive and realistic but the older I get the harder it is to do that. Yet, everyday, I am truly grateful that at least I have another day to try again. So, I think, when life throws you a curved ball, make lemonade. :)


Cheers, T.


© Teresa Chipperfield 2010

 
                                                       "Thy fate is the common fate of all,


                                                         Into each life some rain must fall,"


                                                                    "The Rainy Day"
                                                          Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.