Your website looks great, Janna.
I especially like your autism materials.
How did you become interested in autism?

Aaaaand…. you went for a walk! So did I! :-)

I did a research paper on autism in grade 12 and subsequently read everything I could find (which wasn’t much, in the mid-90’s). One of the scary-good things about ADHD is that we hyperfocus on things that catch our interest and become experts on those topics. I burned out but am still in touch with a lot of the folks I met when I was working with kids on the spectrum.

Right now my hyperfocus is definitely the guinea pigs. Which is fun, because cute little fuzzy mans are so sweet and funny! :D

It was windy outside but so nice to get out there again. I went slow and while I stayed out for a half-hour on purpose, I didn’t force myself to walk as fast as I normally would. Not only am I re-starting training, I’m re-starting exercise, post-surgery!

Welcome back to exercise! Too bad those cavies have such tiny, tiny legs. But, hey, you could always carry a couple of them, one in each arm, for the extra burn, eh?

Fascinating about the Grade 12 paper—especially since Laurence talked about a 16-year-old (her) essay and how of drove her parenting style. Amazing how those interests stay with us and focus or guide us.

Yeah, I definitely can’t do cardio with the boys! Maybe I can teach them piggy calisthenics, though. They can do push-ups (of the type where they lift their whole bodies off the floor and stand on their back legs) and throw balls around and stuff. Some piggies play basketball, after all! ;D

With how variable my attention span can be, I’ve learned to take note of things that re-surface in my life. That recurring interest indicates that something definitely has a hold on me and could be related to my Purpose (vocation). Not sure how guinea pigs, Celtic knotwork, writing, and autism will end up coming together, but they don’t have to be part of the same thing. :)

Janna, is it OK with you if I print one of your autism things – the "What You Can Do… " pamphlet – and give it to somebody I know whose child has ASD?

Mary Ann, go right ahead! I actually made that to be given freely. Anyone who wants to print it and distribute it is welcome to do so!

Here’s the direct link for anyone who’s wondering what Mary Ann is talking about: http://jannalouise.thehoskincentre.com/pdfs/autism1.pdf

It’s a good pamphlet, and also nice-looking.

Fun blog, and cute pictures!

Yay for being on track!

can you tell me why?

I found this article.
http://thautcast.com/drupal5/content/whats-still-wrong-autism-speaks

They’ve added an autistic person to the board, but it’s one who’s fairly anti-disability (i.e., he thinks that anyone with an Asperger’s diagnosis who isn’t employed is just lazy and doesn’t want to work and shouldn’t be on disability), which isn’t helpful since there’s a lot that needs to change before autistic people are properly accepted in society and able to be fully employed.

Autism Speaks has a long history of misusing money (e.g., paying high salaries instead of funding the research they’re supposed to be raising funds for). They are also more interested in curing autism (i.e., eradicating it) than in supporting people who need help in the ways they need it. They also silence autistic people while claiming to speak for them (like a lot of parent-run organizations, but this one is one of the worst).

thank you. I did read more trying to learn and now see the considerable problems with Autism Speaks. All I knew in the past was that I found there advertising “off”.

Thank you so much for looking into it, so many people don’t; they see the word “autism” in the name and give no problem.

THANKS JANNA! <3

Interesting! Thanks for the heads up, guys!

Janna, never mind, my husband and I sort-of-eloped (long story), and it was one year later when I finally got around to found the time to send out marriage announcements!

My stated rationale was (and I printed this on a separate note enclosed with the announcement) that we thought it would be fun to celebrate our first anniversary by sending out announcements.
(And it was too bad if they couldn’t see the fun in that!)

sounds like fun to me.

Bridget, if I’d known you then (over 10 years ago), I would have sent YOU one! :-)

We have a shoebox (album bought, but not used yet) of wedding photos, ten years later… so a year sounds positively speedy :)

Ah, Jenny, I’m singing the same tune – and not just about the wedding photos! ;-)

Ah, see, it took our photographer 18 months to get us all of our photos. We’ve been stuck with friends’ snapshots until now.

Holy Crow!
Your photographer is singin’ the same tune! lol

Janna, read my post about the piggie. What should I do?

Well done, you! On all fronts. I didn’t know there WERE size 17Ts…how interesting! I, too, am “proportional”. Alas, if only I were taller!! It makes sense. lol

“not plus shaped” makes perfect sense to me.
congrats on the jeans!

Oops, missed one. We watched Paycheck, too. (Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman)

that’s a lot of movie-watching!

Wow, I’d have crossed eyes and an addled brain after all those movies!

It’s amazing sometimes to think of movies & music I was allowed to view/hear! Yet I remember being oblivious to so much of the innuendo.

So how’s your recovery going?
All patched up and good?

Recovery seems to be going okay. I need to keep reminding myself not to pick at the incisions. Difficult as I’m a picker (of scabs and so on). I don’t see the surgeon for another five weeks. My GP said I’m to see her immediately if the rash gets any worse, but gave me the prescription I was in to see her for.

I had some pain while walking today, in the usual spots, but at the moment my biggest problem is that my feet hurt! :D

Glad to hear you’re on the mend.

I’ve heard this trick for stopping that kind of habit (picking)…
You put an elastic band on your wrist (the wrist attached to the hand you would use to pick with).
And whenever you start to pick, or are about to pick, you pull on the elastic and give yourself a nice sharp snap on the wrist! So it stings a bit. (But not so hard that you end up needing stitches on your wrist or anything. ;-)

Sounds kinda primitive, I know, but I hear it works! :-)

I think, actually, you can use that for a lot of habits you’d like to break.
For example, eating junk food. Or even things like negative thoughts, or self-criticism – that kind of thing.

Disclaimer:
I’m not recommending this, eh? – it’s just something I heard about. ;-)

LOL Thanks Mary Ann! I’m going to try putting aloe vera gel on the incisions. I have some nice clear gel here. It should help things heal up and keep them from drying out and getting itchy. :)