Pneumonia, Again

It’s been difficult these past 4 months. Last blog post, I wrote about being in the hospital due to pneumonia. Early December, I was feeling sick for about a week and spent a couple days in bed. It’s unusual for me not to get up in my wheelchair every day. I had low oxygen along with another seizure which brought us to the conclusion that it may be pneumonia again.

Since I couldn’t get up in my wheelchair, I went to the emergency room by ambulance. I was in the hospital for 5 days. The same pattern continued early January. I was also admitted for pneumonia, but I was in for 12 days instead of just 5. I ended up just going to the ER as it wasn’t urgent enough to go by ambulance. 

I’m always sad to cancel my appointments with ABLE. I can tell how much of a difference it’s making. I have gained a lot of experience and awareness of my body, including balancing upright using my core muscles. Over the past few years, my shoulders have been dropping lower in my sockets. One thing I’ve been doing differently at ABLE is focusing on a new set up to help put them more in place.

Other than the days I go to appointments, it’s difficult to go outside in the winter. This past weekend the temperature has been higher. If it’s above freezing, I start going for rolls with Everett. This week is supposed to be great as well.

Writing poems has taken all of my time up. You know how people are obsessed with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube etc. I can officially say that I'm obsessed with allpoetry. Writing them and reading others is where I spend most of my time doing. I posted my recent poem below.

Jenni

Life as a Match

Born from a strike with a story to tell

scarring the wood that it’s made from

crackling through each sparking ember

a voice so fierce and wild with fury

Sharing mysteries from past times

behind shadows where ghosts can tread

the life of a single flame far too short

transforming a stick into lingering ash

Happy Holidays

This past week, I’ve been snowed in. I also had to cancel going to ABLE because of the weather. There was a huge blizzard Wednesday and Thursday along with cold temperatures. So, I’ve been hiding inside. The last time I went out when it was this cold, my tubes expanded and started popping off everywhere possible. Plus, since I have a humidifier connected to my ventilator that heats the air I breathe, it leaves moisture in my tubes. If the water drops get too cold, they form icicles!

Merry Christmas to all! Christmas Eve we were supposed to have my sister and her family over for dinner with a meal of prime rib. Although she hadn’t been feeling well for a few days and ended up testing positive for COVID. I felt so bad. Especially because Christmas is a time for gathering. My mom, Sandy, and I ate grilled cheese and tomato soup. A first for Christmas Eve dinner!

Midafternoon on Christmas day Kristen’s boyfriend, Anthony, brought my 2 nieces over to unwrap some presents. Kristen hopped on video using my mom’s echo show and was able to watch. Good thing for technology these days. Later, for dinner we ate lasagna with my other aunt Julie, her husband Pat from Duluth, and my grandma and grandpa. It was a nice weekend visiting family and celebrating Christmas.

Today, I played a couple rounds of yahtzee with my niece (I got her the game for Christmas.) She caught on quickly; I haven’t played in a long time. We did have the meal that we were going to have Christmas Eve, only my sister still wasn’t feeling well. I am hoping she feels better soon, and we can all be together. For now, I plan on going to ABLE this week, since the temperatures are going to be in the 30’s.

I hope all of you had a lovely holiday.

Jenni

Continued Post

After the first day of standing again, I stood 10 more times for 30 minutes each out of the next 11 days. Although, on the evening of the 11th day when I got back into bed, I noticed that my left knee started hurting again. Each day since then, the pain has been off and on. Because of it, I've had to hold off on standing again.

There have been many of those days that I haven’t been able to do range of motion again because of it. I think what happened is that I may have pushed myself a little too much. I guess I was so eager to stand again after not doing for so long. Also, it felt great while standing and helped aid in changing position during the day along with fluid retention.

I’m thinking that the cortisone shot in my knee did help this time, since I was able to stand so many times afterwards. One unfortunate thing about cortisone is that there is concern that repeated shots might damage the cartilage within a joint. Doctors usually limit the number of cortisone shots into the joint. It’s typically shown that you shouldn’t get them more often than every six weeks, but no more than 3 to 4 times a year.

Other than staying off my feet, I have also been staying indoors most of February. The weather has either been below 0°F or in the single digits for a few weeks now. It’s not ideal whether for me to be outside, as my tubes can freeze, and my body can’t regulate its temperature. Today was 25°F and I was able to take Brody for a quick 15 minute walk down a couple streets. He was so excited to go and then crashed on the couch when we got back home. I haven't seen him like this for a while; he must have really needed the exercise.

Over the past couple days I created another abstract painting. It looks pretty similar to a lot of my other ones, only with different colors. I've been doing more smaller pieces, as it takes me at least an hour to get one done and my neck gets sore when I work on it. I posted a picture below.

Jenni

Hello 2021

This year so far started off a little rough for me. About a week and ½ ago during physical therapy I re-injured my left knee. I wrote a post last year where I stated having pain in that knee starting in 2018. I got an MRI on it in January 2019 and found out I tore my MCL. Although it healed, I was still having slight pain off and on, so I’ve been unable to stand. Injuring it again has caused me even more pain, and I’ve had to start wearing my knee brace again.

Also, I ended up developing a respiratory infection and got on some antibiotics this past week. I haven’t had one for quite a while, so I was surprised when I started feeling signs of it. For me, my secretions get thicker and discolored, I require oxygen (normally I’m on room air) and I need to be suctioned more frequently. Being on antibiotics messes with my body, and I end up having more problems that I don’t need.

The other hard thing is that since I need to be careful because of COVID, I haven’t been going out to places like usual. It doesn’t help that it’s January, cold outside, and the streets are full of snow so I can’t take Brody for a walk. Good news, I started up my Bible study group on Wednesday and that’s been keeping me busy. My other one starts this Monday.

Hopefully by next month everything will start to go uphill and not be so much of a downer. I know God doesn’t give me challenges in which I cannot handle. Even though He gives me tests every so often, I remain positive knowing that I am still here for reason!

Jenni

Getting outside

Brody soaking up the sun!

As I’ve said before, my dog Brody loves to go on walks with me. I attach his leash to my wheelchair, and he keeps up with whatever speed I go. My top speed is 7.6 mph, although usually I just use that to go down the street and back where I’m still in my nurse’s view. They don’t run with me that fast, just Brody!

Even though it’s just the end of February, the weather is starting to warm up already (over 30°F). I was able to go outside this past weekend and am planning on going out later today. Although this week it’s supposed to get colder and then warm up again after that. I’m hoping that we don’t have too many more days where it’s cold because one of my favorite things to do is go outside and enjoy nature.

Jenni

Winter Update

I’m glad to report that I haven’t been sick since April this year. I had to minimize my activity level a little bit in order to maintain my health. It’s too bad that it came to that, but I feel staying healthy trumps all in my life right now.

It hasn’t stopped me from taking Brody outside for walks. My body can usually handle the weather if it’s 30°F or above; I’ve gone out when it’s been colder than that. I’ve realized that the feeling of temperatures is different depending on where you live. As far as Minnesota, we’re used to 4 seasons, winter being one of them and bearing the cold. Someone in a state who’s used to warmer weather may think that’s insanely frigid.

Although yesterday it was kind of drizzling rain all day and today it’s snowing with wind. My backyard does look pretty with the snow though! I think it’s been about a month since we’ve had some snow here which is unusual for winter weather; same thing with the temperatures being warmer.

Tomorrow I have a physical with my primary doctor. The reason is because I’m having surgery on January 27 to replace my baclofen pump. There’s nothing wrong with the pump itself. The battery in them only lasts about 5 years, and then it needs to be switched out when it runs low. Last time it was checked a couple weeks ago there was still about 6 months left but they like to change it out sooner just in case. It's a good thing the scanner can detect how much battery life is left, otherwise it could turn into an emergency situation.

This’ll be my 4^th baclofen pump. I had my first one inserted in 2003 and the 2^nd in 2008. They changed it last in 2013. Surgery itself won’t take very long and if all goes well, I’ll only be in the hospital one night. Hopefully nothing major goes wrong otherwise I’ll have to stay longer.

Jenni

Snow!

Between last night and this morning, we received a big snowstorm. Although some places got it worse than others, above is a video of my backyard. Despite the weather, my niece Avery was able to get outside and build a snowman. I can’t believe she’s already 6 years old!

Jenni

Winter Weather

It’s that time of year again. We’ve had a few days already with just some snow flurries, but today was the first time that snow stuck to the ground. Although the temperature is supposed to rise again tomorrow so I’m sure it’s not going to stick around yet.

I have mentioned before, but it’s difficult to take Brody outside for a walk on days like this. I haven’t taken him out for a few days because of the temperatures. I do remember when I first got him that I could bear the weather a little better than nowadays. Now that I’ve been getting sick more often, I’ve been more cautious about going outside when it’s too cold.

I’m hoping that this year’s snow and cold doesn’t get too bad. Although I do live in Minnesota, so I expect it at some point. At least I’m able to get outside sometimes now as opposed to when the weather shifts below zero. Then I’ll have to resort to more indoor activities such as playing board games and watching movies.

Jenni

Before and After

My dog Brody turned 7 in December. I can’t believe how quickly time flies. He doesn’t show any signs of slowing down and still plays with toys every so often. I still try to take him for a "walk and roll" whenever I get a chance. It depends on the weather and how I’m feeling respiratory wise. Lately it’s been nice outside with temperatures close to 50°F.

One thing that’s difficult with taking him during this time of year is that the snow starts to melt. Because he’s mostly white, his hair tends to get dirty quickly, especially if it’s long. I’ve mentioned before that as a Chinese Crested Powder Puff that he has hair not fur so it grows. We take him to the groomers to get his hair cut every couple of months or so. He also gets a bath and is nails trimmed.

Since it was winter, cold and wet I couldn’t remember the last time he got a haircut. That is until last week when he got a good spring trim! I’m not sure if he likes going to the groomers or not, but when he comes home, he gets so excited. Sometimes he acts like a puppy again and runs around then tries to get on my lap like he’s thanking me. Now when I take Brody outside, he doesn’t get as wet or dirty. I posted photos of him before and after.

Brody before

Brody after

Jenni

Winter Update

I have been hearing a lot of people telling me how much reading my blog posts, along with updates, and inspiring others means to them. I decided it’s time for a well needed, overdue post. I noticed that every time I started one, for some reason it’s like I have writers block even though my life is filled with things to talk about. So finally here it goes…
 
First off, for unknown causes, about 4 months ago I injured the inside of my left knee. After an x-ray, there was no apparent bone fracture or break so the orthopedics thought it was a ligament sprain. They gave me a cortisone shot thinking that would help and then checked back with me regarding it. If the pain were to continue, I would’ve had to get an MRI to see if it was something more severe. I wasn’t able to bare weight on my leg because of it and it disrupted my standing schedule of 30 minutes every day. I have slowly worked my way back up to that amount of time and my pain is off-and-on depending on certain positions.

Next, I last wrote an update in June regarding my health. About 2 months ago I got another respiratory infection. This time I caught it early enough to where I just went on some antibiotics and didn’t end up in the hospital. The course was for 2 weeks and I’ve been pretty stable since it cleared up. It’s very difficult on my body and wears me down when I’m sick.

Unfortunately, almost a week before Thanksgiving my grandpa passed away. He was my mom’s dad. It wasn’t exactly sudden; he was living in a care facility for a while before that. We held a memorial service for him a couple of weeks ago and I had the privilege of sharing a Bible verse. I have a lot of memories of us, especially when I was younger. He will be forever missed in our hearts!

Last week the temperatures were hovering around 40°F. I took my dog Brody outside for a couple of short walk and roles. The first day, he was practically pulling my wheelchair like a sled dog! Since the weather’s been so nice out we didn’t have a "White Christmas" except for the little bits of snow already on the ground. Although the temperatures started dropping along with some snow, then rain a couple days ago.

Since my accident, we’ve been hosting Christmas every year. So we had family over Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It’s kind of nice having everyone come to us. I didn’t ask for anything in particular this year. I’m at that age where I find it more fun to give gifts than receive them. We also play the dice game as a family so it’s less pressure to buy a gift for everybody. I did receive

Hopefully I will be able to write more in the future. I realize now how much people want to hear about what I have to say or what I’m up to. Be sure to keep checking back to see more posts coming soon! Also, feel free to leave a comment and give me feedback.

Jenni

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”

-Earl Nightingale

Summer Update

It’s the beginning of summer already and I can definitely feel it in the air. The temperatures outside have been hot with lots of humidity. With the highs being above 90°F, it’s difficult to get out, especially when the heat index is over 100°F. There also were a couple of days where there have been heat advisories or warnings to where they don’t recommend you get out of the house.

On those days I don’t go outside, although I do try to get out every day to take Brody for a walk. I mostly stick to the shade, just going down the street and back. I’m usually only outside for no more than 15-30 minutes, which is plenty of time for him to get some exercise and also me some fresh air. It’s better when there’s a little breeze to help cool things down. When it’s cooler out I go for longer walks.

Other than getting outside, I have been trying to stay healthy. Last month I ended up in the hospital for 5 days for pneumonia again. I’m finding it more difficult to stay away from that place of being sick all the time, especially over the last couple years. Now that I’m feeling better, it’s harder for me to get out places knowing that’s what may cause me to become sick.

As of other things, following up with the edema that I was talking about last fall, I’ve been seeing more doctors about it. They narrowed it down to me having low albumin (loss of protein) although I haven’t gotten any answers as to how to change it. I’m going to see a nutritionist in a couple of weeks. One doctor suggested protein powder to see if that helps. Even though I do eat foods with protein, somewhere it’s getting lost.

Another thing she that I have been working on still is standing in my wheelchair. I have been trying to do it every day for at least 30 minutes. That all depends on what my blood pressure is and how I’m feeling. I take my blood pressure about every 5-10 minutes to make sure it’s not dropping. I usually just watch TV while standing. It’s difficult to go on my computer because I need to do as little talking as possible so it doesn’t drop.

For now, I’m going to continue to go outside when it’s nice. My goal is to avoid sickness and steer clear of the hospital. I’m also going to try to figure the cause of my edema. Hopefully it’s not something any more serious.

Jenni

Historic Snowstorm

This is my aunt snow blowing our sidewalk in the backyard!

This weekend we had the worst snow storm in history here in Minnesota. I believe we got at least 15 inches of snow in my area although I know of other parts of the state that got a lot more, and to think it’s the middle of April! We’ve had snow in April before but nothing like this which I have posted about before. They are calling it a "Historic Event" because it was that epic.

I’m lucky to have such dedicated nurses working for me. My night nurse worked Friday night and stayed over Saturday, worked Saturday night, stayed over Sunday, worked Sunday night, and then same thing with Monday. She was able to go home Tuesday since some of the snow was cleared away and it had stopped snowing. Also, the nurse that worked during the day had to leave her car here and had someone pick her up to bring her home. Same thing with Sunday!

I haven’t been able to go outside for a walk/roll with Brody because of it. I think he is having seasonal depression right now because of the weather. He won't even get off coach when I call him which is unusual. We're supposed to get more snow in the middle of the week although it’s starting to warm up and melt so hopefully soon I will be able to. I'm definitely looking forward to spring to actually arrive.

Jenni

Minnesota Weather

The last couple weeks I’ve been hibernating in my house. The weather here has been frigid and cold, with most temperatures below 5°F. I used to go out no matter what the weather was outside, although my body has a hard time adapting to temperature. Having a spinal cord injury at my level I get cold fairly easily. Unless I use the thermometer to check my temperature I don’t know how cold I actually am, which could lead to hypothermia if not watched frequently.

Even while indoors, I usually have a blanket on throughout the day and sit by an electric fireplace that I flip on if my body or the room gets too cold. At night I sleep with a heated electric blanket that has the ability to change temperatures from 1-High. Depending on what I put it at, it helps regulate my body temperature better than any other sort of heating system. I also have a small heater in my room alongside the indoor heat.

We do have central air and heating, although it’s difficult for it to register in specific areas. This is especially true if I have the fireplace on. When my house was being remodeled, we put in floor heating which also helps (and keeps people’s feet warm). Although it does nothing for me as only my wheels hit the floor!

Other than it being cold, we also get a lot of snow here. That is also one reason that stops me from getting out, especially from taking Brody for walks. In the neighborhood where I live there are a lot of back roads and they don’t get plowed during the winter unless it snows above 2 inches. Sometimes they just use salt before if they know it’s going to snow and then they don’t even plow. This just makes the roads slushy although most of the time there pretty icy and slippery.

I have written blog posts in the past about temperature and weather. The last one I wrote was similar although I stated that despite temperatures being low outside I tend to venture out. It’s different this year, as my body has changed and the temperature affects it even more. My body also used to be able to regulate its temperature better, although for some reason over the years it’s changed. I wish things were different because it’s difficult spending my days indoors all the time.

Jenni

Weather and Temperature

Having a SCI and being on a ventilator is no match for extreme weather changes, although that’s what Minnesota is known for. Because of my injury, I’m not able to feel if I’m cold or hot. The only way I know is if I take my temperature or my body starts spasming. Also, the cold air can be very hard on my lungs. When the vent pulls the air in, it goes through the tubing, then my trach and into my lungs. There is nothing to warm the air up so it feels the same in my lungs as it is outside. When someone breathes through their nose, the hairs warm the air up so it’s not such a shock.
 
Many people with spinal cord injuries, as a result, have trouble regulating their body temperature. Here's what it says about it on Apparelyzed.com

"A normal, healthy human is able to maintain a constant body temperature of approximately 98.6F despite the temperature of the environment. In a hot environment, the body sends a signal to the brain via the spinal cord to say the body is overheating. The brain then sends a signal back down the spinal cord and tells the body to cool itself by perspiration which evaporates and cools the skin. In cold weather, the body senses the lower temperature and our brain tells us to put more clothes on to warm ourselves up.

Most people with complete spinal cord injuries do not sweat below the level of the injury and many quadriplegics cannot even sweat above the injury (even though they may sweat due to autonomic dysreflexia). With loss of the ability to sweat or vasoconstrict within affected dermatomes the patient becomes poikilothermic and needs careful control of their environmental conditions. Therefore, if a high paraplegic or quadriplegic is in an outside temperature over 90 F, especially when the humidity is high, the body temperature will begin to rise (Poikilothermia). Likewise in a cold environment, the body may not be able to get the messages through to the brain that the body is cooling down, and if left untreated, the person will soon become hypothermic."

When I’m inside even if the temperature is left at a normal 72°F my body still gets cold, especially because I’m not moving around. I usually have a blanket on and am usually by my electric fire place which I can flip on and off when needed. Despite getting cold easily, the low temperatures don’t stop me from going outside. I just bundle up with a hat, scarf, jacket, and warm blanket in order to keep the heat in.

I love taking my dog Brody for a walk and getting out in the community. This is one reason why the hot or cold weather doesn’t stop me from getting out. As long as the temperature stays above 0°F and below 100°F I’m willing to venture out. It’s definitely not the same to just look out the window as it is actually going somewhere.

Jenni

In the Clear

After being diagnosed with pneumonia a few weeks ago, I'm finally in the clear. There were a few ups and downs where it got better than worse, but luckily they removed the PICC line last week. I'm still on extra antibiotic nebulizers to make sure it stays away. The good news is I'm feeling much better. The IV antibiotic was 3 times a day so I was unable to go many places because of having to give it during the middle of the afternoon.

Due to my lack of updating, I never informed about receiving a new wheelchair back in December 2015. It has the ability to stand, so I won't have to transfer into my Easystand stander. Although because of being sick and hospitalized throughout 2016, I've been unable to utilize it. In between hospitalizations and then again towards the end of last year, I was doing therapy at Gillette using my stander in order to tolerate standing again.

I had to stop for about a month due to this last illness, but will be starting up again this week. I'm determined to start using my new wheelchair as soon as they get it all adjusted. Another thing that's been holding me back from getting out a lot is pain. Some is caused by positioning and other is from the underlying condition of having a spinal cord injury. No amount of medication helps to relieve it either which can be frustrating.

Being paralyzed from the neck down is difficult, especially when it causes me to be uncomfortable in my own body. It's not easy to sit in one position for a lengthily amount of time, so I'm constantly needing range of motion or some sort of movement. That's where the freedom of being able to stand will be nice comes in once I'm able to utilize my new wheelchair.

Despite being sick I was so positive that this year would bring me luck. Too bad respiratory infections tend to get the better of me. I'm hoping to steer clear for now and be able to enjoy these days without sickness. The one benefit is that the weather here in Minnesota has been extremely nice and I have been able to get outside to take Brody for a walk/roll. We both enjoy a little bit of sunshine!
 

This picture was from November 2016. The trees are bare now and there is a little bit of snow on the ground. I still have to bundle up by wearing warmer clothes, hat, scarf and a blanket!

Jenni

Getting My Tan on

Me outside in my new shades! (I'm not sunburned, just red from the heat ;-)

This whole summer I've been devoting my time to going outside and getting a tan. The weather has been so nice lately (despite a week of high humidity and temperatures). Every time I go out I put sunscreen on because I have a tendency to burn easily. A couple months ago I got major tan lines from missing the sunscreen in spots. I think they're almost all evened out now, but some are still a little noticeable.

I am so sensitive from all the medications I take. Whenever I'm in direct sunlight for a prolonged period of time my skin gets really hot and turns red. The good thing is that it usually goes away within a half an hour of being back in air-conditioning. Also, since my body has a hard time regulating its temperature it usually gets higher the longer I'm out. Sometimes I take it it just see where I'm at. The other day I was 100.6 F, and that was after being in the car for 15 min. with air blowing on me. I definitely have to be careful not to overheat!

A little over six years ago I wanted to get tan really bad. So for several days in a row I sat outside in direct sunlight with no sunscreen. I got so burned my friend Steph was peeling sheets of skin off my face. That was one of the worst experiences I had with the sun and I've definitely learned my lesson since then. It's better to use the proper precautions and gradually tan as to avoid burning. (Getting smarter in my older age!)

Jenni

Regulating Body Temperature

Many people with spinal cord injuries, as a result, have trouble regulating their body temperature. Here's what it says about it on Apparelyzed.com

"A normal, healthy human is able to maintain a constant body temperature &of approximately 98.6F despite the temperature of the environment. In a hot environment, the body sends a signal to the brain via the spinal cord to say the body is overheating, the brain then sends a signal back down the spinal cord and tells the body to cool itself by perspiration which evaporates and cools the skin. In cold weather, the body senses the lower temperature and our brain tells us to put more clothes on to warm ourselves up.

Most people with complete spinal cord injuries do not sweat below the level of the injury and many quadriplegics cannot even sweat above the injury (even though they may sweat due to autonomic dysreflexia). With loss of the ability to sweat or vasoconstrict within affected dermatomes the patient becomes poikilothermic and needs careful control of their environmental conditions. Therefore, if a high paraplegic or quadriplegic is in an outside temperature over 90 F, especially when the humidity is high, the body temperature will begin to rise (Poikilothermia). Likewise in a cold environment, the body may not be able to get the messages through to the brain that the body is cooling down, and if left untreated, the person will soon become hypothermic."

My body used to have a hard time regulating its temperature. When the environment around me was cold, I would be cold; when it was warm, I would be warm.

One time, about six or seven years ago, I was just watching TV out in the living room. My mom came up to me and touched me and found that I was freezing cold. I took my temperature and it was just below 92°F. I was shocked because I couldn't tell that I was that cold. They heated up towels and blankets and piled them on me to try to warm me up. It took quite a while but I finally warmed up. It was a very scary experience because my temperature was very low.

Despite my past, I don't have problems with regulating my body temperature anymore; it is usually stable at or around 97.6°F. I also sweat below and above my injury, which is one reason I believe that my spinal cord is incomplete. These are definitely good things. I couldn't imagine having to worry about my temperature dropping or rising so suddenly and unexpectedly.

Jenni

The Last Few Days and Class

On Friday I had a doctors appointment. Yesterday I went to my cousins college graduation party at this humongous park that I didn't even know existed. It's called Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis; about 25 minutes away from my house. It was 75° and sunny. Much better weather than it has been. The last couple weeks it's been a little colder than usual for this time; temperatures between 40° and 50° and sort of rainy. Today it's 70° and sunny. I'm planning on going outside later to try to get some more color. I'm going to put sunscreen on though to make sure I don't burn. With all the meds I'm taking I have to be careful.

I start my online mass communications class on June 2. I've never taken a summer class before so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Plus I've only taken one online class before this and it was writing. I'm definitely going to buy the book early and start reading since I have time now. I don't know how busy I'll be with this class, but I'm sure I'll be on the computer a lot.

Jenni

Happy Spring

Yesterday was the first day of spring! Hopefully this means good weather coming our way. I've been very bored on my break. I haven't really gone anywhere or done much. Can't wait to get back to school tomorrow. Although I have had to do some reading homework over the last week. I did go to Best Buy the other day to look for a microphone headset for my computer. The one I have now is coming apart and unraveling so the wires are exposed. I have to have someone mess with the cord whenever I go on my computer because it stops working. They didn't have the one that I wanted so I got a standing microphone instead of a headset. I tried it already but it didn't work because it didn't pick up my voice since it has to sit so far away. So I'm stuck with this one for now. Seems to be working okay for this post.

Jenni

Is It Spring Already?

I'm on spring break for school this week. I'm not doing anything special on my week off except relaxing, even though my one class isn't really that much work or stressful at all. I'm kind of curious why spring break is in winter. Anyways, it feels like spring outside. Yesterday I went out for about an hour and basked in the sun. When I was out, I noticed that our irises and lilies are starting to come up. I'm not sure but I think the saying for March is "in like a lamb, out like a lion." I think it can be reversed depending on how the weather is at the beginning of the month. If that's true then we're up for some pretty cold and possibly snowy days. I don't know if I'm quite prepared for that. I'm kind of liking the sun right now (even though today is cloudy and rainy). What is everyone else doing for spring break?

Jenni