Fall

The Meghan2 Comments

French Word of the Day: l’automne (aw tum)- autumn

Fall ends tomorrow, and with it, my opportunities to post the 5 thousand pictures I’ve taken on my phone.  (A season is only good to me if it’s photogenic.)

In case you all thought I was languishing at home like some 19th century writer, depressed about being ill and frail (5000% of 19th century writers had tuberculosis), here’s some proof that I’ve been going out and enjoying myself rather than writing depressing sonnets in iambic pentameter.

I hope you’re all ready for some orange.

You can’t smell it in this photo, but there’s definitely some spirit to this cider.
This is actually vegan chilli, which is what happens when your friends don’t appreciate animal by products.
Pumpkins for everyone!
…This meant 3 tons of pumpkin seeds
I may or may not have used the stencil that came with the carving tools. I’m extremely creative that way.
A zoo visit was in order.
Nouvelle Vague, my French friends of the singing world.
I got these tickets for free from work.
I washed my hands directly afterwards.
We like fire.
We like fire a LOT.
Exercised my rights as a citizen, NBD.
Sue and I have a lot in common.
They started a trend with these hats.
Really, let’s all focus on that beautiful stuffing.
My uncle wanted to test it to make sure it was okay for the rest of us.
Box seats to see the Who? Not a bad deal.
Miss Jennifer Hudson looking fierce.

I’ve never tried the gallery thing before, but the Mayan Apocalypse is tomorrow, so I thought I’d try something new before oblivion sets in.

It’s snowing.  Bring it on, winter*!

*Dear Winter, I’m kidding.  Please don’t.

L’Hôpital

The Meghan, , 14 Comments

French Word of the Day: le rein (luh ren)- kidney

I don’t generally like talking about my illness when I’m doing poorly.  No one wants to think about it when they’re not doing well.  I don’t really want to talk about it, but I know everyone is curious, so I’m writing blog posts instead.  That way I can just send people the link and we don’t have to discuss it.

According to my reader stats, a ton of people checked this page yesterday, so I have a feeling you were all expecting this.

My lupus is doing what it does best, attacking things and causing general mayhem.  Right now, it’s focusing on my kidneys.  They’re currently doing whatever it is that kidneys do properly (obviously, biology was my best subject in school), but some of my levels indicate that there is something wrong with them. I had a biopsy Friday to make sure the cells aren’t damaged.

I’m not quite sure who said, “Your organ is damaged?  Let’s take a piece of it out! That sounds not at all crazy or detrimental to your health!”  But I’m an English major.

They took a really, really long needle that is longer than my torso (I made them show it to me afterwards… how they didn’t go right through me, I’ll never know), and stuck it in my back.

I literally got stabbed in the back by doctors.

Obviously, food is always my biggest focus.  I wasn’t allowed to eat for 6 hours before the surgery, so my first question when I was finished was “When do I get to eat again?” Personally, I think the recovery room should have had a buffet table.

The hospital took their sweet time in feeding me, but my parents snuck me fruit and pain au chocolat.

That’s why I take them places.

I should have taken them up on their offer to get fast food for me, because this is what qualified as food at the hospital:

Cream of Goop

I believe this paste is typically used in childrens’ art projects.

Everything went well for the biopsy.  I did have a little internal bleeding, but nothing that’s going to require surgery.  I’m not allowed to play any contact sports for the next two weeks.  (There goes my successful rugby career!)

My doctor also said I’m not allowed to “jump dance”.  I will find a way to dance without jumping or moving my torso… just wait and see.

What’s Next: They’re not certain, but probably 6 months of IV chemotherapy.  I’ll keep you updated.

Thanks to everyone who visited me and brought me food and flowers!  Much appreciated 🙂

Pain Au Chocolat Count: 2- one from my parents, one from Allison and Paul

Pain au Chocolat, the Return

The Meghan3 Comments

French Word of the Day: Prêt à Manger – ready to eat

The above is pronounced pray-a-mon-zhay, not “pret”.  I will, however, forgive those of you who pronounce it incorrectly.  (As pretty much everyone who talks about it says “pret”, I don’t really have a choice.)

I finally got a pain au chocolat!  This greeted me yesterday at work:

I was asked to grade Prêt à Manger’s pain au chocolat, and I give them a B.  It’s some of the best I’ve found in America.  Nice job, guys.

I’m sure a French person would say “C,” so I’m being generous here.

More Lupus Walkin’

The Meghan, 2 Comments

French Word of the Day: le comité (co me tay)- the committee

Rocio will be able to make all her ideas for next year’s Lupus Walk become a reality.  She and I have both been placed on the Lupus Walk Committee for 2013.

I went to the Lupus Foundation’s Chicago headquarters today to pick up my prize for raising money (again, thanks everyone!).  It’s a sweet tumbler:

I also got a purple bag for grocery shopping.  I’m all hooked up with my lupus gear.  I’m going with the “I got them because I’m spreading awareness” mantra, but really I just wanted that tumbler.

While I was picking it up, one of the women who works at the Foundation asked me what I do for a living.  I mentioned that I’m a meeting planner, which caught her attention.  She invited me to help plan next year’s event.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

I think this means you all have to actually attend next year.  I’m giving you a year’s notice instead of a week’s this time.

Although I have no idea what day it’s taking place.  I should probably figure that out before the first committee meeting, yes?

Lupus Walk 2012

The Meghan1 Comment

French Word of the Day: un don– donation

I participated in the lupus walk two weekends ago with my younger sister, roommate, and friend, but I’ve been completely blown over by how many people have donated to our team!

My roommate found out that before Benlysta was approved for lupus last year, there hadn’t been any new drugs for lupus in 56 years.  You know what’s happened in that time frame?  Vaccinations for polio, chicken pox and meningitis have been developed.  We’ve cloned sheep and transplanted hearts and livers. (And by “we,” I mean people who are actually good at Biology.  Although I was there in spirit.)  We’ve created embryonic stem cells out of human skin cells.  Al Gore invented the Internet.

And yet they couldn’t even approve one drug for lupus.

Rocio thought this was completely ridiculous, so she went online, found a lupus walk taking place in our area the next week, and signed us up.

Image
Shelbey (middle), Rocio (right), and I pause for a breather during the (extremely intense) walk.
Image
Sisters casually posing in front of a bunch of tall buildings.

Rocio, Meeting Planner Extraordinaire, is dying to get on the committee for next year.  She was already sprouting ideas for next year as we were on the walk.  (It’s an occupational hazard.  We tend to do this at every event we attend.)

I was surprised by how many people showed up!  There were so many volunteers. It was really heartening to see so much support for everyone.  Everyone was there because they are people who are either living with the disease or the friends and family of someone with the disease- which is just astounding.  It really puts into perspective how many people lupus affects.  You could feel the love throughout the day.

Speaking of feeling the love, I really appreciate all the support everyone has given our team.  To date, you’ve helped us raise over $1,000!  I knew I had supportive family and friends, but you’re all fabulous for coming through on such short notice.  I was just expecting to walk with Rocio for fun, but you all turned it into so much more and it makes me feel blessed to have you.  I love you all!

As a thank you, here’s a dog that went around the walk wearing butterfly wings:

Image

My Most Loyal Reader

The Meghan4 Comments

French Word of the Day: cousin (coo-sawn)- cousin

If anyone were to ever go through the comments on each of my individual posts, they’d find that one person has commented more than everyone else combined: my cousin, Connor.  If it wasn’t for his encouragement,  I probably would have stopped this blog a year ago, but I can always count on a positive comment from him.

Today is Connor’s birthday, and he’s a truly fabulous individual, so he’s getting his own featured post.

Connor’s actually a movie star.  He was in in a documentary called The Long Green Line, which featured him as a runner with cerebral palsy.  This kid can run circles around me, and I’ve always been extremely impressed that he doesn’t let illness or any physical disability stop him from achieving his goals.  As a person with illness and the occasional physical disability, I look up to Connor.

He always has a smile on his face, and he’s the friendliest guy I know.  He can talk to anyone, anywhere.

So Connor: friend, inspiration, runner, and movie star, bon anniversaire!

Connor and me at the Southside Irish Parade

How to Quote

The Meghan1 Comment

French Word of the Day: citation (see-tah-see-own)- quote

As an expert procrastinator, I love to look at motivational quotes.  These quotes never motivate me, but I feel like finding them is me being extremely productive.  Oprah has kindly dedicated her entire website to “You can do it!” articles.

I recently found one with happiness quotes, and was all for it until I saw this:

Source: Oprah.com

She quoted herself.

Now I’m aware that Oprah doesn’t write these articles, but it is her site.  That woman is a trend setter, and she’s going to start everyone quoting themselves. 

“I went on the train today.” -Meghan

See what you did, Oprah?

Blueberries

The Meghan1 Comment

French Word of the Day: myrtille (mer-teal)- blueberry

Nothing quite says the weekend like a batch of pancakes. I snuck out of my apartment this morning before anyone had woken up (in the rain) to get some produce from the farmers’ market across the street.  (I’m so spoiled.)

Of course, I took a picture of my food. I’ve downloaded Instagram, and as far as I can tell, that’s the whole point of it.  It’s currently the world’s largest database of food.

On an unrelated note, I watched the entire second season of Downton Abbey today, and have typed this whole post in a British accent.  Blueberry was pronounced “blue-brie.”  I know it shows.

Parisian Air

The Meghan1 Comment

French Word of the Day: aire– air

My coworker sent me this link yesterday.  She thought I might want a can of air from Paris.  Apparently, you CAN have Paris in your living room.  Bottled air from Paris- the smell of bread and urine can be yours!*

*I’m in no way sponsored by this vendor, but I am jealous that I didn’t think of selling air first.