BRING ME TO THE BATCAVE

I'm going to take a swim in Havasu Falls. All that magnesium that makes the water so blue has got to be helpful to my digestive tract, eh?

I imagine I will be kicking my little legs in a swimming fashion behind the falls, crawling up the slick rocks to find the rock shelter known to be hidden by the falling waters.

I hope there are no bats. Hate bats. But if there are, it will still be worth it.

You know how I know,  because in Idaho we trekked up a mountain in search of healing hot springs. As we struggled with lung pressure, heights and a quick acclimation to altitude, we continually heard, "15 more minutes!" from our momentarily disowned friend as we wondered out loud, "Why are we doing this?" 

We made it. We healed.

But behind those healing springs was it's water source; a dark, mossy cave of wonder. I pushed aside the concerns of what was swimming in those waters or hiding in that soft moss and crawled in.

The warm water dripped from the ceiling splashing our faces and hair. Laughs escaped our throats covered in sheer joy and exhilaration.

A memory of my mother falling into the cave with a huge smile plastered on her face will never be forgotten. Of course, I have a photograph to back that up.

Now we are starting our workout preparations for another trek, this time into a canyon which houses those magnesium falls and another potential cave of wonder...

Or Batman's home.  

GRAND CANYON it is!

Goodbye Okinawa...

Hello GRAND CANYON!

Don't worry readers, I haven't gone far. Just taking a break before diving back into the Compulsive World that I inhabit.

Know trips are in planning process, put on cards, and work is a constant movement to pay with a flurry all that is to happen this year.

It's an exciting time, people. You won't be left out.

Time to see the world! 

 

FLU an Ode

flu.

in messy dreams.

work.

france and eiffel.

cold.

switzerland. floating head. he groans.

puppies on my lap.

warm.

okinawa.

where's the money?

lost money.

work.

numbness. in my neck.

FLU!

all the energy i have.

dan needs boots.

hot.

no, cold.

not hungry.

sneeze. head. hurt.

the shining.

get it.

fluuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

I FEAR NO LIFE, I FEAR NO DEATH...I FEAR NOT LIVING

Today is a day I think of prancing, dancing and all that falls in between....

Las Vegas, Ireland, Okinawa, Prague...

My mind has wandered to places I've been, places I should be, places I will be.

With a pancreas not working but feeling kinda pretty I find myself feisty...

Ready to see things (Terracotta Soldiers, Great Wall of China, etc.), do things (like snowshoe, ski, hike, climb and run), eat things (you name it, lets try it) and be a part of the world like we are all meant to be.... I feel amazing.

For now.

I continue treatment, starting Monday, and it always rips me right down the center causing pain, instability and strife. But before that happens I want to remember how joyful, spritely and full of life I am.

I would sing the highest note of "Edelweiss" on the mountain top, prance to music with any beat to step to, climb the highest 8000 meter mountain, run the longest time (Billy Joel), cry with the strongest love and feel the most moments that a mind can allow. I am alive.

Though at this point, I only feel well enough to work almost 40 hours a week, but considering where I was 6 months ago, those almost 40 hours could be gold. The days I don't sleep 15 hours a day are worth laughing with. The nights not in stomach pain and rolling around with aching fullness, they are spent sleeping.

Sleeping. I sleep again. I wake again. And don't want to go to sleep again. I want to face the world. Not fearful but ready for life. Ready for whatever it throws. Ready to laugh.To be. To be me. 

A me not defined by illness. A me not defined by sickness. Or pancreas. Or broken digestive tract or irresponsible gallbladder.

A me who is just me. Weird me. Me.

I like cheese. I skipped today. WE ALL SHOULD! I laughed. Kissed my man. Chased two puppies up and down the stairs until one puppy slammed the other puppy into the door frame and that puppy hurt himself (aka Indy).

I have a family. They expect me to survive. I expect to live as an alive person is allowed.

Treatment Monday, yes I am scared. But no treatment Monday, is so much more wrong. Sick and wrong...and very, very bad.

I write this not to get a response, I write this to say I am alive. My pancreas is not. But fuck it, I am. And, if treatment goes well, it will be too.

Whether it fucking wants to or not.

Wish me luck. I wish you luck. And love and life.

Cause we all deserve that.

-With all thats yours, ours and mine,

Nerissa (aka, the Compulsive Traveler)

Book Review: Not Everyone Poops by Nerissa N. Nordquist

Book Review: Not Everyone Poops by Nerissa N. Nordquist

Hey all!

Here is a book review for "Not Everyone Poops" by Hannah Harvey from Isle of Wight, England.

Enjoy.

EGG NOG, BIG LEBOWSKI and EASY CHEESE

Big Lebowski.

Phase 10.

Chess Board.

 

Easy Cheese.

Salami Roll.

String Cheese.

French Bread.

Pizza Lunchables.

Bananas.

 

Mulled Wine.

Jameson.

 

Crockpot.

Eating Utensils.

 

Towels. (Not Provided.)

 

Presents!

 

Puppy Crate.

Bones.

 

Puppies.(With waggy butts!)

 

Us. (Plastered Smiles!)

 

DUTCH OVEN HERE WE COME!!

 

Technically it is called Dutch Cottage

(300 sq. ft. Cabin)

found in Hayward, Wisconsin,

at

Mallard's Landing.

 

It's our annual Christmas Celebration!

 

and

 

The Dude Abides.

KID ROCK, YOU'RE RIGHT

Kid Rock was on to something.

Rough, rowdy, tough, hardworking, and freedom-loving is the description to a breed that I wonder exists anymore.

I'm talking Cowboys, here.

I mean, they must right?

Maybe they struggle through 9-5 jobs silently pondering an existence outside the barriers of city life.

Maybe they rock climb or attempt Everest or it's sister K2.

Knit? Bake cookies or wait, Cupcake Wars competitor?!

Alaskan crab fisherman? How very cowboy-esque. 

So is PTA President minus the political BS.

A break dancer? Party Planner? Dog Walker? Zombie Killer? Doomsday Planner?

Where do you go? Where do you belong when what you are built to do or be in life, just doesn't exist anymore or worse, you watch the declination of your livelihood without a chance of revival.

At one point you realize you will be put out to pasture with your job title and find yourself donning fine wool socks, ironing your slacks, and buttoning your shirt for your job interview at Abercrombie or whatever seasonal work you can scrounge together while figuring out how to create a resume.

It's a rant.

It's a rant for no reason other than I saw a mountain backdrop in a shitty commercial and realized how deeply I wanted to climb those mountains, ride a horse, prance in the sun, kick some dirt, spit some seeds, and feel the breeze.

I want to be a cowboy. Or I want to feel what the cowboy represents to me.

Today, my pancreas hurts. I feel trapped by it. I feel out to pasture. So passe. I know it will pass. But today, bear with me, I just really want to be a fricken cowboy.

PONY EXPRESS in Flurry Conditions

With all this snow I find myself prancing. I can't help it. It's so white and beautiful, adding a reflection of light to a sky that otherwise would be overcast, allowing dreary thoughts to seep into the bones.

Instead a shovel finds my hands with glee as I skid, hop, slide and fall up and down our driveway and street giggling like a giddy fool.

My freedom to fly high with fluttering excitement is a direct correlation to the amount of giddiness within me. 

So what am I doing inside?

 Giddy-up little prancing pony, it's time to fly.

BRAIN BLIP

Redwood National Park is 8 hours and 2 minutes from Seattle, Washington.

Hmm...

FREE WINE and Sleigh Rides

I am going to the 2012 St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show tomorrow!!! I'm so excited.

9 dollars a ticket.
http://marinesource.com/boat_shows/St-Paul-Ice-Fishing-and-Winter-Sports-Show.html


Then we are going to Creative Cottage in Afton, Minnesota to experience their Winter Festival and, as an artist who is showcasing collage art there, showing my face in hopes of selling a few pieces of work.

Be there or miss out on awesome, one of a kind artwork, by yours truly.

PS-It's free wine and sleigh rides if you're in to that. So, you know, it has its perks.

5-8 pm in Afton, Minnesota.