Happy Wednesday!

I can't get this song out of my head. Enjoy!

I'm thankful for (part 2)...

I am pissed off to the highest level of pissivity.

Today, I've been feeling quite grumpy for a number of specific and not-so-specific reasons. I'll spare you the details. Instead, in the spirit of reflection, I've decided to focus on what I'm thankful for today.

I'm thankful for...
-cooperative Vermont weather that makes it impossible not to get outside for a good run.
-a sweet lovin' man who's Some Kind of Wonderful.
-at-home pedicures.
-friends who encourage you to not take things so seriously.

What are you thankful for today?

July 10, 2007

Road Race Proof
Originally uploaded by Jamilary

Um, today's my MS anniversary.

I knew there was something weird going on this morning, but not until I stepped foot into my office did I realize what was up. I had to take my car back to the dealership this morning. When they serviced my car yesterday, they forgot to reattach the mudflap correctly. On my way there, someone almost hit the hell out of me. Note to all the careless drivers: when making a left turn, it is just as important to look, ahem, left as it is to look right. I was really thinking that I needed to just go home and start the day over again. Once I finally got to the psych department and began thinking about everything that I needed to get done today, it dawned on me. Today is July 10th.

On July 9, 2007, I returned to VT after running in my 3rd Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. Yes, I'm always trying to find an excuse to go home (e.g., Thanksgiving, my birthday, Flag Day, Groundhog's Day...), but the 4th of July has been really special to me, especially in the last few years. Tens of thousands of people sweat it out down 6.2 miles of Atlanta's most major trafficways, all for a t-shirt and the glory of saying that they finished the Peachtree Road Race. Well, I've never actually worn any of the t-shirts I've gotten over the course of the races I've ran. My satisfaction has come from setting and completing a physical goal for myself. I've been good about setting goals at the workplace and at school, but physical goals...not so much. So, in returning to VT that day last year, I felt so accomplished and proud of myself.

Well, the day after I returned to VT, I had a doctor's appointment. I was going to receive the results of my MRI and tests that I did with a neurologist. After finishing the race a few days prior, I noticed that it was the first day that I had been symptom-free. No tingling, no hotspots, no out-of-the-ordinary fatigue. I mean, other than a little vision problem, I felt great! So, imagine my surprise when I, at my healthiest, was told, "your test results and MRI are consistent with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis." I wanted to sucker punch the doc. Obviously, he had no clue. I was healthy. All the previous symptoms experienced were a fluke. They went away, and they were going to stay away. Well, I like to think that I'm a pretty rational person, so all my aggressive/angry thoughts were quickly overtaken by (another) natural response, which was a flood of tears. Underneath it all, I kind of suspected it. I mean, I had spent hours on webmd.com, entering my symptoms in order to see a list of the possibilities. Hearing it confirmed by a specialist, though, was a bitter pill to swallow. I sat in that funk for several weeks afterwards. Even though I was in the middle of the 6 months when it's actually warm in VT, I sat on my sofa, just not in the mood to continue running.

Fastforwarding a year later, to today, I realize how far I've come. Now, I (can sometimes) find humor in going to the doctor's office now. I oftentimes sit amongst many grayhaired individuals who look at me wondering, "What in the hell are you doing here?" Now, I can give myself a shot everyday. In my latest trip to Atlanta, I actually gave myself a shot (discretely) while sitting at an airport terminal. I used to feel like I had to excuse myself to the bathroom out of embarassment. It is what it is. No one feels awkward about popping a pill in front of other people. Now, I'm at a point where I can say, "I have MS," without breaking down into tears. And, as a way to really identify myself as healthy, I ran in another Peachtree Road Race this year. It was my 4th and fastest one, yet! I finished in an hour, which is breathtakingly fast for me. (Want to see pictures? Go to marathonfoto.com. Select Race: "Peachtree Road Race 2008"
Last Name: Thomas
Bib Number: 92944)

So, in short, I have MS. I've had the diagnosis for a year. But I look and feel better than ever. (Um, don't take the pics from the Road Race as your evidence.)

Today, I'm donating 25% of proceeds from the sale of my MS Awareness bracelet to the National MS Society

Chantilly Lace

Lace Agate set
Originally uploaded by Jamilary

I just posted my lace agate set to my Etsy shop. It's been posted to my Flickr account for a minute, and it seems somebody out there likes it. So, we'll see.

Well, that's about all the moonlighting my schedule is allowing for today. I need to make some more headway on my thesis this week, since I'm on the four year plan out of Vermont/UVM. And, I'll be headed back to Atlanta next week to run my 4th consecutive Peachtree Road Race on July 4th, so I need to make moves before I go. I should probably get a cute lil running outfit together, though. It's the least I can do. I don't know how it's come to be that people associate being wet with sexiness. I think highly of myself and all, but being sweaty from the Atlanta heat and humidity is not a good look. I don't care how skimpy the outfit. And add to that the sprinklers that they set off during the race...yikes!

I'm thankful for...

Stone Mountain with my Daddy 1
Originally uploaded by Jamilary

-trips home to my city.
-the knowledge that grad school is a temporary situation.
-meeting new people with whom I can completely be myself.
-my family and their health.

Birthday Wishes

Sooo, my birthday is next Saturday (well, actually, my mom's birthday is that day, too (see #3)), and I have no idea what I want to do for it. Suggestions, please.

I think part of the problem is that since moving to Vermont for school, my gift to myself has been going home to Atlanta to celebrate my birthday...and Thanksgiving...and Christmas...and New Year's...and Flag Day...and Boxing Day...I'm just content to be home. But now one of my friends (and she knows who she is) is stressing me to make some concrete plans. I guess since my birthday falls on or around Memorial Day (a fact that up until a couple of years ago, hadn't dawned on me - ha! I can be so self-centered), in the past, the agenda has been pretty much set. No work on Monday, so it's usually been all about running the streets! I mean birthdays are really important to me, but I just have no idea this year. Last year, we had a Memorial Day/birthday BBQ, which was fun, but I just didn't want to stress getting all of that together this year.

I actually like the idea of something out of the ordinary. I just found out about a new attraction at Stone Mountain Park.



The Sky Hike, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution "includes bouncing across suspended wooden bridges, scaling nets and scooting along narrow logs...[as well as] a vertical climbing wall and a winding slide." Call me crazy, but that sounds like fun. At the very least, it would be memorable...and afterwards we could get still get out in the streets...

Etcetera, etcetera

So, I'm starting my first full week without classes. On the one hand, I can't believe that I just completed my 2nd year of grad school, but on the other hand, I feel like I could describe every second. Long story short - grad school makes life hard, but the truth is, when I make myself think about it, I'm grateful to have the difficulties I do. I chose this path, and there are many people who wish they had this opportunity. So with classes out of the way, I can focus more on my research (i.e., mechanisms underlying substance use in kids with psychopathic traits..."psychopathic traits" is so not PC (and not 100% accurate), but it's probably means more to most people than "callous-unemotional traits") and my clients. I conduct individual and group psychotherapy in the community and at a women's correctional facility, and I love it. Being a therapist has made me become so aware of how common psychological problems are, and, at the same time, it has allowed me to see past my clients' problems. I sure would want someone else to do the same for me. Check this out, for example, for the forgotten moms in jail in Vermont.

I'm also on to ticking items off of my Jamilary to-do list. The 7th Indie Craft Experience (ICE) is in less than a month (June 7th), and I found out that I'm also in the 36th Annual Stone Mountain Village Arts and Crafts Festival the following weekend (June 14th and 15th). Coincididentally, I've just had 4 sales in my etsy shop in the last 24 hours, so I'm feeling quite encouraged. But, there's much to do, like buying a tent and sign for the shows, making a lot more jewelry, and deciding on items for the ICE swag bags. Yes, that's right, the first 500 shoppers receive swag bags filled with items/coupons/deals from the vendors.

And of course, regularly updating this blog is also on my eternal to-do list. I've made a decision to not apologize when I haven't posted in a while. I see other bloggers do it all the time. I don't want to turn this into a chore, though. When I have something to say (or more importantly, the time to say it), I'll write. I anticipate having both now that classes are out of the way, but I make no promises.

And while I'm on the subject, I just wanted to "speak" (a.k.a write) about my purpose in creating a blog. This is all for me. It's not some desperate attempt to be the center of (your) attention. It's a selfish move. I'm using this as a forum to promote my biz, and then I'm not. Occasionally, I'll write about other things like having MS or things that piss me off. Again, you can consider those posts to be selfish because they are my attempts to bring your attention to things that I'm thinking about. Thought you didn't know someone with MS? Don't really know what it is? Well, at least I got you thinking about it. Curiousity and interest are what lead to researchers finding a cure and funds being appropriated to the cause. Research and money lead to a cure; your sympathy does not (although support and consideration go a long way and are appreciated).

So, I'm off to take and upload more pics to the etsy shop. Here's a start:

Kinda Disgusted

"'There are no winners in a trial like this,'" [NY Mayor Michael] Bloomberg said in a statement. "'An innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son. No verdict could ever end the grief of those who knew and loved Sean Bell.'"

All I'm saying is: fifty shots by plainclothes officers at a fleeing vehicle...a vehicle, which, once the dust cleared, was determined to not have a weapon in it...I can't even form complete sentence, that's how disgusted I am.

Okay, maybe that's not all I'm saying. I guess my real disgust comes from the fact that after hearing about their acquittal (click on clip entitled, "Detectives in Sean Bell Case React to Verdict"), amidst thanking God and their family and friends for their support, only one of the three defendants/officers addressed the Bell family. Marc Cooper said, "I'd like to say sorry to the Bell family for the tragedy." That's it. That's all. I agree with Bloomberg and applaud his statement (found at the same address, clip entitled, "Mayor Bloomberg Reacts to Sean Bell Verdict"). There are no winners and words will not bring Sean Bell back. At the same time, for these officers to thank their lucky stars that they were acquitted and to not acknowledge that they fired upon and (reloaded and) fired upon and murdered an innocent man is disgusting. I'm done.

15 Facts About Me

I was checking out blogs today, and got the idea of this blog from littlelotusdesign's blog. I sound like such a thief lately, but hey I give credit (and links to pages) where due. Blame it on my being a blog newbie...or blame it on the creativity of the bloggers I mention. Anyhow...

1. I look like this.



















2. I'm from Atlanta and miss it dearly.


3. I was born on my mom's birthday. Which is next month, by the way. May 24th, to be exact.


4. I'm really thrifty with money. Okay, okay. I'm cheap.


5. I've been to 45 states (all except N. Dakota, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, & Idaho)


6. My favorite magazines are Real Simple and Vibe.


7. My dog, Angus, turned 15 this year. He may not be able to see or hear anymore, but that's my baby.




8. I like TV. Don't judge me.


9. I read magazines from the back cover to the front.


10. Loud people make me uncomfortable.


11. I am a woman, not a girl. Refer to me as such, please.


12. Among my least favorite words are "awesome" and "ghetto."


13. I don't eat meat. (Yes, that includes fish. Yes, that includes chicken. Yes, someone has actually asked me that.)


14. I watch some part of "The Today Show" everyday.


15. During college, I was a radio DJ ("on-air personality"). My DJ name? Cocoacure.


Okay, maybe I was thinking too hard, but that was more difficult than I thought it'd be. You try it!

So much to say, so little time

Man, I can't wait until the semester calms down so I can give this blog the TLC I want! Some day soon, so check back in a few.