It's that time of year again....

I need everyone's updated and current mailing addresses pretty please!

<3


Christmas Card List 2009!

Please leave your info in this format (Using my new and current info as an example)

Dana Armstrong
918 Cannons Lane
Louisville, KY 40207
USA
502-819-3918

That way all I have to do is copy and paste your info into my address book

Thanks everyone! All comments are screened naturally from the public eye so it's safe to leave your info!

<3

It was almost to the minute one week in the hospital, but thankfully I am no longer there and came home late last night.... It takes a while to discharge a patient when three specialists have to coordinate the release.

Resident PCP, Endocrinologist and Pulmonary Specialist and then of course the home health care company for my oxygen tanks as well.

I gained 20 pounds in 6 days.... O_O

That is thankfully WATER gain and will eventually be peed out but yeah, I look like a swollen river rat from all the mega dose steroids they had me on (Solu-medrol) on Prednisone orally for the next week still.

What I Know: I was really frigging sick, to the point where they were debating incubating me on a ventilator when I was admitted into ICU. I begged, pleaded and frankly sobbed not to be incubated. I have been through that before and going through that sort of induced coma, forced life support and all the subsequent recovery was NOT something I'd wish on my worst enemy let alone go through it all over again.

Thankfully and obviously it did NOT come to incubation. Was in ICU/CCU however on 100% oxygen, anti-virals, anti-biotics and enough corto-steroids to rebuild a Buick from scratch for several days. I am still on 40% oxygen at home now, but I am *HOME*. My Oximeter saturation (SO2)frankly sucks rocks and I'll probably be on Oxygen now on a permanent basis for the rest of my life. On Oxygen my Saturation stays around 91, the second I take off the cannula I drop almost instantly to 75 which is *NOT* good in the slightest. I was close to 60 upon admission to ICU which was why they seriously wanted me on machines.

But I am a stubborn cow and I will not go down without a god damn fight... My actual diagnosis however is tricky... just like the last time I got this ill it's one of those scenarios you just cannot "plan" for or avoid.

I have severe pulmonary issues and I am allergic to just about everything and even the best laid precautions and preventative measures taken can get tossed aside when other variables enter the equation.

This time I caught a whopper of a cold. Here' the time line as I lived it:

Monday 10/26/09 - I thought it was allergies, I was sneezing my head off, went through an ENTIRE box of kleenex in the morning hours so I took extra allergy meds, but by the late afternoon and my head was getting worse I realized it was a cold so I took Airborne and other preventatives to ward off impending doom.

Tuesday 10/27/09 - Realized this cold was gonna be nasty, my head felt like the gumworks factory from hell, took cold meds, called and canceled my Big Brothers, Big Sisters interview (They still showed up and sadly I had to turn her away at the door, I was sick and just knew if this lady came into my home, she was gonna catch my ICK)... I tried to take it easy, get lots of rest, medicine, vitamins, fluids etc...

Wednesday 10/28/09 -- Again now the cold is on the move southward... From head cold to major chest cold overnight. I prayed all day I could tough it out, I was leaving for Yaoi-con Thursday morning, I had to be up by 4 am to catch my flight...

Thursday 10/29/09 4 AM -- Zero Hour...

I almost did a very stupid thing, but thankfully I am not a stupid woman and my common sense will override my desires no matter how much it hurts. There was no way I could get on a plane, no matter how much I wanted to see my friends, I know my body, I've lived with pulmonary problems all my life and my body was shutting down... again, the cold was getting much, much worse by the minute. I knew if I did not take my ass to the hospital, by the time my plane reached San Francisco I'd have bee dead on it or worse, been admitted to the hospital on arrival far from home. I live 1.2 miles from my local hospital, I took myself over to ER by about 5 am... I did make frantic e-mail's to friends heading to the convention letting them know my sudden change of plans and that not to bother coming to pick me up at the airport I was NOT gonna be on the plane. I had to make sure the HOTEL knew to let people in my room, the room was reserved in my name on my credit etc... lots of loose ends that needed tying BEFORE I got to the hospital.

5 AM - ish -- Get to ER, I am immediately admitted and within an hour told that my ass is heading back into ICU stat... Yeah, I knew it, I know my body and that didn't shock me. Scared me shitless from fear of incubation but I wasn't surprised.

MORNING - A blur of admission, getting the final loose ends with the hotel tied up, and thank GOD for My mate MAKO who seamlessly jumped in to help me coordinate the upheaval from California. Instead of picking me up from the airport, she went right into action, got to the hotel and pretty much became my liaison there in the field to make sure the rest of our mates got checked in okay and the room wasn't lost. Thankfully all it took was my voice on the phone to authorize the hotel to charge my credit cards in these bizarre circumstances. (Whew)

The Rest of 10/29/09 is a Blur... It was a long ass day.

Friday - Tuesday 10/30/09 - 11/02/09 I was in ICU several days and after many tests and a surreal halloween... really... no one should ever, EVER, EVER have to see their doctor come into their room dressed like a pimp daddy.... seriously. O_O

It was just was too much, Dr. Rolly is a sick little resident biatch and I loved him, we totally gossiped like little bitches when he came into visit but really the pimp daddy outfit was just horrific and the leopard wide brim fedora and bling glasses was just... yeah... too much even for this Yaoi fan to handle when sick, he screamed BIG GAY AL LIKE OMG NO WAI LIEK I AM A DOCTOR BIATCH! I think it's actually hysterical of all the residents I get assigned as my PCP I get the gay guy who knows what Y!Gallery is and knows I'm looking at pr0n from my hospital bed and he wants a god damn peek! LOL.

Pimp outfit aside however, Rolly rocks my socks, he'll make a great PCP practice once he's out of his residency. It's always hard though to deal with a doctor YOUNGER than you are. LOL. O_o

I digress....

So, after many a test, poke and prod we find my "COLD" was quite a sinister little thing trying it's damndest to turn into full blown pneumonia. They found a few spots of it turning dark infection on my lungs so we assaulted with the anti-biotics and anti-virals and Tami-flu... all the big guns. High oxygen environment, etc...

Monday they moved me OUT of ICu/CCU into a regular room. WHEW. Out of the woods, now just being monitored while my body finishes recovering.

For the most part, there are some serious complications from this that will never recover properly.

1.) My pulmonary system is weakened and I have internal scar tissue and I will probably be on some form of OC2 from now on.
2.) My Diabetes went APE SHIT. The Steroids they use come at a high, high cost. My body is "reset" and all the progress I made with my Diabetes is now FLUSHED down the proverbial toilet. I have to start all over again. Which means I am back on some heavy duty insulin shots three times a day. We'll see if I can ever get off Insulin again like before. Probably not, not this time around. The Endocrinologist doesn't seem hopeful, the older you get the harder it is anyway and those sorts of massive corto-steroids are not a walk in the park. I'm on 75 units of 70/30 novolog insulin three times a day and my numbers are still high, 175 last test. This will be a long work in progress to get my numbers normal again.

I have a laundry list of pills I'm on and most I will remain on from here on out. Save the Prednisone which will be finished by the end of the next week.

So yeah, that's what happened, it was very serious and very scary and it only hit my husband yesterday after I got home that I could have died. He wasn't with me the first time I faced something this serious and he was sadly unprepared. He knew about it, but knowing about my conditions and going through them with me are two different things entirely.

My poor hubby looks worse than I do from stress. But I made it, I don't give up damn it.

Day #2 in CCU not looking good...

No food or water not even ice chips in 2 days and then *I* didn't eat the day before that because I had a cold and no one is hungry on a cold. So in the past 72 hours I've had in total 2 pieces of string cheese and a can of GInger Ale mixed with Orange Juice, that was about noonish on Wednesday...

They are pumping me full of steroids which means my insulin intake on the pump is through the roof, 18 units an HOUR not a day but an HOUR!'

I'm on 100% oxygen with breathing treatments every 3 hours. They are gonna send me to have a CT to check for embolisms in my lungs and if that fails to yield any results.

They are going to incubate me again.

Happy ALMOST ten year anniversary, I get to do it all over again. Yes, coma, subsequent muscle atrophy, rehab all over again.

I am frankly terrified. I would rather die than go through this again.
I cannot describe the horror I am feeling facing this again.

Damn it. I am posting a brief note, it's hard to type as I am covered in IV tubing an needles etc....

I am currently sitting here, fuming that I am spending my vacation and losing money on hotel and airfare and time spent with great friends in favor of sitting here in Norton Suburban Hospital Critical Care Unit Room #3. Damn cold I caught fell HARD into my chest, this was almost as bad as the time I had pulmonary failure so I opted to go to ER this morning instead of the airport. Good call health wise, sucky call fun wise. They admitted me ICU almost immediately and then moved me to CCU. I'll be here a while.

Have fun guys, think of me when you buy pr0n!!!!

I just called and volunteered. I have my interview on October 27th. I have no worries there, I R an UPSTANDING CITIZEN. LOL I'm really hoping I can help a kid who needs me. I think it will be rewarding for both of us. Wish me luck!

heartshope was here for a few days and it was great just vegging and bullshitting on a rainy day... She just called and got home safely... and now I can't wait to see her again in 2 weeks... she is so my little sister! I had to make sure to check my house for Jack after she left, she did threaten to steal my baby boy in her luggage! LOL and it's rare, Jack is a scaredy cat and generally hides for the duration of the visit when we have company... nope. Not with Winde! He totally made love to her toes while she was here. :)

While she was here she took a crap load of pictures of the kitties...
Krishna bust out TEH LAZORS


Click pic for her flickr account folder....

My New Coffee Maker... It is mah precious!
heartshope is here for a visit and we totally went shopping today and picked this up and then commenced on having lovely caffeine dumped down our throats the rest of the afternoon.

I made a big old pot of Chili, drank coffee on this cold rainy day with good friend and family. Life is good!

Some Original Characters of mine in a Story I'm currently writing entitled "Subjugated"... It's too involved to give it any depth in a picture description. LOL...

But these are the main characters Sethendril (Seth) the big tall honking "native" his race is based on Native Americans in this world in my story, again, complicated.

The other is Lillan, who's race USED to look like Seth's but the tribe split a long LONG time ago and Lillan's race went way freaking NORTH and like our ancestors who moved out of Africa, their skin lightened over time and they became smaller because food was scarce. That's just natural biology over a long, long time. He should be even whiter, but that is freaking HARD to paint to give any shadow depth.

Their Race, the Konane, (Shen's Clan of the Sha'andra and Lillan's Clan the Kynari) are like a cross between Native Americans and Elves and a mish mosh of both their Nature legends/beliefs, it's a cross mix for the world I'm writing.

There, that's it in a nutshell.
 

Subjugated by *fablespinner on deviantART

Ice Wind's Bride Bey x Silva by *fablespinner on deviantART

BWUAUAUAUAUAUAUA


When Anime addictions go too far! LOL!

Cullen Brothers by *fablespinner on deviantART

And before I get to the art.... Anyone know why Y!gallery has been GONE and DOWN for days?


But Look mom, I know it's been over a year since I arted, but I arted! No not farted, arted!!!



Horu - Snake in the Grass by *fablespinner on deviantART


Nemaro by *fablespinner on deviantART


Mosumato - Water Wangmaster by *fablespinner on deviantART


Tacitus by *fablespinner on deviantART


Cullen Brothers -WIP by *fablespinner on deviantART

In case you're wondering who the hell they are, they are the assholes who bought out eFrontier, makers of Manga Studio (And many other art software programs I own).

I purchased a brand new, factory sealed copy of Manga Studio EX4 from e-bay from one of the big powersellers with 100% positive feedback.

When I got the software it was indeed factory sealed and brand new... I take it out of the box, proceed to put the disk in my brand spanking new laptop to load the software, I had to upgrade from Manga Studio EX Pro 3.0 because the new Lappy is VISTA and not XP...

Nothing.

It does not auto run when inserted...

When I view the disk using windows explorer no files show on disk

I even tried doing a manual run F:/autorun.exe just on the off chance.

Nothing happens. The disk is completely BLANK.

I called smith micro and the customer service rep was really friendly and said without hesitation to e-mail her a copy of my receipt of purchase (My e-bay confirmation) and that they'd replace the disk...

This morning I wake up to an e-mail saying. Oops sorry since the person I bought it from isn't one of their authorized dealers too bad so sad... even though it is a FACTORY DEFECT!

So I e-mailed them back this:

Should it matter where I bought the item since it was factory sealed? I don't think so.

It's not the reseller or the re-re-seller's fault. It was bought from Smith Micro at somewhere down the chain of events and by the time it reached me, the end user, and was opened and tried to install the disk where it was discovered to be totally blank/without any data.

I will attempt to get another copy from where I purchased it, but I think this lack of standing behind your product is very telling and very disappointing. I use several of your company's products and never had issue when they were under the eFrontier label. Been using products like Poser (under creative labs) for many years. I was very happy last night when it seemed the issue was resolved and then to suddenly have a complete reversal of what I was told on the phone is frankly unacceptable. It's a factory defect. I understand those things happen time to time but to not stand behind your product just because it's not bought at a store is a cop out. If I cannot get resolution from the re-seller what am I to do? It's not my fault YOU packaged a blank disk. Nor is it the reseller's problem, let's hope they are more reputable in fixing the issue. As a business owner myself I know if one of our products has an issue, we fix it, irregardless of how the user obtained it.

Let's hope the powerseller sends me another copy or I am screwed.

I just got a response from the seller I bought if from told me to download the demo version and plug in the serial numbers and I had to tell him it does not work that way. The demo version of MSEX and the Full version are not compatible with each other, you have to uninstall the DEMO to install the Full version. They do that so people don't pull serial numbers off shelves at office depot and then activate their demos. *cries* It looks like both Seller and Smith Micro are gonna screw me in unison or take turns with a gang bang fuck you with knobs on.

Let's hope if I can't get resolution from either company by Monday I can appeal to e-bay for a refund since thankfully I paid via paypal. :(

I don't want my money back, I want the damn program.

I just got off the phone with Smith Micro again and their excuse? We don't know if it's a legitimate copy. WTF? Then let me send it to you so you can verify and replace... No. Not an option they are simply refusing to replace it and the seller has not got back to me yet today. I'm about ready to cry over this. Basically Smith Micro claims it's a bootleg sight unseen. The seller is now not responding so I've initiated a dispute on paypal.

Keep your fingers crossed I get a refund. :(

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Veggie soup.

In a large crock pot (Slow Cooker) combine
1 cut up Butternut Squash **
2 cut up Sweet potatoes (Yams)
2 cups sliced carrots (Round disks/crinkle cut) (1 bag frozen works nicely too)
2 cups sweet corn (1 bag frozen works nicely too)
3 sliced into rings Leeks (Just the bulb not the stalks)
fill rest of crock pot with chicken broth
Let cook on Low all day, stirring occasionally
I add/sprinkle a little dried parsley for looks since you don't really taste it in the soup.

Now here's how to dress up the leftovers for the next night:

Bust out your crock pot again... (I have two maybe three crock pots actually for this purpose!)
Let your Leftovers sit in the fridge you won't need them until 2 hours before you're ready to eat.

In the Crock toss in some chicken early in the day. I always use both white and dark meat for flavor because I think Dark meat has more flavor than white but some folks differ so use what you like. Today I used boneless skinless breasts and thighs. maybe 2-3 pounds I didn't check. It was what I had on hand.

I covered the meat in the crock with just about 1.5 cans of chicken broth/stock and I cranked the crock up to high for about five hours and let it disintegrate my meat into juicy, fall apart tenderness.

about 2 hours before dinner time, I dumped in the Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Veggie soup leftovers and a bag of frozen peas, topped up the crock with the stock/broth I had left (if you have any left) and let that cook on high for an hour then on low for an hour.

Totally changes your leftovers in flavor so it's not the same on night #2 (and lunch on Day #3!  )

and let's face it, I am a LAZY COOK.

I love great, tasty meals but I hate cooking, I loathe stirring pots and pans and trying to time everything to be done at the same time so I have learned to ABUSE my slow cooker.

You can adjust my portions easily, I feed four adults and my hubby is a huge eater (The skinny SOB!) Great for Dorm Rooms, Students and other lazy cooks like me! This also is great for small budgets, makes your money stretch, you can eat for days on this recipe for probably under $20 if you shop right!

And High Schoolers, this is EASY! Surprise your Mom & Dad with Dinner one night on this, they will appreciate it after work, trust me. You might even make Mom cry (And get to stay out that extra hour LOL!)

More of my recipes later, I have a ton in my head.


** For those daunted by Butternut squash, it's easy to prepare. Slice in half, scoop out the seeds (like a pumpkin), then take a vegetable peeler to the skin (it's thin on a butternut squash). Then just chop into 1/2 inch pieces, it'll take 5-10 minutes prep time, that's all.

Well my 20th High School Class of 1989 Reunion has come and gone and it was quite nice. Hooked up with lots of old friends I haven't seen in 20 years. I also have come to see that almost NOTHING has changed in my old hometown since I left. Small towns see very little changes.

But that was not the highlight of my weekend. No.
On Saturday morning I decided to go hit a mall I used to frequent as a teenager and inside was an endangered animal rescue group getting donations. Of course I went over, they had tigers and lions and a limur, a little tiny Joey (Kangaroo) etc...

Not only could you view the animals, for donations you could pick one to PLAY WITH for 10 minutes. As in, get into the cage, sit down and let the tiger cub gnaw on you! an you saw I whipped out my money faster than you can say "I wanna be tiger food?"

I got to play with a 3 week old white bengal tiger... it is a Cat Lady's WET DREAM COME TRUE!!!



Oh yeah, heaven on earth! Yes that is me holding Calista, the little female. *HEART MELTS* Worth every single penny I paid for this experience. I can now cross off "Touch a real live tiger before I die" off my "Bucket List"

What a weekend!

More Photos Here playing with Calista

and if you're interested:
Reunion Photos here

Pictures of my old hometown here

I am packed and I am leaving on a road trip in the morning.
My 20th High School Graduation Reunion is this weekend.

O_O

Where did the time go? Except for ya know, aches and pains in my joints and my body not quite feeling 18 these days, mentally I don't feel old. It's like this snuck up on me out of nowhere. But here it is and I am going back to my old hometown I haven't seen since I graduated and went off to college and then moved to California for 15 of those intervening years, then I've lived here in Kentucky going on three years.

I'm taking Sunday after the reunion to drive around and take pictures of what is still the same, what has changed and I'm going to see if the trailer I grew up in is still there and relive in pictures my childhood. I spent the first 21 years of my life there and now going back after 20 years is going to be joyful and tearful too.

If there is one person or more on your friends list who makes your world a better place just because they exist, and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the Internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.

There are many of you, I adore you all!

It didn't get any better so Mom took me over to the ER (John took Benedryl before bed and was far too groggy... not to mention my beloved it rather a basket case if I have the sniffles let alone am actually INJURED. As much as I adore John, he so did not need to be stressing...) Two hours and several x-rays later...

Nothing is broken *Whew*

But I have one massive, killer, honking bruise smack dab on my tailbone. So big it showed up on the x-ray! O_o I also have severe lumbar muscle strain, i already sorta figured that one out myself.

So I got released after two hours and have a prescription for some Lortab and Flexerill (Pain killer and muscle relaxer) and the Doctor gave me orders to rest, because the pain sadly will get worse over the next few days before it gets better *sigh*

But I'm glad I went, better safe than sorry when I fell that HARD on my ass. My knee is already turning purple and I so do not want to know what my ass looks like.

So I'm just gonna relax on the couch a while, I don't want to wake John up going to bed, He's been busting his ass lately and needs the sleep, I can go to bed when he gets up in a few hours, I can doze on the couch until then.

The Lortab they gave me in the ER is finally kicking in as so long as I don't move I feel Okay. Any movement however is still agony, so it looks like I am sitting STILL for the forseeable future.