The Red River Valley Goes Political

I couldn't be MORE excited. For about a week, I've been looking forward to hearing Barack Obama speak at the ND Democratic State Convention in Grand Forks and today the news hit that Hillary Clinton will be there too! I feel like I just won free tickets to a Rolling Stone concert and it's my birthday and Christmas and I lost ten pounds all at once! I'm sure for many this might not seem like a big deal, but political candidates so rarely bother to stop by our state that I recognize it for what it is... an historic event. Just like the presidential race.

My Idea of Celebrity.

I remember when I was first in college and working as a waitress in the metropolis of Grand Forks. I waited on local newscaster, Terry Dullum. The next time I spoke to my dad, I proudly mentioned this. To which my father replied, "I'm sorry to tell you this, Carmyn, but I've never really considered Terry Dullum to be a celebrity." Looking back, I have to agree.

Yet, this Tuesday I must admit I'm a little bit aflutter for my most recent celebrity encounter. (No, it's not John Cusack. If I met him, I'd be cool and wonderful and he'd realize in moments I was the girl he's been dreaming of all this time and we'd be married quietly and I'd be sure not to flaunt my newfound happiness. No one likes a braggy girl.) No, last night I met Salman Rushdie. Perhaps I'm misrepresenting the situation. Sadly we did not have a one on one encounter that ended in a friendly embrace. I mostly just saw him speak for about 90 minutes. Still, this passes for excitement in my life. I did speak to him as he signed my copy of Haroun and the Sea of Stories at the NDMOA reception that followed the kick off of the UND Writers Conference.

Kind of Reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird...

... when Scout and Jem find soap carvings of themselves in the hollow of a tree.

I guess this is another artistic use for your crayons.
Check out more of his artwork here.

You're Never Too Old

On Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny actually visited my dad's house and left an egg for both my brother and me. My dad's suggestion was to look in some of our favorite places.. It turns out he was right. Mine was hidden in the branches of a tree in our backyard. My brother's in his Toyota Landcruiser, parked for the winter. Of course, with all the snow we DID have "bunny" tracks to follow which made the search a wee bit easier. What fun to be a kid again.

Things I'd Like to Try

Tiny Pies in a Jar

Tiramisu on a Stick

Knit Strawberry Baby Rattle

My Kryptonite.

Day 22. I still have hives. Almost had a reprieve on day 21... but relapsed in the night. Woke at midnight and 3 am to mad scratching... I had Albert Einstein hair by morning!

I am sorry for not blogging lately. I'll do a few posts over break and catch y'all up with the exciting life of Carmyn.

My Body is Turning on Me

My head is so itchy, beginning just above my eyebrows, that I would like to temporarily remove all my hair and actually SEE the horror that must be my scalp beneath it. I can feel what I imagine to be raw red bumps, like something out of the Star Wars films when we see Darth Vader without his helmet. I can feel and see five cruel bumps on my forehead and though they itch they are nothing compared to my scalp. I have had hives for thirteen days. If they aren't better by next Friday I am to go back in to the doctor. If I get a fever over 100, I am to go back in. If I get a symmetrical pattern mirrored on both sides of my body, I am supposed to go back in. So far I've just had the hives doing their elusive dance all over my body.

What prompted me to see the doctor was the persistent red and itchy palms that gave off an alarming amount of heat, but it turns out that wasn't as bad as it could get and they faded in about 48 hours. Then I was horrified when something appeared in a place that shall not be named, but the worst has to be this itchy head. The sources I read said that some hives can appear and disappear in anywhere from 2 to 24 hours.. but mine have been tending to appear and disappear about 2 days later or even a bit longer. Their intensity may diminsh but they don't disappear. Afflicted areas include my ears, my lower back, the palms of my hands, my index finger, now the top of my left thumb, three places on the top of my right foot, my right shoulder, my forehead, my entire scalp for days now. It's exhausting.

I started reading about hives online and that was a mistake. I learned that there is almost nothing I can do other than take Benadryl. I can try to learn the source of the hives, but I discovered that 80% of people who have hives never know their cause. It could be caused by an allergy, stress, response to medication, a cold, insect bites, or physical exposure to cold weather, sunlight, or pressure. So far I've narrowed my potential triggers as possibly Advil which I've taken for years, but I also had a respiratory cold when this all started, also I've been a tad stressed.

The hives bother me most right when I wake up in the morning and in the evening right before I go to bed. In fact, the past two nights I've had trouble sleeping because of the head itchiness. It's unbearable. I tried something I read online and that was to use a cold ice pack on the area of hives because it reduces swelling and that seemed to help. The benadryl does not. I lay in bed last night mentally inventing a new kind of cold pack that would cover my whole head at once, something like a shower cap. Well, a girl can dream. My experience in the past few days has been that by noon each day I feel right as rain with only minor itching somewhere on my hand or arm. Today it's nearly 1 pm and I am still wondering if I've died and gone to Dante's version of Hell. is there a level where one itches forever without relief? Damn. There should be.

It's Not Over...

I'm addicted to CNN tonight. Up nearly 2 hours past my bedtime, obsessively watching the scrolling numbers, listening to Clinton and Obama speak... what the heck is happening to me? Was it just me or did Hillary look particularly pretty in pink tonight? Thank you, Ohio... I'll have to wait until morning for my definitive Texas results.