chronic disarray

if there is anyone left out there who has kept my blog on their feeder or who happens to drop by now and then, i'd like to report that i have not dropped off the face of the earth; rather, i have been unable to organize my thoughts whilst waiting for the flooring in my house to be replaced and my office to be returned to something resembling an open, workable space. i don't know about you, but clutter in the room clutters my mind. also, my pain has been really bad these past two months and i haven't been able to push past the crash and clutter of pain on the brain in order to blog.

i do plan to return to active blogging at least by september. until then, do have a lovely summer, and don't forget to slather on the sunscreen. or not. gawd, who am i to give unsolicited advice?

tiredsville

so, we pulled out the toxic carpet only to have the toxic underlay (which we didn't pull out because it was stapled in a million places) take its place as far as making my office unbearable and the air in the house sharp and unhealthy. i'm rather sick and tired of feeling extra sick and tired from chemicals and from the stress of dealing with absentee contractors.

with the weight of extra fatigue on my shoulders, i've been dragging myself through my days/daze here. hold on! i have the chronic holiday spirit; i can boost my energy easily. what was i thinking? all i need to kick my ass out of tiredsville and into action city is a little green bottle:

it's so simple! why do i forget that? i'm sorry i hadn't shared this one with you earlier. in 2 to 6 minutes, you, too, can be up at at 'em. forget red bull or expensive supplements! and thank gawd 7-up works "even when you're doing nothing." fantastic!

with or without the extra boost of 7-up, i just wanted to let you know that chronic holiday will be back in the swing of things soon, i hope. until then, i'll keep you busy with this feast for the eyes and the stomach! try another dandy spam recipe from the 40's.

and may i suggest for dessert:

whether you're chronically inclined or fit as a fiddle, keep on keeping on and getting by in whatever way you do! and let me know how those recipes turn out...

OMG, it's march

hey folks. this is just a short post to let you know that i still have no office and am not able to post yet. my toxic carpet problems continue because of the age-old tradition of passing the buck. the insurer, the supplier, the sub-contractor and the project supervisor are all doing their best to pass the buck verrrrry slowly. it took over a month for the insurer to decide that she couldn't do anything. it's been almost three months now since i complained about this.

i'm going to get this f'd up flooring fiasco fixed, and when i do, i'm going to get chronic holiday up and at 'em again!

please stand by...

monday quiz: back away slowly edition

i'm very pleased to once again present a guest post by the one and only seahorse. if you have a chronic condition, you've probably seen that glazed look you get from a health professional who just doesn't want to deal with anything complex. who's afraid of the big bad chronic patient? take seahorse's quiz and find out!

take it away, seahorse:

We all know that the medical profession can be somewhat hands-off where long-term chronic health conditions are concerned. So what's going on? Are they too scared to treat us? Lazy? Do they think it's someone else's responsibility? Or are they too ignorant to realise that sometimes a little intervention goes a long way...

Which of the following scenarios resulted in a "Sorry, we can't treat you... like noooo way, now get out of my clinic!" type response:
	On presenting at hospital with severe jaundice and malnutrition
	On presenting at the dentist's for a filling
	On presenting at the gynae clinic with ongoing menstrual problems
	On presenting at the dentist's for an Xray
	On presenting at physio, for (erm) physio
	On presenting at the doctor's for nutrition shakes
Free polls from Pollhost.com

please vote! and then add your comments-- have you scared the crap out of a health professional lately? are you too complicated to touch with a ten-foot pole?

seahorse has given us the answer in the comments section. you can still make your guess above before reading about seahorse's experience. many thanks to seahorse for giving us another thought-provoking quiz!

post-flood blues

i haven't abandoned my post here at chronic holiday, i just don't have an office i can breath in. we had a flood in our house and most of it was gutted. i chose wool carpets instead of reinstalling new nylon carpets in an attempt to make this renovation as non-toxic as possible. as it turns out, the carpet has been treated with moth repellent and is very strong smelling. not all 100% wool carpet is non-toxic. who knew! anyway, i get sick feeling, headachey and foggy headed when i am in the office and this is why i haven't been online posting. i'm trying to remedy the situation but it is taking time. i'll be back as soon as possible! and if anyone wants to do a guest post, that would rock.

keep the chronic flame burning while i'm gone!

what to get big chronic kids for christmas

are you having a tough time trying to figure out what to buy for those you love who don't feel well? you want something meaningful, yet fun; something that says "i know you're not at your peak, let me help you up a bit." you want to get something a bit more impactful than a warm sweater and a lot more fun than a treadmill. it's simple! all we need to do is go back to the late 1800's to shop for the difficult to buy for: the sickies, the wobblies, the weak and the unwell.

who says healthy gifts have to be boring gifts? pshaw! there needn't be any silent nights this chronic christmas. believe me, any one of these gifts under the tree is sure to get a rise out of your intended.

singing, "ding, dong, merrily on high" and "joy to the world." bring on the retro gifts and begone "general ill health."

seriously folks, if you celebrate christmas, hanukkah, solstice or kwanzaa, i wish you all the best of the season: a bit of ease, some peace, company and good food. i hope you're toasty warm and as well as can be.

a straightforward message at the end there: shocking, i know.