April 9th

So, wow. Let me recap.

I haven't been posting all that often, because like I said my boss got after me for blogging on company time, so I have to bring a personal computer. Plus we just had spring break.

Speaking of spring break! Just before it started, the Friday morning of my last shift, I decided to do some workout videos. I went with So You Think You Can Dance, and was finally on the last dance workout - the DISCO one with Courtney - when I got to the highest speed of the dance she taught us and twisted my ankle. Now, this was no normal ankle-twisting. On my three-point turn right after my disco finger, I twisted the ankle and WRENCHED my lower back. It was so painful I had to crawl to the couch just to deal with the shock. It felt as if I had ripped a muscle from my sacrum or something of that nature. I CRAWLED to my phone where it was charging in the kitchen and called Atlantean. He didn't answer. I called him three times. I called my mom who was in Rome for medical advice. She didn't answer. Atlantean called me back and I told him I was injured. I had also texted him. I called my work to tell them I wouldn't be coming in today and started bawling and probably freaked out my coworker a little too much. Atlantean made a half an hour drive into an eighteen minute drive and showed up to comfort me as I stayed as still as possible lying on the couch. Also, half of my palms had gone tingly numb right after the injury. For the next few days I could not bend over without some serious pain. I walked with a stick for the first couple. We used a heat pad and ice packs and Atlantean adjusted me when necessary. But thank heavens it was over Spring Break or I would've lost a lot of hours at work and off my life if I had tried to sit up for that long.

So with a busted back, I had a pretty cool Spring Break! I'll tell you about a couple days in particular.

I just kind of want to mention this, but Monday, I met Dryad at the Viridian Center to go watch The Breadwinner and Atlantean was supposed to meet me there afterward. I like library activities and if they intrigue me, I try to make them a priority. We actually had a car at the time that was borrowed from my parents since they were in Rome and told us we could use it. We walked into the Viridian Center and the huge kind of room that I had seen furry cosplays happen in. Inside was a theater, with a popcorn booth, stadium seating and a large projector screen. There were like eight people tops. I felt kind of bad for whatever organization was putting it on, but I was gonna take advantage of it! The Breadwinner was beautiful!! It was all about Islamic society basically, with cool animation and a pretty good plot! I wouldn't mind owning it or a bunch of cultural DVDs to help my kids see certain things in that light. Afterward we went to a sushi/ramen place that Dryad had a voucher for so we got our meal at a pretty good price.

On Friday I went to see the doctor with my mom because yay she was back! We took care of the kittens and the house while they were gone. And we went to a clinic that we had had booked for basically months. We finally got into see her, and we found out that I very likely have PCOS or Poly Cistic Ovarian Syndrome since I have not had a period unless it is pushed forward by hormones. She said I was more likely to get pregnant while on birth control than off because the estrogen was pushing forward my cycle. I kind of figured as much, after months and months up at college of no periods. I wasn't complaining - but I knew it wasn't just stress like my mom kept pushing it off as. Marcey, our coolio doctor who was actually very helpful, explained the whole hormonal process about what happens normally versus what happens with me. But basically, the estrogen that comes off of eggs sacs that are being formed bind with insulin and that changes their format, making them harder to pop off and go into the uterus. I guess I have a surplus of insulin? She also found a polyp in my nose and when she did the reflex thing with the rubber hammer and the kneecaps, she found that my right leg (the one I twisted and wrenched my back with) had no reflex in it. She said that that was more concerning than PCOS. She recommended me a good pediatrist, someone who works with only tendons and ligaments and told me I should get that checked out. So now Atlantean and I have to think about what we want to put money towards. Atlantean also got a doctor's checkup the same day. He's been talking about how he wants to go to the doctor to get his trigger finger checked out (it locks up) but I keep telling him it just needs anti-inflammatory and exercise, which is exactly what the doctor told him too.

Also, we are getting a pretty big tax refund, so woohoo! We wanted to put it towards buying Atlantean a forge since he has expressed such an interest in making beautiful things made of metal and stone. It's like he's manly natural lol.

That Friday night I delivered a GREAT D&D campaign, which I thought went smashingly considering I had a little outline at the beginning and I just made it work. I really do love these things. I love being a DM. I not only get to tell stories, but I get to improv and interact with people and make them laugh. Atlantean couldn't stop raving about how he loved my style. How he felt like the characters were dynamic enough that he didn't feel like he had to follow a set storyline, that he was free to interact with whatever and whoever he'd like and he could use his spells that otherwise he wouldn't have been able to use. We talked about it for at least half an hour before bed. I'm so glad I can make him happy :)
I'm also looking into an improv group. But more on that later I guess.

Saturday was kind of weird. I woke up to go to our first Self-Reliance class in a while. Our teacher kind of got on Atlantean's case about wanting a forge, saying he had to remember to be a good neighbor. All the while I was being hassled by a neighbor I like over text who wanted to dump a guinea pig on me. Then I got picked up immediately afterward by my mom so we could drive out to Provo to go to a baby shower, which wasn't inherently bad. I'm really happy for the cousin who's going to have the baby, but it's a certain aunt that I've always really liked, but this time I was trying to get to know her, and she started getting really anxious for everyone to hurry up and I didn't know how to pick a winning side between everyone's time table and not upsetting anyone. So I was simultaneously kind of losing it with two people that I really liked. An aunt I wanted to want to socialize with me and a neighbor I did not want to have to give up a guinea pig on me. I wasn't in a great mood. Though I do have to say, the pregnant cousin was so radiant. She is such a happy person and it was honestly just cool flipping through all the gifts and being so positive and excited. I hope I'm like that when I'm pregnant. It made me about 14% baby hungry. I'm mostly just excited to announce the theme of the nursery will be naval.

Then afterward, we headed back to my family's house to set up an escape room for the twin's birthday. Yes, you heard me right, we SET UP an escape room. Yeah. I WROTE an escape room. There were two trails of co-existing clues. There was a bunch of anagrammed clues in the book of mormons, which led to a grid in the bathroom, which made a pixelated picture of a top hat which led to a picture in the room with a top hat. That led to the pantry where they had to find a ball that was hidden in a can. That was one clue trail. The other was some piano notes that spelled out a plaque, which on the back of was permission to enter the storage room, in which there was a clue which corresponded the alphabet with numbers. That led to a children's book which led to the Cabin Room (my old room) which had a trivia board in which if you got the answers correctly, it spelled out "Trunk of Journals" in which there was a ball. Amidst all of this, the contestants were looking for balls with hooks and pictures of the twins wrapped around them. Once they found and hung up all six on the yarn in the middle of the room, I would pull the sock from off of the doorknob and they were allowed out.
There were two teams that went in and tried to figure it out. Mermaid's team and Wolfman's team. Mermaid's team were the socials. They were great at bouncing ideas off each other, but they relied on the clues, which meant I had to literally tell them through the camera (yes, we had a visual and audio camera, it was awesome. I literally just sat on the bed and watched for an hour. It was cool.) that there were balls just hidden around the room. They made it out in 46 minutes and were thoroughly impressed.
Wolfman's team was composed of physicals. Men who went and did. Atlantean, Vampire and Gnome were on Wolfman's team, along with another one of his school friends. They had five balls within fifteen minutes. FIFTEEN MINUTES. It was incredible! They were slaying! But then they flatlined when they got stuck on a clue that I claimed was pointless, and they believed me. It took them nearly fifteen more minutes with a lot of hints from me to figure out to check all of the book of mormons, which honestly, Atlantean did. By the time they finally found all eight, they had to go to create the grid, and just like the team before them, they had trouble being able to tell what it was. But they finally got to the pantry, and had about five minutes before their time would be lower than the first team. It was almost kinda sad. All they had to do was find that one can with the last ball and they would've gotten out! But unfortunately they just got a little stuck.
And THEN the consensus was that we stick my dad in it. So he gave it a shot. He didn't have anyone to bounce ideas off of, and I'm sure he felt a little self-conscious about being watched. He did pretty well considering. He was basically the only one to get the book of mormon thing straight off the bat. He had a hard time since he had less eyes and fingers going through things, but mom and I came down to help him in the end and it was kinda fun. I got to see them do trivia together about their own children that I wrote. :)
My dad even said to a family friend the next day, "If you want an escape room, hire out Nymph."
So I guess he wasn't that mad at me for stumping  him. He said it was good because it frustrated him.

That night was actually pretty cool. Atlantean and I were just wrestling and tickling each other and we just started kind of disregarding the time and stayed up till midnight talking about mangas and anime and good story arcs and character development, et cetera. It was kinda cool. It was like we were just friends hanging out at a sleepover.

And then yesterday morning (Sunday), I woke up and was feeling stuffy and sick so I sent Atlantean to church without me, which I felt bad about since we had promised the nursery leader to cover for her, but Atlantean's sister reached out and told Atlantean she and her husband would take care of all of it. I have yet to make them a yummy treat to thank them. In fact, this morning, we found cake from them! And then they gave us cough drops when I asked and then went the extra mile to find my spray for my throat. They have really been so helpful lately.... I wanna do something for them or something...

And this morning I started the fifth season of Simpsons. I thought I would be able to not get as hooked this time, but I still find I appreciate every single one of their episodes.

Other than that, I have one big project/announcement. I am really trying to get this play off the ground! Wanna hear what I've done so far??
I have been working really hard on writing down the music that Spriggan agreed to record for me! I literally videotaped his hands and have been practicing the timing. I have had a couple people tell me that it would be easier to just buy software that does it for you, but now I know the tunes a lot better, had control over some parts of the melody, and then change it up accordingly. Plus I learned a lot about writing music. I like that I worked so hard and now I only have one and a half songs out of six to go! Hard work pays off!
I purchased a long blonde wig for Rapunzel!
I called a young girl I used to work with in my other plays as an actress, and asked if she would want to help co-direct! She seemed pretty happy.
I also asked my friend Brownie if she would be interested in helping out this summer. She's intrigued, but a little scared.
I have plans to next commission a red caplet at Mad House Costumes
I am finally going to be the one who sends out the email! I have to get better at public communications!

I'm excited!!
~Nymph