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Whohoo!

Now, normally I wouldn't discuss medications on my blog. I'm gonna get all kinds of crazy hits on my site from people looking for drugs from Mexico. Move along, people. Nothing to see here.

But you, my friends, know my struggles with migraines. I'd been to see a neurologist five years ago– she didn't do much but throw handfuls of triptans at me and wish me well. They didn't work. I've tried narcs and acupuncture. I've changed my diet and my sleep patterns. I know the migraines are driven by hormones, and I've tried supplements, both synthetic and natural. No dice. Every year it gets worse.

I went to a new neurologist the other day, and I think I have been given the miracle drug. Really. It's called T0pamax, and I think it might wash my dishes if I train it to. It's an anti-seizure med (thank god! No more seizures! Not that I get them anyway!), and it's used for depression, too (I'm a little weirded out by that. Definitely don't need need anti-depressants. Will I get even more chipper? Ick). Also, it decreases the desire to drink alcohol (couldn't hurt) and the desire to eat (COULDN'T HURT). The most common side effects are tingly fingers and mouth with no ill effect, bad taste when drinking carbonated beverages (which I don't drink anyway), and weight loss (HELLO!).

I think it might make me taller someday and maybe give me the brown eyes I always wanted. AND my doc says it really might help with my migraines.

OH! And it helps you sleep! Me, insomnia girl, is sleeping! What the hell? I love this stuff.

And my darling chickens, of course I've read the literature and I know the other side effects and watch to watch out for, yes, yes, yes. But I can't help but be excited. I'm so tired of the thrice-monthly pain, excited that maybe this might help. YAY!

A lovely paragraph from Annie, who takes care of her mother who has Alzheimer's:

Last night Mom and I were getting ready for bed. We were standing at the bathroom sink, and Mom was washing my hands. I've discovered that this is much easier than me trying to wash her hands. In the end, we both have clean hands, and I think Mom gets a sense of accomplishment out of it.

From her blog, Maple Corners.

Hoo boy. Sleepy Rachael checking in. I've just spent eight hours, ass in chair, working. God bless Mac Freedom — I'd log myself off the internet for an hour at a time, then when the time was up I'd check to make sure the internet was still there, send emails and tweets, and then I'd hop back on for another locked-out hour.

I got a hell of a lot done today, which is exactly what I needed.

Also, I worked listening to the sound of rain, as suggested by one of my PensFatales, Gigi Pandian. I like noise to cover up the sounds of the house, dogs walking, cats falling off stuff, cars going by, but I can never find exactly the right soundtrack, and personally, music can affect the mood of my writing.

But rain? Thunder? It was awesome. I just worked and worked, until the very last minute, ALMOST four o'clock, my preassigned quittin' time, when my eyes got heavy, and I dragged myself out of my tall chair and into my soft chair and then took a little nap.

It felt great.

Now, yoga tonight with sister Christy. Vacation is officially over tomorrow, so back to work I go, but that is good, too. Getting up at 3:30am? Not really looking forward to that. But I can do it!

When I write a post over at PensFatales, I write it, save it, and push out the publish date until it's my day — we're on a strict schedule! I wouldn't want to screw that up!

But that means when I click sleepily through my Google Reader feeds, suddenly I'm looking at a picture of myself without seeing it coming.

Kinda feels like yesterday when I opened the window for Pandora, then clicked away to do something else while it loaded and then ALMOST FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR when it started blasting. Took me that long to forget what I was doing.

But I'm not forgetting what I'm doing today, nope! Packing up to go to DC for RWA*. And the funny/weird thing is that Lala is going to Korea today, and we've got to be at SFO at about the same time, which is nice, because we can BART over there together. (Why is she going? To help my sister-in-law back to the US with our new nephew who was born over there! SO EXCITED to meet him!)

Before I close the computer and pack it in my suitcase (don't worry, I'm a carry-on only gal), I just want to give a big thanks to Dad, who got my birthday so right! I received a box from him in the mail, and you never know with my Dad. He could be a founding member of There, I Fixed It. But inside was the softest, nicest, most beautifully prepared llama fiber I've ever seen. I can't wait to spin it up. Nicely done, Dad. Thank you!

Okay! I'm off! Follow me on twitter (yarnagogo) to keep up with my week! xox

* Lala packs differently than I do. I think she may have trouble with the airport screeners.

Hey, Bay Area Knitters:

I need a flavor, as Lala would say. I need help with a project that must remain Unnamed on the blog. It might or might not involve yarn (okay, you got me, it does) and it might or might not be something that we can get done together in an afternoon (I think we can, with your help).

I can say this much: What we'll be doing will make someone else feel better when we're done. It's important and lovely, and I'd be so grateful if you were part of it.

So wanna come over to my house and have a knitting party? Bring your knitting for when we're done with the Super Secret Project, but bring a crochet hook — don't be scared! Just a simple chain stitch is all that's required. We'll teach you.

Sunday, August 9th, Chez Hehu (email or drop a comment for the address and relevant details).

Please come? xox