Everyone gets writer's block every so often. But in my case, I get a good dose of it every two months, almost like clockwork. (No snarky comments about how I must have had it for almost a month due to my lack of updates here...)
You see, I am the chairperson of a car club that produces a bi-monthly newsletter. And being that the editor of said newsletter is my dear old Dad, I can hardly slack on my chairpersonly duties, so I must always produce a chairperson's message.
You would think this would be easy. I have almost complete creative freedom. I have almost no limits when it comes to space (although sometimes, if Dad's lacking contributions, he'll ask me to beef it up).
However, it's not easy. The lack of constrictions means lack of guidelines, which often makes it hard to narrow down a purpose to my writing. The two easiest issues are the one just before our National Meet (promote, promote, promote) and the National Meet issue itself (recap, thank everyone who helped, preview next year). Anything in between... not so much.
Part of the problem is that I've been chair for so long, I seriously can't remember when my term started. Hey, no one else seems to want the job. Like most other clubs, we have a hard time getting volunteers for the board of directors and other jobs. My dad, the aforementioned editor, is also treasurer and handles membership and the company store. And he's pretty much the person everyone goes to for everything. (I like to say he really runs the club; I'm just the pretty face.) So with that said, it means I feel like I've said everything 50 million times. Remind people to renew memberships. Ask people to recruit new members. Beg for volunteers. Beg for input ("this is YOUR club...").
Which leads me to the other problem: I get next to no feedback. Even when I write a message specifically designed to solicit feedback, I get nothing. In the midst of unpacking our new house, I stumbled across an old issue of the newsletter from 20 years ago (no, I haven't been chair THAT long...), in which the chair asked the membership some thoughtful questions about the direction the club should take, whether we should try to grow in a more truly national direction, and whether or not we should move our National Meets around more. These questions are all very relevant to our club today, so I put them forth in my chairperson's message. I got... one response. And no disrespect to the person who responded, but he was a fellow board member and I already knew how he felt because this had all been a topic of discussion in several board meetings.
*sigh*
I've tried the "ripped from the headlines" approach - I once wrote one inspired by a car magazine I read while sitting at the dealership during an oil change. I've tried commentary on the news from the car world. I've even tried the dream sequence once. I've tried serious, I've tried humorous.
So this time, I feel like I actually wrote something inspired. I encouraged members to use our social media outlets (which are way underused... we do have an "older" membership, but there are plenty of members who are on social media). And instead of just saying "hey, Tweet at us!" I actually GAVE IDEAS. I pitched social media as a way of being an active club and having that fun camaraderie we all find at National Meets in a virtual sense year-round. If people actually read and heed, well darn it, our social media could start to be really fun. And some of those fans/followers that aren't already members might just become members...
Cross your fingers.
Does anyone else have this problem? Do you have something you have to write on a regular basis and struggle with ways to keep it fresh? I'd love suggestions.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The doctor dance
I'm not going to be one of "those moms" who posts every little aspect of pregnancy on Facebook, I swear. But the past few days qualify as "adventure," so I think it's blog-worthy. :-) And writing it out is therapeutic.
Warning: This will delve a bit into health stuff, mainly pee, so if that makes you squicky, turn back now.
Tuesday, I had a regular four-week checkup with the "babydoc." Because I go to a practice, they have tried to schedule me with a different doc each time so I get a chance to meet all of them. I like this, because you never know who will end up in the hospital when BabyD makes his/her appearance. Also, so far I like every single one of them.
BabyD is doing well - nice strong heartbeat (We have the 20-week scan next week - and nope, not finding out the gender!). But Tuesday's doc was a bit concerned about BabyD's mom. Seems I'm developing a pattern of high blood pressure readings during my babydoc visits and he thought it might be chronic hypertension. I've not had a history of high blood pressure, but it does run in my family, so... hmm.
Babydoc wanted me to follow up with my familydoc and get blood work done. OK. I'm totally fine with this - anything to make sure BabyD is good to go.
However, in the meantime, I foolishly Googled "hypertension and pregnancy." Warning to any moms-to-be who have never Googled anything "... and pregnancy" - DO NOT DO THIS. It will scare the crap out of you. I ended up reading about pre-eclampsia and all that entails and getting freaked out for BabyD. 'Cause yeah, that's gonna help the blood pressure. :-)
Today I went to my familydoc and my blood pressure was... "perfect." *headdesk*
I love my familydoc too. He looked back through my appointments with him and with the babydoc, and all my BPs were fine with him but high with the babydoc. So is it "white-coat hypertension"? He said he's reluctant to put me on meds, which I appreciate, because he said they'd likely make me feel fatigued and crappy. I don't need that.
And now we get into the crazy part of the day....
OK, so familydoc wanted me to get a blood pressure monitor and track my BP for the next two weeks. Not wanting me to have to spend a lot of money, he wrote me a prescription in the hopes my insurance would cover it. (I greatly appreciate this consideration.) This would lead to The Great BP Monitor Hunt, but we'll get to that, because first...
... I went to the next room to get my bloodwork done. Except the nurse looked at the order and said, "We can't do that here." They can only do basics and the order required a few specialized tests. No biggie, I understand. They give me a list of labs that are connected to my insurance (again, appreciated) and one is two doors down. So I hoof it over there, only to find that I need to (WARNING, SQUICKY STUFF) do a 24-hour urine test along with it. Which means I have to collect my urine for an entire day, in a huge jug, that must be refrigerated. (Clinician: "Oh, it's cold enough out, you can keep it in a bucket outside." Best friend: "Just don't put it next to the apple juice!") Have I mentioned how much I HATE PEE TESTS???? I hate collecting my pee. This ain't easy for girls, people!!!
All right, enough of that. (This is the part my mother reads and says, "You really put that out there for people to read?" I feel it's a public service. :-) )
I head off to RiteAid to get the BP monitor. The very nice lady at the pharmacy tells me that she knows insurance won't cover it if I buy it there, but recommends a medical supply store in Scranton. Again, appreciated. I go home, look up this supply store, and call to ask if they have a BP monitor that might be covered by insurance. Nope.
*sigh* This leads to me going onto my insurance website, looking up "medical supplies," and calling about five places on the list and getting really sick of asking, "do you carry home BP monitors?" Finally, I find one. She's not sure insurance will cover it, but come on in and they'll see what they can do. Of course, by this time it's mid-afternoon and did I mention I have freelance work due tomorrow?
The long and short of it is, I'm going to go up to Eynon to get this BP monitor tomorrow before I head back to the 'grove for a dinner date with Dad, who's there for GBP presentations (I know, it's Susquehanna-speak), and ZTA officer training the next day. And Sunday, I get to collect pee. Yay.
By the way, I adore BabyD. Me and my blood pressure, not so much.
Warning: This will delve a bit into health stuff, mainly pee, so if that makes you squicky, turn back now.
Tuesday, I had a regular four-week checkup with the "babydoc." Because I go to a practice, they have tried to schedule me with a different doc each time so I get a chance to meet all of them. I like this, because you never know who will end up in the hospital when BabyD makes his/her appearance. Also, so far I like every single one of them.
BabyD is doing well - nice strong heartbeat (We have the 20-week scan next week - and nope, not finding out the gender!). But Tuesday's doc was a bit concerned about BabyD's mom. Seems I'm developing a pattern of high blood pressure readings during my babydoc visits and he thought it might be chronic hypertension. I've not had a history of high blood pressure, but it does run in my family, so... hmm.
Babydoc wanted me to follow up with my familydoc and get blood work done. OK. I'm totally fine with this - anything to make sure BabyD is good to go.
However, in the meantime, I foolishly Googled "hypertension and pregnancy." Warning to any moms-to-be who have never Googled anything "... and pregnancy" - DO NOT DO THIS. It will scare the crap out of you. I ended up reading about pre-eclampsia and all that entails and getting freaked out for BabyD. 'Cause yeah, that's gonna help the blood pressure. :-)
Today I went to my familydoc and my blood pressure was... "perfect." *headdesk*
I love my familydoc too. He looked back through my appointments with him and with the babydoc, and all my BPs were fine with him but high with the babydoc. So is it "white-coat hypertension"? He said he's reluctant to put me on meds, which I appreciate, because he said they'd likely make me feel fatigued and crappy. I don't need that.
And now we get into the crazy part of the day....
OK, so familydoc wanted me to get a blood pressure monitor and track my BP for the next two weeks. Not wanting me to have to spend a lot of money, he wrote me a prescription in the hopes my insurance would cover it. (I greatly appreciate this consideration.) This would lead to The Great BP Monitor Hunt, but we'll get to that, because first...
... I went to the next room to get my bloodwork done. Except the nurse looked at the order and said, "We can't do that here." They can only do basics and the order required a few specialized tests. No biggie, I understand. They give me a list of labs that are connected to my insurance (again, appreciated) and one is two doors down. So I hoof it over there, only to find that I need to (WARNING, SQUICKY STUFF) do a 24-hour urine test along with it. Which means I have to collect my urine for an entire day, in a huge jug, that must be refrigerated. (Clinician: "Oh, it's cold enough out, you can keep it in a bucket outside." Best friend: "Just don't put it next to the apple juice!") Have I mentioned how much I HATE PEE TESTS???? I hate collecting my pee. This ain't easy for girls, people!!!
All right, enough of that. (This is the part my mother reads and says, "You really put that out there for people to read?" I feel it's a public service. :-) )
I head off to RiteAid to get the BP monitor. The very nice lady at the pharmacy tells me that she knows insurance won't cover it if I buy it there, but recommends a medical supply store in Scranton. Again, appreciated. I go home, look up this supply store, and call to ask if they have a BP monitor that might be covered by insurance. Nope.
*sigh* This leads to me going onto my insurance website, looking up "medical supplies," and calling about five places on the list and getting really sick of asking, "do you carry home BP monitors?" Finally, I find one. She's not sure insurance will cover it, but come on in and they'll see what they can do. Of course, by this time it's mid-afternoon and did I mention I have freelance work due tomorrow?
The long and short of it is, I'm going to go up to Eynon to get this BP monitor tomorrow before I head back to the 'grove for a dinner date with Dad, who's there for GBP presentations (I know, it's Susquehanna-speak), and ZTA officer training the next day. And Sunday, I get to collect pee. Yay.
By the way, I adore BabyD. Me and my blood pressure, not so much.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Spreading Christmas cheer - the rest of the story
When I write articles, I usually end up having notes and quotes that don't fit. Last week, I wrote one on Central Pa. businesses that people can hire to do their holiday decorating. One of these companies, Christmas Decor by Utopian Landscapes, gives two grants each year to decorate homes for free. Unfortunately, I couldn't fit that into my article, and I felt bad, because the owner said they were looking for nominations for this year's grants. So, I'm going to write about it here, in the hopes that Central Pa. friends will share it. :-)
Utopian Landscapes' two grants are the Donald Phelps Christmas Grant and Decorated Family Grant. The Donald Phelps Grant, named for owner Nikos Phelps’ late grandfather, goes to an individual or family experiencing personal or financial hardships. The Decorated Family Grant is given to a military family missing a loved one during the holidays through deployment or loss.
“There’s some great people out there. These are people who try to help everyone else and help themselves last,” Phelps said. “It’s someone else trying to tell this person, you can relax now, someone else will take care of you."
Phelps told me some stories about families they'd decorated in recent years, and it got to me.
The military family is usually one who is missing a member overseas. For one, Phelps made arrangements with the deployed husband to Skype with his family on a certain day, and while he was online with them, the company showed up at the door to do the decorating. The kids had a great time helping put up lights and pick out colors.
One year, they decorated for a Gold Star mother (one who has lost her son or daughter in combat). "We wanted to let her know her sacrifice isn't forgotten and make her holidays brighter," Phelps said.
The needy families decorated through the Donald Phelps Grant have gone through a range of hardships. One had a terminally ill daughter, another had lost their house to fire.
Last year's recipients had gone through a myriad of struggles, Phelps told me. They were a mother and daughter; the daughter had been attacked by a dog, and the mother jumped onto the daughter to ward off the attack. The daughter didn't have health insurance, so her hospital bills added up. The mother ended up with a spinal infection, and she also has MS.
"She didn’t blame anyone for the attack," Phelps said. "We decorated her home and she had a party, invited her friends to see the unveiling. She doesn’t blame the dog, and she was just trying to raise money to pay the bills. We told another client and they donated money anonymously. She took half of it and donated it to charity to try to help someone else. That was one of the more gut-wrenching ones I think we’ve had."
Unfortunately, Phelps said it's a struggle every year to find nominations.
"It’s something our guys look forward to. We owe it to the community to do that.
Utopian Landscapes' two grants are the Donald Phelps Christmas Grant and Decorated Family Grant. The Donald Phelps Grant, named for owner Nikos Phelps’ late grandfather, goes to an individual or family experiencing personal or financial hardships. The Decorated Family Grant is given to a military family missing a loved one during the holidays through deployment or loss.
“There’s some great people out there. These are people who try to help everyone else and help themselves last,” Phelps said. “It’s someone else trying to tell this person, you can relax now, someone else will take care of you."
Phelps told me some stories about families they'd decorated in recent years, and it got to me.
The military family is usually one who is missing a member overseas. For one, Phelps made arrangements with the deployed husband to Skype with his family on a certain day, and while he was online with them, the company showed up at the door to do the decorating. The kids had a great time helping put up lights and pick out colors.
One year, they decorated for a Gold Star mother (one who has lost her son or daughter in combat). "We wanted to let her know her sacrifice isn't forgotten and make her holidays brighter," Phelps said.
The needy families decorated through the Donald Phelps Grant have gone through a range of hardships. One had a terminally ill daughter, another had lost their house to fire.
Last year's recipients had gone through a myriad of struggles, Phelps told me. They were a mother and daughter; the daughter had been attacked by a dog, and the mother jumped onto the daughter to ward off the attack. The daughter didn't have health insurance, so her hospital bills added up. The mother ended up with a spinal infection, and she also has MS.
"She didn’t blame anyone for the attack," Phelps said. "We decorated her home and she had a party, invited her friends to see the unveiling. She doesn’t blame the dog, and she was just trying to raise money to pay the bills. We told another client and they donated money anonymously. She took half of it and donated it to charity to try to help someone else. That was one of the more gut-wrenching ones I think we’ve had."
Unfortunately, Phelps said it's a struggle every year to find nominations.
"It’s something our guys look forward to. We owe it to the community to do that.
We’re blessed
to have a service that really has the opportunity to brighten up someone’s
holiday season."
They're still seeking nominations for
this year’s grants. More information and a nomination form are available at www.utopianlandscapesllc.com. So please, spread the word - or nominate someone yourself!Saturday, November 24, 2012
The obligatory intro
Greetings to all who stumble across this humble patch o' web. My husband and I moved to NEPA in July 2012, and shortly thereafter discovered there was a wee one on the way!
We like to go out for random drives and explore, which we've always referred to as our "adventures." Adapting to a new area, organizing a new house, being pregnant, etc. are certainly all adventures! I actually had the idea to start this blog a few months ago, but am finally getting around to it, so I may write up some retro adventures as well. (I could write a book on the adventure that is finding a house.)
I am a southcentral PA native who has lived most of her life (with a four-year exile we won't talk about) in central PA. My husband is a Baltimore native (lovingly, a Baltimoron) who has spent several years in central PA as well. NEPA is not far from our previous home, but it is a world with its own flavor that we're enjoying getting to know.
We like to go out for random drives and explore, which we've always referred to as our "adventures." Adapting to a new area, organizing a new house, being pregnant, etc. are certainly all adventures! I actually had the idea to start this blog a few months ago, but am finally getting around to it, so I may write up some retro adventures as well. (I could write a book on the adventure that is finding a house.)
I am a southcentral PA native who has lived most of her life (with a four-year exile we won't talk about) in central PA. My husband is a Baltimore native (lovingly, a Baltimoron) who has spent several years in central PA as well. NEPA is not far from our previous home, but it is a world with its own flavor that we're enjoying getting to know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)