what's leprosy look like anyway?

When I posted here on Wednesday, I was having even more problems than I wrote about. Somehow a week and a half ago, I was inflicted with a poison ivy outbreak. I say it that way because I know I have a patch of poison ivy in my woods and I traipse past it on a regular basis. Contrary to what most people believe, not everyone reacts to the poison ivy plant. I got the itchy painful miserable oozy rash only one other time and even though I eradicated that particle plant from the edge of my yard, I can’t kill every green three-leafed plant I run across. And it’s been more than ten years since that first exposure. Who knew I would still react. 

The spots on my leg and ankle weren’t bad and the one on my arm, if I didn’t touch it, was fine. But if I gave into the itch and just rubbed it for a second, I couldn’t stop myself. I could still deal with that, though, knowing it would clear up on its own.

And then a spot broke out on the bottom of my foot, between my toes. Are you kidding me? My doctor said he could call in some steroids for me, but because I am a stubborn kraut, I told him that I could still tough this out.

As I type this, it is true, I did tough it out and can say with complete confidence that I am on the mend. My toes look icky, but who sees them anyway? The blemish on my arm is still fairly unsightly, but I can ignore it and don’t really care if people who see it think I have leprosy.

Anyway, all of this means, that even though I could still type, with my foot in a bucket of hot water, coz that’s the only thing that made it feel better, I just didn’t accomplish much this week.

I do need to mention that all the other stress I’ve been putting myself under is what caused the snag in my immune system which allowed the invasion of the poison. When your immune system lets its guard down is when you become infected with various stuff like this.

So what did I do this week, besides whine?

Writing –

1) Novel – Where the Sky Meets the Sand

a. Finish this edit, typing up an outline for each chapter as I go.  DONE a few weeks ago, but I am leaving this here.

b. Spend three hours working on a pitch for the publisher I have in my sights. No.

2) Novel – The Novitiate (working title only)

a. Start it! It feels like I haven’t, but I did set up the template and copied and pasted into it an article which I need to totally revise as the opening scene. So, I guess I can go yellow.  

2) Blog twice a week here. Yes

3) Blog three times on the Dino Chronicles. Yes.

Reading –

      1)      “The Power of God’s Names”, the book we are reading in Tuesday morning bible study. Yes, I’ve worked on it, not quite finished with this chapter, but almost.

      2)      “War Brides” Read some every day. It’s a good story, but hard to follow, too many characters which for some reason I can’t keep straight. I think part of it is the POV. I never know whose head I’m in. This is educational though when dealing with my own novel, right?

      3)      Read three ROW blog posts twice a week. Done.

REACHING –

1) Update my website once a month. Haven’t done it yet.  
2) Submit one flash fiction piece.  YES! And as already reported, it has been rejected already.

3) Post something promoting my books or myself on each of my social media. No, not really.  

Personal –

1) Physical

a. Exercise four mornings a week. Only twice.  

b. Lift weights and/or run four nights a week. No, not at all on the running, as I should avoid further poison ivy exposure until I am healed, and only once lifting weights.   

2) Spiritual

a. Read my Bible every night. I read it about three times.  

b. Read a devotion every day.  I read one four nights, I think

NONPROFIT –

      1)      Work on scheduling our fall planning meeting. Is set for Sunday, September 4.

      2)      Contact people who have previously expressed interest in going to Kenya with us and see if they are ready to go on our next trip. Though I have sent information to one perspective candidate, my daughter has been all over this. She has three or four new people coming to the meeting.

      3)      Update the duties of our officers and chairmen. My daughter and I worked on this for about four hours Friday afternoon. We got a little punch-drunk by then, so I told her we needed to take a break.  

  

With my latest infliction, I am not beating myself up about my progress over the past week. I think I actually did okay. 

How about you? What has brought you to a stand-still this summer? Or have you powered through any maladies you have been struck with?