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	<title>Run Amok Amok</title>
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	<description>life - liberty - and the pursuit of trying not to lose my mind</description>
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		<title>Run Amok Amok</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com</link>
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		<title>Second Verse, Same as the First</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/second-verse-same-as-the-first/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/second-verse-same-as-the-first/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:12:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comments from the Peanut Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[because i said so]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Craziness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stranger/friend]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[third person possessive]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=259</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Humor is just another defense against the universe. -Mel Brooks ——————————————— ~ ——————————————— Welcome back stranger/friends. I know, I know&#8230; I kept saying I was back and then never really came back. And I&#8217;m sorry. But I wasn&#8217;t feeling particularly inspired and life sorta got in the way. But no more. I&#8217;ve had my little [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=259&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;">Humor is just another defense against the universe.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;">-Mel Brooks</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">——————————————— ~ ———————————————</p>
<p>Welcome back stranger/friends.  I know, I know&#8230; I kept saying I was back and then never really came back.  And I&#8217;m sorry.  But I wasn&#8217;t feeling particularly inspired and life sorta got in the way.  But no more.  I&#8217;ve had my little hiatus and I have a lot of stuff to say these days.  So. I am back for reals this time.  </p>
<p>Quick catch up &#8211; Husband is fine, Amelia and Winston are dogs, cats are still alive, we still live in NoVa, I&#8217;m still going to school, we are still childless but have stopped actively TTC for awhile and my pancre-ass hasn&#8217;t killed me yet.  </p>
<p>I cannot wait to meet new friends and reconnect with my old ones.  As for my blog&#8230; This will be a place for my sarcastic tone, smart ass comments and general snarkiness to flourish.  I will talk about our child free by no choice, our families, my dogs, other peoples pregnancies and whatever randomness I come across that day.  Husband and I have been trying to conceive now for about 5 years.  This time has given me some perspective which will be delivered piping hot via your blog rss stream.  </p>
<p>So welcome back, join the running amok-ness that is my life.</p>
<br />Filed under: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/category/comments-from-the-peanut-gallery/'>Comments from the Peanut Gallery</a> Tagged: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/because-i-said-so/'>because i said so</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/general-craziness/'>General Craziness</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/observations/'>Observations</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/opinions/'>opinions</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/strangerfriend/'>stranger/friend</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/third-person-possessive/'>third person possessive</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/259/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=259&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Pants On Fire</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/pants-on-fire/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/pants-on-fire/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:49:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family Matters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Husband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Craziness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[How to Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[funny haha]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=239</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Liar Liar Pants on Fire! - Every Child Since Forever ——————————————— ~ ——————————————— Husband is on my list.  You know the list, the one that makes me look at you all squinty eyed.  The list containing the crazy lady at Wegmans who had to discuss with the cashier the pro&#8217;s and con&#8217;s of each and [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=239&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;">Liar Liar Pants on Fire!</p>
<p style="text-align:right;">- Every Child Since Forever</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">——————————————— ~ ———————————————</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Husband is on my list.  You know the list, the one that makes me look at you all squinty eyed.  The list containing the crazy lady at Wegmans who had to discuss with the cashier the pro&#8217;s and con&#8217;s of each and EVERY item she was purchasing and then discuss the proper packing of her twelve thousand reusable grocery bags and the idiot driver who decided to use the breakdown lane to pass me on Route 1.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">You husband, who I just discovered was STEALING from me.  Stealing from your poor, poor, berry deprived wife.  Stealing my berries from my Kashi cereal.  My favorite <a href="http://www.kashi.com/products/strawberry_fields_original">Kashi Strawberry Fields</a> cereal.  You, sir, are lucky I like the cereal just the way I thought it was, perfect corn flakes with just the right amount of sweetness.  I have to admit that I do feel a little better knowing that my cereal could theoretically look like the box and much better when I know that Kashi wasn&#8217;t trying to scam me out of a few freeze-dried strawberries and raspberries.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">I still love my cereal and of course I still love you even if you are a liar-liar-pants-on-fire-stealer of berries and of my heart.</p>
<br />Filed under: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/category/family-matters/'>Family Matters</a> Tagged: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/funny-haha/'>funny haha</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/general-craziness/'>General Craziness</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/how-to-love/'>How to Love</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/husband/'>Husband</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/239/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=239&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>12</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Avoidance is a Noun, Not a Verb</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/avoidance-is-a-noun/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/avoidance-is-a-noun/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:40:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comments from the Peanut Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[because i said so]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Craziness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stranger/friend]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[third person possessive]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=225</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing. -Eva Young ——————————————— ~ ——————————————— I&#8217;m not purposefully lazy.  I don&#8217;t consider myself to be lazy at all.  I might be disinclined to be purposefully useful though.  (I never met a thesaurus I didn&#8217;t like).  I do, however, have a tendency to over-think, [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=225&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;">To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;">-Eva Young</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">——————————————— ~ ———————————————</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">I&#8217;m not purposefully lazy.  I don&#8217;t consider myself to be lazy at all.  I might be disinclined to be purposefully useful though.  (I never met a thesaurus I didn&#8217;t like).  I do, however, have a tendency to over-think, over-stress, over-eat, and under-do.  I love to write.  I love to share.  I love to read your responses.  I love knowing that someone I didn&#8217;t know until they responded to me, understands and appreciates my thoughts, my wishes, my intentions, my nonsense and my innate weirdness.  My favorite is the moment finding that long-lost best friend I&#8217;ve never met until just now.  I love literally wearing my heart and mind on my sleeve, putting out my most personal thoughts into the void that is the internet.  And I love that despite having conflicting opinions, and random haters, I have found some magical people.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">But back to lazy.  I over-thought, over-procrastinated and over-ate some more.  I admit I flaked but that is finished.  I can&#8217;t do that anymore because I really don&#8217;t want to be lazy and I miss writing.  I miss the weird, over sharing anonymity that this medium allows.  So help me out here dear internet stranger/friend.  Read me, read my soul.   Be my friend, my confidant, my family, my critic, my devil&#8217;s advocate, my editor, my heckler, my comfort.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Welcome back to my over-cluttered mind and under-filtered thoughts.  I&#8217;m not big on New Year&#8217;s resolutions but in effort to make a&#8230;well an effort&#8230;. I am going to make one.  I am going to write.  I am no longer going to allow myself the luxury of avoiding this.  I will not fall into the same trap of &#8220;I don&#8217;t have anything to say&#8221;, &#8220;I&#8217;m tired&#8221; or &#8220;I&#8217;ll do it tomorrow&#8221;.   Mostly because we see how well I did it tomorrow because I didn&#8217;t.  So I am doing it today because you do care and you do miss me and I have something worth saying.  I am someone worth listening to.  Not because I struggle with fertility or because my pancre-ass is broken or even because I have a nice way of grouping words but because I can funny and real and my life is always something run amok &#8211; just like yours.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">So, I have some wonderful ideas here to freshen up the monotony of my blah-blah-blah.  I&#8217;m going to start occasionally writing about the pop culture I love to break up the woe-is-me-schtick of infertility and pancre-ass.  I would love to have my stranger/friends join me in these discussions, maybe even start a half-ass book club of sorts.  Soon we start Philanthropy Run Amok, so keep an eye out for that.  And I&#8217;ll be restarting my &#8220;Just Another Manic Monday&#8221;.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">I have lots to tell y&#8217;all about my life, pancre-ass, and infertility.   Don&#8217;t go away my old stranger/friends and welcome my new stranger/friends, we have some work to do.</p>
<br />Filed under: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/category/comments-from-the-peanut-gallery/'>Comments from the Peanut Gallery</a> Tagged: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/because-i-said-so/'>because i said so</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/general-craziness/'>General Craziness</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/observations/'>Observations</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/opinions/'>opinions</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/strangerfriend/'>stranger/friend</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/third-person-possessive/'>third person possessive</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/225/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=225&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>2+1+3+1 = madness</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/2131-madness/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/2131-madness/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:20:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Animal Farm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amelia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[funny haha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Craziness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Husband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Winston]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=197</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;We are all worms.  But I believe that I am a glow-worm.&#8221; -Sir Winston Churchill —————————————————-————————————————– Hello Gorgeous!  I swear I SWEAR I am back back.  And that&#8217;ll be the last time I&#8217;ll be gone for an extended period of time.  (Hopefully) So let&#8217;s see.  I&#8217;ve been in school and it&#8217;s nuts but great.  I&#8217;ve [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=197&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;">&#8220;We are all worms.  But I believe that I am a glow-worm.&#8221;</p>
<p style="text-align:right;">-Sir Winston Churchill</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">—————————————————-————————————————–</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Hello Gorgeous!  I swear I SWEAR I am back back.  And that&#8217;ll be the last time I&#8217;ll be gone for an extended period of time.  (Hopefully)</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">So let&#8217;s see.  I&#8217;ve been in school and it&#8217;s nuts but great.  I&#8217;ve been annoying Husband talking about everything I&#8217;m learning again.  He&#8217;s a good sport though and placates me most of the time&#8230;.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">But on to the big news!  We added a new family member to our house! Meet Winston!<a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/winston.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-202  aligncenter" title="Winston" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo7.jpg?w=300&#038;h=300" alt="too damn cute" width="300" height="300" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">He is just awesome.  And we love him.  He was born 2 Mar 2010 and that makes him 15 weeks old.  He is another <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimaraner" target="_blank">Weimaraner</a> just like Amelia.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo5.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-210" title="photo(5)" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo5.jpg?w=300&#038;h=300" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo6.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-211" title="photo(6)" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo6.jpg?w=300&#038;h=300" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">For those of you just joining us&#8230; let me refresh you on our<a href="http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/animal-farm/" target="_self"> furry family</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Our first-born is Amelia.  She is 6 years old.  She is Husband&#8217;s second best friend and a totally spoiled rotten princess.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/img00012.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-203" title="Amelia" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/img00012.jpg?w=225&#038;h=300" alt="princess... spoiled rotten" width="225" height="300" /></a>Then there are the cats&#8230;.all three of them.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Bagherra</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-206" title="Bagherra" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo3.jpg?w=225&#038;h=300" alt="nom nom nom" width="225" height="300" /></a>Louis (King Louie)</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-207" title="Louis" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo2.jpg?w=225&#038;h=300" alt="well hello there...." width="225" height="300" /></a>and Kitty</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-208" title="Kitty" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo.jpg?w=300&#038;h=225" alt="sleep " width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">So anyways&#8230; We&#8217;ve been having fun over at Chez Amok.  Puppy life doesn&#8217;t always lend itself real well to studying.  Which is why I&#8217;d say I&#8217;ve been less than participatory in life in general lately and why this post isn&#8217;t as eloquent as usual.  But Amelia and Winston have been getting along like they&#8217;ve always been together which helps with any growing pains that could come up.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo4.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-209" title="sleeping together" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/photo4.jpg?w=225&#038;h=300" alt="always together" width="225" height="300" /></a>It&#8217;s actually kinda funny&#8230; we went to PetSmart the other day to buy animal food (which we always seems to be almost out of) and I had Winston over in the collar aisle and Husband had Amelia looking at food&#8230;.Winston who apparently can&#8217;t function without Amelia started baby barking looking for Amelia.  And from all the way across the store I hear one Amelia bark (which was awesome since Amelia hardly ever barks!) as almost to say &#8220;I&#8217;m here don&#8217;t worry&#8221; and the Winston stopped.  Craziness huh?</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Onto school.Too much homework.  Too little time.  Too much memorization and not enough space.  Husband laughs that I&#8217;m even more scatterbrained than usual and I tell him that he can laugh all the way to the bank eventually because despite the fact that I&#8217;ll be the oldest med student ever, all the nonsense will be worth it to finally be Dr. Amok.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Right now is pharmacology.  Loving the pharmacology.  Not loving the grueling study schedule but I am always amazed how just a few chemicals can alter your life!  Those who&#8217;ve done fertility drugs can attest to that.  Despite the fact it didn&#8217;t work for us I remember being awed at how Clomid made me feel like a 13 year old girl with the crazy hormones and acne etc.  Amazing.  Truly.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Anyways&#8230;. I really have to go back to studying.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Anxiolytics, Barbiturates, and Analgesics.  Oh My!!</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><a href="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/deniszilber6.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-212" title="deniszilber6" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/deniszilber6.jpg?w=450&#038;h=409" alt="" width="450" height="409" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">So tell me about your animals&#8230;. I&#8217;m always curious to see how other people feel about their animals.  Or are we the only weird ones with dogs who take the place of children.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">
<br />Filed under: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/category/animal-farm/'>Animal Farm</a> Tagged: <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/amelia/'>Amelia</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/cats/'>cats</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/funny-haha/'>funny haha</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/general-craziness/'>General Craziness</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/husband/'>Husband</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/life/'>Life</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/observations/'>Observations</a>, <a href='http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/tag/winston/'>Winston</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/197/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=197&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
	
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			<media:title type="html">Winston</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Amelia</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Bagherra</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Louis</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">Kitty</media:title>
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			<media:title type="html">sleeping together</media:title>
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		<title>Back</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/back/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/back/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:57:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/back/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ok&#8230; i promise i&#8217;m really coming back this time. we have a lot to catch up on. i&#8217;ll see you after the new year! Posted in Uncategorized<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=189&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ok&#8230; i promise i&#8217;m really coming back this time.  we have a lot to catch up on.  i&#8217;ll see you after the new year!  </p>
<br />Posted in Uncategorized  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/runamokamok.wordpress.com/189/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=189&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Reproductive Rights Duplicity</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/reproductive-rights-duplicity/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:19:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Infertility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[because i said so]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=176</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Future generations will look back at the beginning of the 21st century and marvel that intelligent people actually tried to stop biomedical progress just to protect their cramped and limited vision of human nature.&#8221; -Ronald Bailey —————————————————-————————————————– Hello?  Is this thing on?  Can you hear me?  Here, let me step up here on this soapbox [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=176&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;"><span>&#8220;Future generations will look back at the beginning of the 21st century and marvel that intelligent people actually tried to stop biomedical progress just to protect their cramped and limited vision of human nature.&#8221;</span></p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><span>-Ronald Bailey</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span>—————————————————-</span><span>————————————————–</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Hello?  Is this thing on?  Can you hear me?  Here, let me step up here on this soapbox so you can hear me better.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>Reproductive Rights.  What does that phrase mean to you?  According to the <a href="http://reproductiverights.org/" target="_blank">Center for Reproductive Rights</a> their &#8220;issues reflect what a woman needs to d</span>irect her own life and make healthy decisions:  Legal, safe, and affordable contraception and abortion.  Good obstetric and prenatal care for a safe &amp; healthy pregnancy.<strong></strong> Information about reproductive health that is free from censorship.&#8221;</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">I&#8217;m confused though as to why reproductive rights apparently only apply to those who can get pregnant and those who don&#8217;t want to get pregnant.  And an organization that&#8217;s whole purpose for existing is to further the reproductive rights of women has only officially been involved in one instance of the rights of <a href="http://reproductiverights.org/en/press-room/center-joins-couples%E2%80%99-legal-battle-against-costa-rica%E2%80%99s-ivf-ban" target="_blank">couples to pursue fertility treatments</a> (and that wasn&#8217;t even in the United States).</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Another term that is quite a misnomer is family planning.  According to Wikipedia, &#8220;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_planning" target="_blank">family planning</a> is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other tecniques to implement such plans.  Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and management, and infertility management&#8221;.  But when you do a Google search for family planning the services that come up are birth control, sexual education and abortions.  And lets not even begin that the picture that was deemed appropriate to symbolize family planning in the Wikipedia article was a picture of a common birth control package.  Again, how is it that the term family planning apparently only applies to those who don&#8217;t want any or more family?</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Realistically, why is infertility treatments not included in family planning?  Just because I am biologically impaired when it comes to conceiving my children doesn&#8217;t mean that the methods I choose are not family planning.  Considering the fact that a heck of a lot more &#8220;planning&#8221; goes into any fertility treatment, I&#8217;m confused as to why infertile couples are overlooked and often mocked for their family planning efforts.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Take into consideration the growing environmental movement.  An article written for the online blog <a href="http://www.babble.com" target="_blank">Babble</a> was about how eco-activists are pushing the idea of overpopulation and how it is environmentally irresponsible to excessively procreate.  Titled <a href="http://www.babble.com/The-New-Eugenics-Eco-activists-say-we-need-to-have-fewer-kids-Are-they-right/index.aspx" target="_blank">The New Eugenics</a>, the article also discusses how couples who pursue fertility treatments are often scorned as being indulgent, selfish and the four-letter-word of the eco world &#8211; polluters.  The author uses another article from the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/magazine/30Surrogate-t.html" target="_blank">New York Times Magazine</a>, this article was written by a woman who hired a surrogate after five years of fertility treatments.  Yet despite being a well written article about one couples infertility journey and their choices in their family planning sadly very few of the anonymous commentors took away the intended meaning of the article.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">There were 404 comments to this article.  The first comment was left by H.H. in Port Hardy, British Columbia, Canada.  The enlightened H.H left the following comment:  &#8220;You&#8217;d think with nearly 7 billion people on this planet, a couple might think of it as a blessing that they can not add any more &#8220;consumers&#8221; to our Earth&#8217;s already overstretched resources.&#8221;  Sadly, H.H. wasn&#8217;t the only person who left such comments.  The author wasn&#8217;t just chastised for adding more &#8220;consumers&#8221;, she was overwhelming dismissed as being elitist and having more money than sense. The comments to this one article overwhelmingly prove that that the population as a whole just does not get infertility issues.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">I don&#8217;t know about you but Husband and I are not rich by any standard.  I am a medically-retired, stay-at-home-wife.  I go to school full time.  Husband works for the government.  Luckily I was able to retain my health insurance because of my pancre-ass but my military insurance doesn&#8217;t cover all of our fertility treatments.  Infertility is an expensive disease.  And one that isn&#8217;t just a physical affliction, its mentally and emotionally exhausting.  It is a disease that permeates to the very fiber of your being.  Biologically, your reason for existing.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">I&#8217;ve read articles and comments that actually go as far as suggest that as an infertile couple, we should &#8220;save the world&#8221; and adopt.  We should not be allowed to procreate and/or should use the opportunity to rescue the abandoned children of the world.  I&#8217;m sorry.  I am not here to save the world of its ills.  I am one person and I have one question.  Why is it ok for you to procreate or not by using &#8220;family planning&#8221; but as an infertile am not?</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">In June, I participated in <a href="http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage" target="_blank">RESOLVE</a>&#8216;s <a href="http://www.resolve.org/site/PageServer?pagename=advday_home">Advocacy Day</a>.  On a day that was filled with health care reform rallies and protesters, a group of women and men sat one-on-one with their elected congressional representatives to discuss infertility.  We simply asked for them to help us receive equal health care rights.  Currently only 15 states require insurance coverage for fertility treatment and even then the laws vary.  And just from my personal experience I encountered legislative workers who were not only not interested in helping but openly so.  Yet our current president and congress plan on including <a href="http://blog.heritage.org/2009/07/17/taxpayer-funding-for-abortion-another-sleeper-issue-in-health-care-reform/" target="_blank">taxpayer funded abortions</a> in the pending Health Care Reform (to be fair, they plan on not excluding it).</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">So here we are back to family planning.  I don&#8217;t know about you but I&#8217;m more than a little upset about all of this.  I take offense to the fact that a disease that already makes me feel less human, less of a woman also makes me a target for eco-activists, well meaning albeit a little miss-guided.  I feel that I have to stand up and speak for this disease that affects so many.  Because infertility doesn&#8217;t just affect me or Husband.  It affects our parents who are not grandparents, our siblings who have no nieces or nephews and our peers who are unsure where their friendship lies in our relationship.  I just want a family and I don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s more of a basic human right than that.</p>
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		<slash:comments>33</slash:comments>
	
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		<title>Vacation from Sanity</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/vacation-from-sanity/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/vacation-from-sanity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:20:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comments from the Peanut Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Craziness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Husband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[memories]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Well I&#8217;ll tell you something. This is no longer a vacation. It&#8217;s a quest. It&#8217;s a quest for fun. I&#8217;m gonna have fun and you&#8217;re gonna have fun. We&#8217;re all gonna have so much &#8230; fun we&#8217;ll need plastic surgery to remove our &#8230; smiles.&#8221; - Clark W. Griswold in National Lampoon&#8217;s Vacation —————————————————-————————————————– va⋅ca⋅tion [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=172&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;">&#8220;Well I&#8217;ll tell you something. This is no longer a vacation. It&#8217;s a quest. It&#8217;s a quest for fun. I&#8217;m gonna have fun and you&#8217;re gonna have fun. We&#8217;re all gonna have so much &#8230; fun we&#8217;ll need plastic surgery to remove our &#8230; smiles.&#8221;</p>
<p style="text-align:right;">- Clark W. Griswold in <span style="text-decoration:underline;">National Lampoon&#8217;s Vacation</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span>—————————————————-</span><span>————————————————–</span></p>
<h2>va⋅ca⋅tion</h2>
<p><span><span style="display:inline;"><span>[</span><span>vey-<span>key</span>-sh<span>uh</span><img src="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png" border="0" alt="" />n</span><span>,</span> <span>v<span>uh</span>-</span><span>]</span> </span></span></p>
<div>
<div><span>–noun </span></p>
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<td width="35">1.</td>
<td>a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday: <span>Schoolchildren are on vacation now. </span></td>
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<td width="35">2.</td>
<td>a part of the year, regularly set aside, when normal activities of law courts, legislatures, etc., are suspended.</td>
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<td width="35">3.</td>
<td>freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.</td>
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<td width="35">4.</td>
<td>an act or instance of vacating.</td>
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<div><span>–verb (used without object) </span></p>
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<td width="35">5.</td>
<td>to take or have a vacation: <span>to vacation in the Caribbean. </span></td>
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<p><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vacation" target="_blank">source</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span>—————————————————-</span><span>————————————————–</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>Husband and I have not taken a vacation since before we left for basic training.  Just to clarify this, we have not taken a vacation in almost nine years.  Nine years.  We had no honeymoon because Husband had to go back to work three days after our wedding and then was deployed to Afghanistan two months later.  He was gone for a year.  I was deployed twice during my military career and Husband another two times.  Then Husband began his current profession as a Secret Squirrel.  Because of this he had to move away from me and into our current home in DC.  We were geographically separated for almost two years. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>So for nine years serving our country, deployments, illness, surgeries, hospitalizations, protecting national security, the Appalachian Mountains, second jobs, fertility treatments and family obligations prevented us from vacations.  Oh and lets  be clear, I do not count traveling to visit family as a vacation.  Because seriously, that is not a vacation.  And yes I do feel sorry for us and so should you.   But all that is about to end.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>This December is our five year anniversary.  We are finally going on a vacation.  A honest to goodness vacation. </span><span>With just the two of us. </span><span>Our <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">honeymoon</span> anniversary-moon.  No family and minimal phone contact (well you can try but I doubt we&#8217;ll answer).  Just.  The.  Two.  Of.  Us.  And where are we going you ask?  Well we&#8217;re going to the happiest place on earth.  No, not <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5224306.stm" target="_blank">Denmark</a>.  We&#8217;re going to Disney World.  Yes, Disney World.  Because I want to that&#8217;s why.  Having grown up in and out of Europe, my family didn&#8217;t really do the Disney thing.  And more often than not our family vacations were more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Vacation">National Lampoon&#8217;s European Vacation</a> and less <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheaper_by_the_Dozen_2" target="_blank">Cheaper by the Dozen 2</a>. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>So our vacation is going to be insane.  And I am crazy excited.  No expense has been spared, no detail overlooked.  And yes I&#8217;m bragging because I am excited.  And really glad that we can finally afford to pay and take the time off for a vacation.  We are going for ten whole days of absolute child-like joy and fun.  And we&#8217;re staying in a super posh hotel, uber lush suite with room service.  And I am so going to be ordering room service.  I don&#8217;t care if I have to pay 14$ for a bottle of water.  We are ordering room service. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>But I&#8217;m most excited about being able to just spend ten days in row with Husband.  We&#8217;ve been so busy with life that its almost as if we&#8217;ve put our life on hold.  But  no longer.  It will be ten days of food, fun, excitement, relaxation and Mickey, Minnie and the gang.  Because seriously, we&#8217;re such big kids anyways.  And I&#8217;m most excited about it being the Christmas season during our trip.  I&#8217;ve watched so many Travel Channel shows on Disney that I am practically an expert.  But my favorites have always been the Disney Christmas programs.  I cannot wait for all the extra special food, the decorations and everything else they do above and beyond special for Christmas.  I&#8217;m so completely giddy with excitement because Christmas is my favorite holiday.   I can&#8217;t believe how lucky I am to get to go on a luxury vacation and enjoy a Disney Christmas and then come home and enjoy an actual Christmas at home.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">This vacation I think is a huge turning point in our lives.  It&#8217;s exciting because we&#8217;ve never been able to spend too much time with each other over the years.  Finally living together again helped initially with that issue but taking vacations allows us to become normal adults.  Luckily, this is the first of many adventures we will take together and our life together will finally be, well, be together.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">So dear readers, here&#8217;s a question for you.  Tell me about the best time you&#8217;ve ever had with your significant other alone.  Was it a vacation?  Where did you go?  What made it memorable?  Share your story so the rest of us can live vicariously through your adventures!</p>
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		<title>Well Hello There</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/well-hello-there/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/well-hello-there/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:18:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Comments from the Peanut Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Craziness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;I&#8217;m just preparing my impromptu remarks.&#8221; -Winston Churchill —————————————————-————————————————– Funny running into you here&#8230;oh wait this is my page isn&#8217;t it?  You&#8217;ve missed me, I&#8217;m sure.  But I&#8217;m back and alive.  I&#8217;ll spare you all the pancre-assinine details except it was hell and now its better, for now.  Anywho&#8230;. I&#8217;m back.  And I promise we&#8217;ll [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=168&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;">&#8220;I&#8217;m just preparing my impromptu remarks.&#8221;</p>
<p style="text-align:right;">-Winston Churchill</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span>—————————————————-</span><span>————————————————–</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>Funny running into you here&#8230;oh wait this is my page isn&#8217;t it?  You&#8217;ve missed me, I&#8217;m sure.  But I&#8217;m back and alive.  I&#8217;ll spare you all the pancre-assinine details except it was hell and now its better, for now.  Anywho&#8230;.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>I&#8217;m back.  And I promise we&#8217;ll get back to the regular schedule programming but first a few housekeeping items.</span></p>
<ol>
<li>I want to first thank Liz (@ <a href="http://witfactory.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Wit Factory</a>).  You truly are my best friend and I appreciate everything you did for Husband and me.  And thank you for letting all four of my readers know that I wasn&#8217;t dead and didn&#8217;t plan on being dead anyways.</li>
<li>Second.  Let me tell you, I have good friends/readers.  This wonderful <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">stranger</span> friend sent me a movie.  And not just any movie, one of the trashiest you-hate-to-admit-but-have-watched-way-too-much-too-be-considered-normal movie.  She sent me Cruel Intentions.  Awesome.  So thank you thank you Jendeis<em></em> (@ <a href="http://sellcrazysomeplaceelse.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">SellCrazy Someplace Else</a>).</li>
<li>I am feeling better.  Amen.  And hopefully this time my pancre-ass and liver will play nice and we can feel better for awhile.</li>
<li>Oh and guess what?  We are back to officially trying again.  Wish us luck.</li>
</ol>
<p>Yeah so that&#8217;s about it for now.</p>
<p>I promise I&#8217;ll get back to regular writing because I know y&#8217;all missed me.  Hell, I missed me.</p>
<p>PS &#8211; I wanted to share one of my favorite pictures from our wedding.  We&#8217;re coming up on our five year anniversary and planning our DISNEY VACATION!  We&#8217;re going for our <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">honeymoon</span> anniversary.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-170" title="Image007" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/image007.jpg?w=300&#038;h=203" alt="Image007" width="300" height="203" /></p>
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		<title>Lemons Amok</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/lemons-amok/</link>
		<comments>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/lemons-amok/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:23:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The Wit Factory</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Pancre-ass]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=163</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Normally my [WitFactory] motto is:  &#8220;When life hands you lemons, be glad it didn&#8217;t hand you a pile of poop instead.&#8221; However, our dear Amok has, in fact, been handed a pile of poop.  No worries.  She&#8217;s alive.  Not well, but alive. Our darling Amok is currently hibernating in a DC area hospital and harboring [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=163&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Normally my [<a href="http://witfactory.wordpress.com/">WitFactory</a>] motto is:  &#8220;When life hands you lemons, be glad it didn&#8217;t hand you a pile of poop instead.&#8221;</p>
<p>However, our dear Amok has, in fact, been handed a pile of poop.  No worries.  She&#8217;s alive.  Not well, but alive.</p>
<p>Our darling Amok is currently hibernating in a DC area hospital and harboring the after-effects of her ERCP.  I received a call from her (or the drugged up version of her) explaining that the nausea/extreme pain/complications of her procedure has forced our beloved walking Book Of Fun Facts to be a bedridden Book Of Facts That Are More Fun When The Morphine Drip Kicks In.  Please say a prayer for her speedy recovery.</p>
<p>For those of you who would like to oblige her love for orchids, Edible Arrangements, trashy (albeit AWESOME) romance novels and/or Ferrero Rocher, please feel free to request more specific hospital information from me.  You may submit your request to <a href="mailto:ecarter@championhomes.net">ecarter@championhomes.net</a>.  I&#8217;ll be happy to let her know you&#8217;re inquiring and forward her info to you upon her approval.  (Gotta be careful these days.  You serial killers, you.)</p>
<p>On a brighter note, Amok has been texting in between lapses of hand/eye coordination and has laughed at me a time or two: sure signs that she&#8217;ll be back to the Blogosphere in no time.  And until no time gets here, I&#8217;ll be updating you all on her status.  She, Secret Squirrel, her lovely family and I appreciate your sincere thoughts and concerns.  I know she always <em>begins</em> with a quote but I will let that remain an Amok trademark.  I, instead, will <em>end</em> with one.</p>
<p>**********************************************************************************</p>
<p>&#8220;I learned a long time ago that minor surgery is when they do the operation on someone else, not you.&#8221;</p>
<p>                                                                                                                                                           ~Bill Walton</p>
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		<title>That what does not kill me&#8230;well then again&#8230;.</title>
		<link>http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/that-what-does-not-kill-me-well-then-again/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:53:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alison Amok</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Pancre-ass]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[broken]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chronic illness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Husband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pancreas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pancreatitis]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://runamokamok.wordpress.com/?p=153</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorry, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.&#8221; -Anais Nin —————————————————-————————————————– I know, I know.  I&#8217;ve been gone for awhile&#8230;and its not [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=runamokamok.wordpress.com&amp;blog=7422085&amp;post=153&amp;subd=runamokamok&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:right;"><span>&#8220;In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorry, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.&#8221;</span></p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><span>-Anais Nin</span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span>—————————————————-</span><span>————————————————–</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>I know, I know.  I&#8217;ve been gone for awhile&#8230;and its not about to be over but I wanted to keep y&#8217;all up to date on the going ons around here. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>So lets see&#8230; my new doctors here in DC decided that in order to proceed we needed to re-evaluate where I am pancreatic-ly (shut up, I&#8217;m taking some liberties here!).  So we did an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoscopic_ultrasound" target="_blank">Endoscopic Ultrasound</a> (EUS) last week to find out if I&#8217;ve developed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_pancreatitis" target="_blank">Chronic Pancreatitis</a>.  The thinking was that I have had five (5!) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERCP" target="_blank">ERCP</a>&#8216;s.  Each time developing acute pancreatitis.  Each ERCP and each episode of acute pancreatitis put me at risk for developing CHRONIC pancreatitis.  I know it&#8217;s confusing. But on my MRI&#8217;s they had seen some pancreatic changes and were concerned.  So that&#8217;s fine, it was mild sedation and a nice nap.  But they didn&#8217;t find any significant changes.  This is good.<br />
</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>They found my common bile duct is almost completely occluded.  This is bad.  Very bad.  My pancreatic duct has been completely occluded for about four years now.  No one wanted to clear it out because they were unsure of where it came from.  And very afraid that messing with the occlusion could cause other things to go bad.  And luckily I have a secondary pancreatic duct that helps re-route things.  That&#8217;s why I&#8217;ve needed all these ERCP&#8217;s because my secondary duct is significantly smaller because well it was never meant to be the primary pancreatic duct.  That&#8217;s why its not called that, duh!  But any who, it will get sludged up and part of my illness causes my ducts to develop strictures (meaning they cramp down) so then things don&#8217;t flow great.  So ERCP is done to basically clear out the ducts and place stents to prop them back open. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-159" title="technical difficulties" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/technical-difficulties.jpg?w=300&#038;h=265" alt="technical difficulties" width="300" height="265" /><br />
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<p style="text-align:left;"><span>Well, the problem is that the common bile duct is the big duct that everything flows through.  This cannot become occluded.  That would be very bad.  Very, very bad.  And this is very, very serious.  Because they have no idea why my ducts are doing this, how to keep it from happening and the concern is that with each ERCP my complications get worse and worse.  So right now, I&#8217;m scheduled for my next ERCP on Wednesday the 15th of July. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>It was very bizarre after that EUS because the doctors were so alarmed about what they found they called my doctor while I was still under sedation.  So one of his staff doctors was waiting for me when I came out of anesthesia.  He told me what they found and that my Doctor would be calling me the next day to schedule a surgery date.  AND to make it even more nerve wrecking for me, when they called, they had already scheduled my surgery!  They didn&#8217;t even give me much chance to procrastinate.  I know it&#8217;s in my best interest to get this whole thing over but my anxiety has just shot through the roof! </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>And I&#8217;m driving Husband crazy because when I get anxious, I organize.  I organize and talk too much. I&#8217;m not looking forward to this at all.  I&#8217;m not looking forward to more IV&#8217;s, crazy pain and the pain medications needed to help control them.  I hate the blood draws.  I hate the succession of medical personnel who have to all come in and talk to me about my pain and press on my stomach.  As if my pain wasn&#8217;t bad enough, lets all smush my liver and pancreas down to make it worse.  First the medical student, then the intern, then the resident, then the fellow and finally my doctor.  And to be completely honest, I am really freaked out.  And poor Husband.  He is beyond freaked but as usual he pretends it is all fine.  I know he thinks he needs to be strong for me and that is why I love that man.  But he&#8217;s so good too me.  He&#8217;s been hinting that maybe I should buy some new audio-books, that way he doesn&#8217;t have to read to me!  I&#8217;m going to do that but it&#8217;s always so comforting to have him read to me anyways.<br />
</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>So we are just pressing on.  I&#8217;m packing my bag.  Gathering all my hospital clothes.  My tank tops, my comfortable pants, all my colorful socks so I can stay clothed, decent and out of those horrible hospital gowns.  Oh and my beautiful cardigans.  Those are important so I can stay me, stay comfortable and warm but hospital appropriate.  I&#8217;ve gone through my millions of movies and picked out the ones I&#8217;ve been meaning to watch and added them to my perennial favorites.  I&#8217;ve also added a few for Husband to watch because we all know that I really don&#8217;t watch anything because I&#8217;m so drugged.  And a couple for my mom who will be coming up from North Carolina on Tuesday. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>I&#8217;ve also dealt with the unpleasant details of all of this.  I&#8217;ve updated my advance directives and living will.  Which is something everyone should have no matter their health status.  It really is the only way to ensure your wishes are carried out.  Luckily, my family and Husband all feel the same way about this.  Organ donation always.  And Husband and I both have included in our living wills that we do not want extraordinary measures taken.  Our medical backgrounds I think helped us with this decision.  We both have agreed that while it would be hard to say goodbye, prolonged life-support is only benefiting the family and I believe that when it&#8217;s my time, it&#8217;s my time.  Obviously, if there is a chance of a good outcome then this wouldn&#8217;t be the case.  Death is never easy to deal with but we both know and have come to terms with that my illness most likely will become terminal at one point.  Either from cancer or complications from a surgery.  But I think because of this we appreciate each other a little more.  We embrace the time we have.  I mean seriously, its entirely possible I could live another 50 years!  But if I don&#8217;t, I do not want to have any regrets.  I am daily grateful for having such a wonderful husband and family and know that my life is good.  I have to admit, it is a little humbling and more than a little hard thinking about these types of things at our age.  Very against nature.  But we have each other and hopefully one day, children.  And we can&#8217;t forget Amelia!  OK, I&#8217;m done being Debbie Downer.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>But enough of the sad stuff.  Husband has the day off on Wednesday but has to go back to work the next day and has to go to Asia for secret squirrel duty later in the week.  He can call off work during the week but because of visa issues he cannot cancel the Asia trip.  Visa&#8217;s are a pain in the ass and require the paperwork completed months in advance, so no one else can fill in for him at this point.  Mom (mine) will be here to babysit me while Husband is at work.  She&#8217;ll be staying at my Aunt Joni&#8217;s and Husband will drop me off each morning before he goes to work, like a daycare for the incredibly grumpy, fussy and non-compliant.  Because Husband is very afraid to leave me home by myself.  Not so much because he is afraid I&#8217;ll keel over or anything but more for the simple fact that most likely I will need to go to the ER.  Normally, I get to go home after my procedure.  I&#8217;m not in terrible pain afterward, more than normal but they send me home with more pain meds, and I&#8217;m not feeling too terrible.  But around day two as my pancreatitis starts to kick in, I get MISERABLE.  I can&#8217;t sleep, I can&#8217;t eat, I don&#8217;t want to eat, I can barely stand up, I&#8217;m normally beyond nauseous and even sometimes throwing up.  And so I end up back in the ER for my pain and then admitted because of my pancreatitis.  So husband was nervous about leaving me at home by myself just because he didn&#8217;t want me to be miserable at home, waiting for him to come home so I can go to the ER.  And also because I&#8217;m notorious for trying to avoid the ER like the plague.  I&#8217;m always the last one to admit that I need to go and normally am sulky the whole way there.  Its not that the ER isn&#8217;t a pleasant experience&#8230;.well it&#8217;s actually not.  But I have horrible veins from years and years of procedures, so it takes multiple IV attempts, normally ending up in some sort of semi-permanent catheter placed like a PICC line or a central line.  Which are no fun at all.  Then the drugs.  All the drugs.  They are a neccessary evil.  And then the IV fluid.  And then because of all my medications, IV fluids, multiple IV sticks, I end up looking puffy, bruised and all around like I&#8217;ve been a round or two in the ring.</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-160" title="I explained it" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/i-explained-it.jpg?w=300&#038;h=225" alt="I explained it" width="300" height="225" /><br />
</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>So, another surgery on Wednesday.  I probably won&#8217;t be blogging during that time, but I might.  But I probably will be on Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/RunAmokAmok" target="_blank">@RunAmokAmok</a>.  Those who know and love me can text me.  And emails are always welcome, RunAmokAmok at gmail dot com.  I will have my computer with me and the hospital does have free wi-fi.  I will write y&#8217;all back but you&#8217;ll have to excuse the typos because let me tell you, talking is difficult on all those drugs, let alone typing.  Husband might log on for me to keep you up to date but most likely it will be Liz, my BFF who logs in to keep y&#8217;all up to date. (BTW, y&#8217;all should totally check out her kick ass blog, <a href="http://witfactory.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">The Wit Factory</a>.  She is just totally effing hilarious)<br />
</span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span>And while I&#8217;m in the hospital, flowers are always welcome!  I love all things purple.  <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />   And I love those fruit bouquets by <a href="http://www.ediblearrangements.com/" target="_blank">Edible Arrangements</a>, seriously, the more pineapple and strawberries and CHOCOLATE covered strawberries, the better!  I also like Sour Patch Kids.  The sourness helps with the nausea so it does a double duty.  And I love visitors!   And I&#8217;m sure Husband would love someone else to show up and read to me so he doesn&#8217;t have to read yet another Nora Roberts sex scene.  (Everytime he asks how we ladies can read these romance novels without getting&#8230;um&#8230;.aroused all the time.  I tell him we do, its just easier for us to hide <img src='http://s1.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />  )  So if you&#8217;re so inclined and in the area, send me an email and we&#8217;ll let you know where I am. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><span><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-158" title="thorazine" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/thorazine1.jpg?w=185&#038;h=300" alt="thorazine" width="185" height="300" /><br />
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<p style="text-align:left;"><span>But otherwise I will be busy trying not to throw up, watching movies in between my narcotic induced blackouts, complaining about my 15th IV stick, begging Husband to rub my feet/put lotion on my legs/and or help me please brush my teeth, wash my hair and look less like death warmed over.  Pleasant, no?  Well my dears&#8230;. seriously.  I could really use the distractions.  Email me.  Email me frequently.  Text me.  Text me frequently.  Twitter me!   Wish me luck.  Pray for me.  Pray for Husband to maintain his patience while dealing with me.  Because really, we all know I&#8217;m a complete pain in the ass on a good day.  He could totally use a break too so like I said, visitors bearing good food for him will never be turned away. </span></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Love y&#8217;all.  It will be ok.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-157" title="drugs on brain" src="http://runamokamok.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/drugs-on-brain.jpg?w=300&#038;h=225" alt="drugs on brain" width="300" height="225" /></p>
<p style="text-align:left;">
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