Tissue Anyone?

Remember a few months back every corner you turned there were warnings (threats really) of the feared Swine Flu? You couldn't flip a channel, read a newspaper headline or walk into a drug store without seeing the words Swine Flu/H1N1/Vaccination/Hospitalization/whatever! People were inundated with talk of the worst flu season ever. After weeks and weeks of talk, I knew 3, count it 3, people plagued with this illness. I thought we all got away easy on this trip...until now.

Last week the Flu, Head Cold, unknown illness, and the like swept across what seemed to be everyone in the Vann "circle of trust," and them some! We are talking gobs and gobs of friends and family struck down with sickness. We knew of people taking their babies to the walk in clinic due to random vomiting and other gory projections. We knew of adults taking a trip to the ER for IV injections to replenish fluids. We heard of more people at home sick, hugging the toilet and napping in the same week, than we probably did in the entire year last year. It was terrible. E-mails for prayers went out. Phone calls to cancel gatherings were made. The epidemic had hit and it hit HARD. Nick and I were amazed and grateful that we were at our peak of health. Our daily does of vitamins (Multi, Vit C, Vit D & Fish Oil), exercise, leafy green eating had paid off...we were living it large and untainted by the swooping plague. And then...luck run out...well, My luck that is.

I blame it on our quick little trip to Steilacoom and dwelling with 3 sick-with-different illnesses family members. I think my body was doing the best it could to fight off infection, until we were in the car on the way to church and there was slim to no chance I was going to get out un-tainted. My father, most recently diagnosed with walking pneumonia was hacking in the drivers seat (Ummmm...learning about that little piece of information would have been helpful BEFORE planning our trip home). My mother, coughing and sneezing in the passengers seat. My sister in the back sniffling her little heart out...all with Nick and I in the middle, staring at each other with fear in our eyes hoping for a small miracle: The germs leaking out through the cracks of the car and skidding across the freeway rather than marinating in the clean air we were currently breathing in. No such luck on the right side of the car...those germs clung to me and has left me with a bit of head cold.

For the record, I am NOT down and out for the count. I am not in any form to be in the ER or hugging the toilet or even napping 24/7. If anything, I consider my little sniffle to be a minor inconvenience...a slight cold, just passing by. This is either due to my ignorance or my Positive Psychology tendency: My behavior will follow my attitude. And my attitude is I am not going to get any more sick than the slight tiredness, with a few sneezes and sniffles that I currently have. Although, my little episode has reminded me of how horrible it is when you are not at your 100%. The exhaustion from getting out of bed to make toast. The dizziness while picking something up off the floor. The inability to TASTE food. The constant tenderness under your poor, little nose. The banishment from your significant since their desire of health overrides any sort of desired affection. So if anything...this little blog is for all my friends and family suffering through whatever YUCK you currently have. Persevere...it can't be long now until your health overcomes you! And when in doubt...convince yourself that when you wake up tomorrow you are going to be healed! A little Positive thought can go a LONG way regarding health!

To Sew or Not to Sew

Last week when Nick was out-of-town for work, I decided to get a few projects done around the house during my free time in the evening. I touched up the trim paint in a few rooms, wiped down all the doors in the house (those are filthy if you take the time to look at them), painted a portion of the "bump out" in our bedroom and some other stuff. I decided to get some courage up and actually bust out the sewing machine I borrowed from my parents for a sewing project I have avoided for the past 2 years...for good reason.
See...in our bedroom, there is a bump out (same as mentioned above) with a bench and a nice window. When we bought this house, I was convinced that that would be my reading place...or a place to sit and ponder the world. I must be honest and admit that I have never sat there to read or ponder, but instead I use it as a clothes holder...typically at night when I am too tired to put them away. Although, Charlotte puts it to good use on a daily basis as the guard dog extraordinaire headquarters. Atop this bench adorns a cushion that is horrifically covered in demin (well...it's faux demin I am sure...but either way...it's ugly). One of the first things I DID do when we moved in was purchase a nice, silky sage green piece of material to cover the said demin. Though this beautiful covering goes well with our bedroom, it is a thorn in both Nick and I's sides with it's constant untucking/rippling/dishevelled manor. Each day we tuck it in, only to discover it has disheveled itself once more (only Charlotte is to blame, I am sure). This may seem like a petty and insignificant thing to be frustrated about (which it is) but I suppose we get worked up about it because there is such an easy fix: Sew it so it forms to the cushion like a fitted sheet, rather than it's floppy, stubborn companion...the loose sheet.
Now...back to last week: With my projects quickly dwindling down, I gussied up the gumption to create a fitted sheet for the bump out. It was awful. I am the furthest thing to a seamstress there is. No really. People shouldn't allow me to get withing a 10 foot range of a needle and thread. It's not because I am inherently bad at running a straight line down a sewing machine (see photo below) or anything, it's just that I lack the care and finesse it takes to ensure that whatever I am sewing is going to actually fit or match up or look good or anything else you expect when two ends of material meet. I am not a time-taker on these sort of projects. I just want them to be done. So once I hit the "good enough" marker, I take the next step, which, naturally, only ends up taking 3 times as long because I did not take the time to do it right the first time.
Instead of boring you with the nitty-gritty details of my fatal attempts to sew silky fabric, I will just say that it is done. It may be ugly and may not last long, but it is done. The good news is this project falls into the unseen category; the only category I will allow myself to be in. Unseen category include sewing projects that won't blatantly show my naivety/impatience. I wouldn't ever dare sew a skirt,a shirt or anything...that is what Anne Marie, Kristen, Ami, Holly, Diana or my dad for crying out loud are for (wow...my friends are talented!). No, I sew the insides of jacket pockets because my keys keep on falling out or something really elementary like buttons. Luckily, my horrific seams are covered up by the cushion itself, so the untrained eye would think it is a nice fitting sheet instead of 8 different sew lines on two corners to make it fit, with the back two corners stuffed down because I just wanted to be done and the front is all that really matters anyways. Few. Glad that is over with.
I told Nick what I had done (with a great sense of accomplishment I might add) and he asked to keep my parent's machine a bit longer so he could hem some pants. "Ha!" I exclaimed. "You can hem those pants and mine right along with it darling!" Thank goodness that we each posses different talents.

The bump-out:

A visual of my sewing giftedness: My keys will for sure stay in my pockets now!