JENNY’S NEWS

REMEMBER MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE RECENTLY CRASHED? NOTHING COULD BE RECOVERED…MUCH OF WHAT I LOST WAS HOURS DEVOTED 2 ORGANIZING, FREEBIES 4 SCRAPBOOKING, & THINGS I SCANNED (PICTURES & SCRAPBOOK SUPPLIES). BUT THANKFULLY, I HAVE THE MAJORITY OF WHAT I FEEL IS IMPORTANT: PICTURES & SCRAPBOOK PGS. THAT I’VE MADE, THANKS 2 MY “HEAVENLY BACK-UP”! I SHOULD HAVE HAD MOST EVERYTHING…IF MY COMP. HAD COOPERATED & COPIED COMPLETELY WHEN I’D TRIED 2 COPY, DUE 2 A NAGGING FEELING 2 COPY, JUST 2 DAYS B4 IT CRASHED!

BUT 1ST, I WANT 2 SWITCH COMPUTERS B4 I ADD MUCH MORE, OR RE-DO STUFF, BECAUSE THIS COMP. IS WAY 2 FULL & SLOW & IS DYING! SO, I MAY BE “OUT OF COMMISSION” 4 A BIT, & CRAZY BUSY…UNFORTUNATELY, NO1 CAN DO MUCH 2 HELP…I NEED 2 JUST HAVE LOTS OF TIME, ONCE I SWITCH.

BUT LET ME SHARE AN EXCITING UPDATE B4 LEAVING A BIT!:

BACK AROUND JULY, I STARTED PLAYING THE RECORDER IN MUSIC THERAPY. I HAD A GOAL 2 BLOW OUT A CANDLE BY MY B-DAY. I’D TOLD ONLY MY THERAPIST AT 1ST, SO IF I FAILED, IT WAS OK. I HAD 4GOTTEN THAT I LATER SHARED MY GOAL W/MK, SO I FELT ACCOUNTABILITY, BUT WAS STILL “SAFE” IF I FAILED.

I’VE BEEN SAYING MORE (I ACTUUALLY SAID “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” 2 JESS IN FEB.—IT JUST “POPPED OUT” & SURPRISED EVEN ME, SO IT WAS CLEARER THAN WHEN I TRIED 2 SAY IT 2 FIA IN MARCH) & SINGING BETTER IN THERAPY, BOTH OF WHICH HAD 2 BE COORELATED 2 BREATHING BETTER. IN ADDITION, A FEW DAYS AGO, I WAS PRACTICING RECORDER, & SOUNDED STRONGER THAN NORMAL (THOUGH IT GETS WORSE IF OTHERS R THERE), SO I CHECKED, & I COULD FEEL MY BREATH! I DECIDED IT WAS TIME 2 TRY A CANDLE!

SUN., WE HAD CAKE W/FAM. I WAITED 4 MOST THE FAM. 2 CLEAR OUT (AS I KNEW MY ABILITY 2 PUCKER WORSENS W/MORE PEOPLE AROUND), & SINCE CANDLES WERE THERE, I TRIED. AFTER 15-30 MIN., & MUCH FLICKERING OF THE FLAME, W/IT HELD CLOSE, I DID IT! THE HARDEST PART IS CONTROLLING MY PBA—I WANT 2 LAUGH & SMILE—WHICH MAKES IT VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE 2 PUCKER & CHANNEL MY BREATH!

SAT., I PLAYED BINGO, W/MY 7-YR. OLD, & SAID “YES” OR “NO” IF I HAD IT.

NOT LONG AGO, JESS WENT INTO R PANTRY, LOOKING 4 SUPPLIES 2 FEED ME. JESS SAID, “OH, SYRUP!” & W/O HESITATION, I SLURRED OUT, “WHERE R U?”

IF I DON’T TRY, I THINK IT, & IT JUST POPS OUT, W/A SLURRED VERSION, & MISSING MANY CONSONANTS (LIKE “W”), YET CLEAR. MY WORDS ARE UNDERSTANDABLE, BUT NOT GREAT. CONTEXT CLUES DEFINITELY HELP!

WHENEVER I DO THAT, I’M TOLD 2 REPEAT IT-THE KIDS COMMENT HOW THEY MISS MY VOICE, & LIKE 2 HEAR IT -THEY ABSOLUTELY LOVE 2 HEAR WORDS, THOUGH ABSOLUTELY HATE MY ATTEMPT 2 MAKE ANY NOISE (MY “GRUNTING NOISE” 2 GET ATTENTION: “AAAAAH!”). DOING THAT (“AAAAAH!”), I ANNOY. UNFORTUNATELY, NEW ATTEMPTS AT WORDS CAN SOUND ANNOYING…SO I’M “SHY” & HAVE “STAGE FRIGHT”. PLUS, I HATE IT ALL-IT SOUNDS NOTHING LIKE ME, BUT THERE’S ALSO A SENSE OF SATISFACTION BY SAYING THINGS, EVEN IF IT’S JUST ALERTING OTHERS THAT I WANT 2 SIGN SOMETHING! I ALL 2 CLEARLY RECALL NOT BEING ABLE 2 DO THAT, & FEELING TERRIBLY JEALOUS OF THOSE WHO WERE HEARING IMPAIRED, & COULD DO IT!

ANYWAY, I TRY 2 REPEAT IT, & IT’S 10x HARDER, & LESS CLEAR. LESS COSONANTS COME OUT, I THINK. BUT, IF IT CAN “POP OUT,” IT’S THERE SOMEWHERE!

RT. NOW, I SHOULDD BE AT MY DAUGHTER, JESSIE’S, GAME…BUT I CAN’T.I AM SO GLAD, THOUGH, THAT SHE’S DISAPPOINTED IF I’M NOT THERE! PLUS, SHE’S DOING WELL–SHE’S HIT 5 HOMERUNS, & MADE THE ALL-STAR TEAM!

HOPE U HAD A GOOD MOTHER’S DAY…MINE WAS HILARIOUS! MK & THE KIDS PUT 2GETHER a spoof on “the 12 day’s of christmas” as “the 12 years of mother’s days”. it was awesome!

DIDN’T EVEN REALIZE THIS WAS MY 12TH MOTHER’S DAY, BUT W/MY LOVE OF MUSIC, THIS WAS GREAT! (I HAVE NO IDEA HOW 2 COMPETE 4 FATHER’S DAY!) LOL

& I’VE MENTIONED STUFF DONE WRONG-LIKE HAVING NO PARKING SPACE 4 ME, BUT LET ME SHARE SOMETHING DONE RT.!: LAST NIGHT, MY DAUGHTE HAD A SCHOOL PERFORMANCE. USUALLY, WE ARRIVE AT LEAST A ½ HR. IN AVANCE, JUST 2 GET A SEAT 4 ME…IT WAS FILLING UP ALREY AT THE FRONT, BUT TURNS OUT THEY’D MADE A SPOT FRONT, CENTER, 4 ME, & EVEN SAVED 2 CHAIRS BY ME!

I’VE HAD A TOUGH WEEK. I ONLY SHARED A PART, BUT I definitely DESERVED AN UPBEAT DAY! FRI. WAS THAT DAY.

THINGS ARE BEING TAKEN CARE OF WITH MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE NOW. & DAYS B4 IT WENT HAYWIRE, I WAS PROMPTED 2 SEND OUT SEVERAL EMAILS THAT BENIFITTED ME 2. & THE DAY IT WENT HAYWIRE, I IMMEDIATELY FOUND, & SAVED THOSE EMAILS.

4 EX., MY MOM WAS PREPARING A TALK/SPEECH, & ASKED ME 4 HELP/ADVICE. I SENT SOME, BUT HAD SEVERAL “AFTERTHOUGHTS.” NOT SURE IF THEY HELPED HER, BUT THEY HELPED ME!

I’D TRIED (& FAILED RT. AWAY) 2 UPDATE THE FOLDER THAT CONTAINED THE FILES I SENT HER…LIKE 1 IS A COLLECTION OF MY FAV. QUOTES. SO, THE WHOLE FOLDER IS ABOUT 6 MO. OLD & MY FAV. QUOTES R NOT THERE.

WHEN I LOST MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE, I WAS SAD THEY WERE GONE…BUT SINCE I’D JUST SENT IT 2 MY MOM, I LOCATED MY EMAIL I’D SENT, & DOWNLOADED THE FILE. IN ADDITION 2 ALL MY FAV. QUOTES, I ENDED UP RETREIEVING 4 OUT OF 5 THINGS I’D JUST SHARED IN ORDER 2 “HELP HER.”

I ALSO HAVE A “JENNY-ESE” ASL CHART (WITH MY HAND, SHOWING “MY” WAY) THAT I HAD JUST FINISHED, BUT OPTED 2 NOT POST IT. IT’D TAKEN HOURS 2 MAKE—I COULDN’T QUICKLY “RE-MAKE” IT…BUT I’D MADE IT W/IN THE WEEK, & WAS IMPRESSED 2 HURRY & E-MAIL IT OUT, SO THE SCRAP. PG. WAS IN OLD EMAILS! I’VE LOST THE HUGE .PNG FILE (WHERE, IF I NEED 2, I CAN MAKE CHANGES), BUT THE .JPEG FILE WAS THERE! I LIKE THINKING I HAD SOME “HEAVENLY BACK-UP”!

BUT IT DIDN’T STOP THERE! I FELT I SHOULD LOOK INTO AN ONLINE BACK-UP SERVICE…W/VERY LITTLE RESEARCH—I ALMOST SEEMED LED THERE, I “HAPPENED UPON” A BACK-UP CO., CALLED “CARBONITE.” IT SEEMS 2 GOOD 2 BE TRUE, & CONSIDERING RECOVERY COSTS, WELL WORTH IT! IT CONTINUALLY—DAILY, IN MY CASE, BACKS-UP ANYTHING I REMOTELY CHANGE OR SAVE–& I DO NOTHING! & WHEN I SWITCH COMPUTERS, SUPPOSEDLY I CAN GET IT ALL ON MY NEW COMPUTER, BY ELECTING 2 RESTORE MY DATA!

BUT WAIT—THERE’S MORE! FOR 5 YEARS, I’VE SADLY FOUND NO PHOTOS OF FIA’S 2ND B-DAY. IT WAS 2 WEEKS PRIOR 2 MY STROKE. IT WAS THE LAST CAKE I’D MADE (I ALWAYS MADE FANCY CAKES, LIKE MK’S, BUT I THINK MK’S SURPASSED ME—A HIDDEN TALENT HE ONLY DISCOVERED BY TRYING 2 UPHOLD MY TRADITION).

ANYWAY, I KNEW I’D PRINTED THE PICS, BUT THEY’D MOVED. I HAD THE DIGITAL FILES ON MY LAPTOP, BUT MY LAPTOP HAD DISSAPPEARED B4 I RETURNED 2 THE COMP.! THEN FRI., CARA FOUND PICS I’D LOST OF BOTH GIRLS’ B-DAYS IN FEB. & MARCH OF 2004 (I WASN’T EVEN AWARE YET THAT JESS’ 4TH B-DAY WAS MISSING IN PICS, SINCE I HAD MEMORIBILLA)!

& I’VE BEEN SAD 2 MISS JESS’ LAST 2 SOFTBALL GAMES, 1 DUE 2 CAR TROUBLE, & ANOTHER DUE 2 MUD–FIGURES THAT BETWEEN THE LAST 2 SOFTBALL GAMES, I’D MISS HER HITTING 3 HOMERUNS! BUT AS THE DAY CAME 2 A CLOSE, I WENT 2 A GAME WHERE SHE GOT 1 MORE HOMERUN…SO, I FINALLY GOT 2 C 1!