I totally know what you mean! When we said goodbye to my brothers and SIL this morning, the hotel was SO quiet (it was 5:45 a.m.)...creepily so.

Of course, I keep expecting someone to come blow up the place since there's also a kids beauty pageant going on here, which is also QUITE disturbing.

I'm here. Just finished paying (well, making installments on) various bills and am now gagging over the prospect of having to ask my dad for more money when I see him today. I'll happily trade all that for your stomach bug anytime!

Oh, JZ, how frustrating. Hang in there, girl.

{{{JZ}}}

Yeah, at least this will probably be over soon. So far I don't seem to be relapsing just from drinking water, so I'm thinking when DH and AB wake up, I'll send them for gatorade. And then, maybe this afternoon I can attempt applesauce and saltines!

I have another interview for another job tomorrow--much less than ideal, but definitely doable. I kind of gave myself a mental holiday last week from worrying about money issues, which was lovely for my mental health but has done nothing for the money issues.

I'm sorry your extended family was so weird at the wedding. You've accomplished so much; it's got to be so frustrating that the people who ought to be closest to you are the ones who don't see it.

Next question...is there a more specific word for "silently referenced"? The context is that there are passages from the Bible that are referred to in the piece, but not directly.

Alludes to?

I really hope something fabulous comes along soon, JZ. You deserve so much!

I'm sorry your extended family was so weird at the wedding. You've accomplished so much; it's got to be so frustrating that the people who ought to be closest to you are the ones who don't see it.

Eh. I'm actually getting over it. Not sleeping most of the night helped me think about it a lot. Honestly, I haven't seen most of them for an extended period of time for five years...when I was at about my worst. It's kind of understandable that that's how they see me. It would be nice if they could see something else, but oh, well. What's a girl to do?

I also forget that they don't get my sense of humor. I completely mortified one of my cousins last night with a joke I cracked about my mental illness. I tried to fix it, but it didn't work. I think that's what had me so upset...that our goodbye was so incredibly weird because of it.

It's kind of funny, because my new cousin-in-law is a psychiatrist...she'll probably be the one person in that part of the extended family that gets me the most. I'm actually kind of ok with that. They don't know what they're missing by writing me off as crazy. There is a little loss in that for me, but mostly, it's their loss. My life is full of people who get me and love me and all that. What does Cass always say? Happiness is a large extended family in another city. I'm gonna stick with that as my motto for now.

“So how long has it been since you were in the hospital?”

This greeting suggests to me that you're the normal person, vw.

There's way too much plant sex going on. I only have mild asthma, and sometimes in sneaks up on me. Yesterday I was coughing and gasping, but it took me a while to think "Oh, yeah. Spring. Allergies. Asthma. Rescue inhaler."

vw, I'm sorry about the family awkwardness. I agree with everyone else that what matters is that you know how well you're doing. If you still need a definition of a parable from a book I have Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature sitting right next to me.

{{{JZ}}} I hope you find a great new job soon and don't have to worry about money anymore.

{{{Susan}}} Feel better.

There's way too much plant sex going on.

Wrod.

Next question...is there a more specific word for "silently referenced"? The context is that there are passages from the Bible that are referred to in the piece, but not directly.

Er, implicitly referenced? Maybe?

Alludes to?

Yeah, I think allusion is the word you're looking for, vw.

Also, HI!