Bad, Mad, and Sad - Next Step in Skin Cancer Recovery!

Here’s the thing about English teachers, even former English teachers, we all have our personal grammar pet peeves. And some of us have A LOT of grammar pet peeves. I, for instance, hate it when people use apostrophes to make a plural, or use the word “myself” when “me” is appropriate or confuse it's and its...

There are more (don't even get me started on there, they're and their) but you probably get the picture.

I’m not saying I always speak perfectly because I don’t. I mix metaphors, I end sentences with prepositions…In fact, I’m frequently guilty of NPR Grammar Hall of Shame’s #1 error (in related news, how dorky is it that I actually know the NPR Grammar Hall of Shame?!) misuse of the words “me” and “I.”  I say things like “This is a picture of Opie and I” instead of “Opie and me” because it somehow sounds better even though it’s wrong. I have to correct myself on this all the time.

And if you think it’s annoying when someone else corrects your grammar, you should think how poor Opie feels when I shout out corrections for both of us.

Friends of ours got me
this bag a few years
 ago and it's so true!

But I digress…

I was going to talk about my personal #1 Grammar Pet Peeve – the misuse of the word “badly.”  Even more specifically, when people say “I feel badly.”

If you say this, please note that “I feel badly” does not describe your emotional state. It actually means there is something wrong with your ability to feel. Like you have nerve damage.

It is interesting to note that I have actually complained about this so much with this exact explanation to Opie that when someone on television says “I feel badly” we now both say “Nerve damage?” at the same time.

Anyway, there’s a whole long grammatical explanation for the “I feel badly” issue that has to do with linking verbs versus action verbs and how adverbs and adjectives work...but if you didn’t pay attention to your English teacher back in high school, you’re probably not that interested in a grammar lesson now.

So, just trust me, “I feel badly” is wrong.

And if you don’t want to take my word for it, think about this: you don’t feel madly, sadly, or gladly do you?!

Of course not, that would be ridiculous.

Anyway, you might be wondering what in the holy heck this has to do with skin cancer recovery. Well, to be fair, I do feel bad, mad, sad and not at all glad that I got skin cancer. But, the thing is....

....Wait for it....

Because of the skin cancer, I also DO feel badly! In the sense that my ability to feel has been compromised! My scalp is still numb where I had a bunch of staples and my nose is numb because it’s new at being a nose and is still getting used to it. But—worst of all—when I touch the flap to clean it or whatever, I don’t feel it on my nose, I FEEL IT ON MY FOREHEAD!

Why?

Because after sustaining all the surgically induced NERVE DAMAGE, the flap feels badly!!!

I’m not going to lie, I tell Opie that with alarming frequency.

But my next surgery is Tuesday. During this one, the doctor is going to cut off the flap to make my forehead and nose separate entities again and all the nerves should start recovering and waking up and I should be on the road to feeling good again (yes, good although well also works when you’re referencing health…but that’s a whole predicate adjective grammar lesson for a different day).

I still won’t be posting pictures of my face for awhile, and I have to have another (more minor) procedure for another spot of cancer on my chin in May which does make me feel bad, mad and sad all over again but I will be able to stop screaming “I FEEL BADLY!” every time I wash my face.

Which will probably be a big relief to Opie.

So, once again, I’d appreciate your thoughts, prayers, positive energy, and cookie donations in lieu of blood sacrifices (I like macarons) while I go under the knife again.

But, whatever you do, don’t feel badly for me because there’s really no need to give yourself nerve damage on my account.

If you want to read more about my skin cancer journey, you can find that info below:

Sunscreen, Skin Cancer and Spiritual Support

Happy Birthday to Me


National Doctors Day

Dogs & Daffodils


And if you want more information on skin cancer in general, check out these articles at the CDC:

CDC - Skin Cancer Information

Blogging

Today’s Theme Thursday theme is blogging and I’m cheating a tiny bit and combining 2 topics in one…blogging overall and my first blogging award.

See, I’m kind of new to this blogging scene. My page says that I started in 2009 but that’s not really true. I set up the blog in 2009 but I really just started lurking around the blogosphere then. I didn’t tell anyone about my blog, I rarely posted anything, instead I peppered my friends and family with emails that should have been blog entries. Then, in 2012, I started writing more, interacting more, and reaching out to other bloggers—who have taught me more in 4 months than I had learned in the past 4 years. One of those is Jenn from Something Clever 2.0 who hosts Theme Thursday and who recently awarded me my first blog award.

That award is The Liebster Award.

The Details: The Liesbster award is given to new or up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The award is then passed along to other bloggers in the same category to help spread the word and support each other.  Here are the rules:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them about the award.
5. No tag backs.

11 Random Facts:

1. I have a weird thing about eyeballs…I’m like Rachel in Friends, I freak out when I go to the eye doctor…I can’t even put drops in my own eyes. About 10 years ago, I had a really disgusting case of Pink Eye and every night I had to drive over to my parents’ house and have my mom put the drops in…which is embarrassing enough but I needed those drops twice a day. So, in the mornings, I had to have the English department secretary do it. This is slightly mitigated by the fact that the secretary in question was also my godmother, but still EMBARRASSING.

2. I also have a weird thing about germs…double-dipping, sharing the same glass, other people touching my food—ICK!

3. In spite of 1 & 2, I always thought I was easy-going. Then, Opie and I started dating and he mentioned that I seemed to get unreasonably upset about things. It was my only complaint about him, “He doesn’t think I’m easy-going!” I told a few people. It took my priest to set me straight and let me know that, apparently, no one really thinks I’m easy-going. “You should have asked me,” he said cheerfully. “I would have told you, you’ve got lots of great qualities but easy-going isn’t one of them.”

4. Speaking of Opie, we actually met in college. We even went out one time and he wanted to go out again but I was still deep in my “philanthropic dating” phase and wasn’t at all interested in someone nice and emotionally stable. I mean, wake up every morning secure in my relationship, knowing that I am loved? Dullsville!

5. I was a cranberry in my grade school Thanksgiving play…which was enough to convince me I didn’t have a huge future in acting.

6. I’ve been to the Oval Office. One of my mom’s best friends is married to a Secret Serviceman; when I was about 7 we went to visit them in Washington DC. Frank took us all over the city, showing us the sights…and, because little kids have strange priorities, what I thought was cool then was the fact that we didn’t have to wait in line anywhere, we just got to walk in with Frank. What I think is cool now is the fact that, since the president was out of the country, we got to go see The Oval Office.

7. I’ve set a Guiness World Record…most people dressed as Superman at the same time. Long story…suffice it to say my friend Eric and I go on strange vacations every year and once we went to the Annual Superman Convention in Metropolis, Illinois. It was hysterical…you can read about it here.

8. I went skydiving on a dare…this was back when I was young and single and a little crazier than I am today. It was fun but so scary that I bit through my bottom lip on the way down.

9. I love to cook but I hate to measure. This has caused some notable catastrophes (the first time I made milk gravy for Opie, it was basically a ‘meat flan.’ He was kind enough to eat it anyway, chunks and all). It’s also led to some delicious desserts…but, with the whole ‘no measuring’ thing, my creations rarely turn out the same way twice.

10. I have an interest in amateur ghost hunting…on those vacations with Eric that I mentioned above, we’ve gone to several haunted houses. Some of those (like The Lizzie Borden House) were fairly uneventful. Some, like The Villisca, Iowa Axe Murder House, scared the pants off me.

11. If there were one talent I wish I had, it would be singing…I love to sing but I only sound good in my car, when I’m alone. When someone else gets in, it messes up the acoustics and suddenly I sound like a cat being run over.

Jen’s 11 Questions For Me:

1. What is your pet peeve? Oh, geez, this list is embarrassingly long (see what I mean about not being laid back?) It drives me crazy when people honk at me in traffic (even though I know I'm not a great driver), when people cut in line, when people are deliberately rude, when they talk in church, when they talk on the phone in loud voices in public places....

2. If you had to have the same breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, alcoholic beverage and non-alcoholic beverage every day for the rest of your life, what would they be? (Calories don’t count.): This was actually easy, as long as the calories don’t count

Breakfast: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and a glass of milk—specifically, Krispy Kreme original with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. My husband makes a face whenever I say this because he thinks they’re too sweet. I say there’s no such thing.

Lunch: Homemade Pizza, cheese.

Dinner: Fettucini Alfredo with extra Parmesan cheese and garlic bread…and maybe a salad so I can pretend it’s nutritious.

Snack: Popcorn with lots of butter and salt

Dessert: My mom’s homemade English Toffee. She only makes it around Christmas time and that’s probably lucky since I throw that stuff down like there’s no tomorrow…In fact, I’m pretty sure the secret ingredient is black tar heroin.

Alcoholic Beverage: Merlot in copious amounts.

Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Diet Coke

3. If you had to be an animal, what would you be? Bird…I want to fly!!

4. What’s your favorite book? These I have to categorize because there’s far too many of them: Favorite Childhood Book: Peter Pan. Favorite Mystery: Hot Money by Dick Francis Favorite Fantasy: Wolf King by Bridget Woods Favorite American Classic: To Kill A Mockingbird Favorite English Classic: Beowulf…I could go on and on.

5. What is the weirdest food you’ve ever tried? Not too many weird foods in my life, I’m boring with my food choices…I had calamari once – YUCK. It was like eating a giant rubber band.

6. What did you do as a kid, that your kid(s) better not try? I have to plead the fifth on this one because my nieces read my blog and I already get in enough trouble for filling their heads with questionable content…(Side note to Haley and Abby—I was a CONSTANT DELIGHT to Grandma and Grandpa…boys are icky, parties are boring, you should stay home on the weekends and study).

7. Who is your favorite superhero? When I was a kid, I totally wanted to be Wonder Woman…that’s me in my Wonder Woman pjs one Christmas…I also had Wonder Woman underoos but I’m obviously not posting pictures of me wearing THAT. As I got older, I became a fan of Phoenix from X-Men because she’s got awesome super powers…but there’s no way I’d pick Cyclops over Wolverine.

8. Without Googling, name one of your congressmen. I sent one of our senators, Tom Colburn, an email just last week about the new gun control legislation…since this is Oklahoma (aka Gunville) I feel my opnions might have fallen on deaf ears

9. What color are your fingernails and toenails right now? Bright red…they’re almost always bright red. In fact, when Opie and I got married a year and a half ago, my manicurist was practically in a state of despair because I refused to go with the traditional French manicure and instead insisted on my signature red…I had to so they’d match my shoes.

10. Where would you like to live, assuming money is no object and you could bring everyone you love with you? Honestly, since right now I live so far from most of the people I love (except Opie, of course!), I can’t pick a specific place…all I want right now is to live near everyone I love…someday…

11. What was the last concert you went to? Before I left St. Louis, I went to see my friend Chris Wilson play saxophone with his band The In? He’s with Fat Pocket now and if you’re in the St. Louis area, you should check them out here.

My 11 Questions – and remember, I was an English teacher for YEARS so “and please explain why” should be implied

1. What household chore do you hate the most?
2. What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up?
3. What’s the best/worst gift you’ve ever given/received?
4. What do you miss most about being a kid?
5. What story does your family always tell about you?
6. At what age did you consider yourself an adult?
7. What’s one thing you wish you could “un-know”?
8. Where would you like to go on a deam vacation?
9. What is your first memory of being really excited?
10. What was the first thing you bought with your own money?
11. What was the last experience that made you a stronger person?


And now for the hard part, picking 11 other bloggers. Not because I don’t follow and/or admire other bloggers but because—as I mentioned above—I’m one of the newest bloggers I know! Plus, I can’t always figure out how many followers people have…if I nominated you and you have over 200 followers—or you’ve already been nominated and I missed it—sorry! Here goes:

Mommy Unmuted
Mom With Her Running Shoes On
Cloudy With A Chance of Wine
This is Mommyhood
Kissing The Frog
Seriously Kate
You Know It Happens At Your House Too
Snarkfest
Rachael’s Insane Rants and Bizarre Musings
Twins Happen
Chi Town Mommy Mayhem



Check out the blogs above and check out other (probably more on topic!) posts at:

A Rose By Any Other Name

It’s Finish The Sentence Friday…well, to be honest, that was yesterday but I’ve been moving a little slowly this week—I haven’t even done the post for the award I got—so let’s just pretend I got finished on time (and be glad the link is still open!).  In any case, this week’s sentence is “When I was younger, I tried…”

Here’s my contribution:

When I was younger, I tried to get everyone to call me Kimberly instead of Kim…but I wasn’t assertive enough until I was much older.

Which most people probably think is silly…Kimberly, Kim what’s the difference? 

And that’s kind of a long story…a story that started when I was 5 years old and desperately wanted a cat. Unfortunately, the fact that I—and my whole family—are all wildly allergic to cat fur created an insurmountable hurdle.  I was devastated…and my grandmother decided to console me with the book One Kitten For Kim.  Except she clearly didn’t look at the book very closely:

 Notice anything odd about Kim? Anything that might upset a 5 year old Kim who desperately wanted a kitten?

Like the fact that the Kim in the book IS A BOY??!!

Which was a crushing blow to my self-identity….a boy’s name.  I had a BOY’S NAME.  Clearly, I was doomed to a life of androgyny and social exile.

Then, to make matters worse, I made one of the classic blunders: I confided in my brothers.

Now don’t get me wrong, my two brothers are good people.   They’re kind, compassionate, supportive…

At least they are NOW.

But at the time they were kids.  And BOY kids at that.  So when I said, in near hysteria, “Mom and Dad gave me a BOY’S name!”  They very helpfully explained that this was because when I was born Mom and Dad had really wanted a boy.

“Who’d want a girl?”  One of them asked.

“No one!”  The other affirmed.

(It is interesting to note that both of my brothers now maintain that this event never took place and turn the conversation to the time I told the younger one that we had found him under a bridge living with trolls…was everyone this mean to their siblings or were we just warped?)

Anyway, this revelation was enough to push me over into full blown hysterics.  I ran sobbing to my mom and started screaming about my boy’s name and how they didn’t want me and so on.

I think it goes without saying that I was a little high strung.

Luckily, my mom had one of those perfect parenting moments.  “I don’t know why you’re so upset,” she said.  “Your name is Kimberly not Kim.”

The fact that no one really called me Kimberly occurred to me but was just a new target for my obsessive personality.  It became a personal mission to get people to start calling me Kimberly instead.

It took 13 years.

Because when I was younger, I wasn’t that assertive.  I was a little too worried about people liking me, a little too worried about offending other people…so, I’d say “You know, I really prefer Kimberly but you know, whatever.”

It wasn’t until college that I got pushy about it, insisting on Kimberly instead of Kim.  And it worked.   Which was just fuel to the crazy fire...By the time I graduated and joined “the real world” I was flat out obnoxious about it, correcting people, pretending not to hear when I was hit with a “drive by Kimming”

A little over the top, I know.  But I couldn’t help it because, after all, Kim is a boy’s name.

 

For other childhood stories, click the link below: