Happy Halloween!

Normally, I LOVE Halloween, because it means I get to run around spraying fake blood everywhere and scaring the pants off of tweens.  I don't frighten little kids on purpose, because 1. It's too easy, and 2. It's mean! But once you hit eight or nine, you're fair game.  I particularly like "getting" kids who think they're too old/cool to be frightened, because guess what, kiddos:  You're not.

Sadly, I won't be doing that this year, because of financial constraints as well as the fact that we're preparing to move by the end of the year.  We're moving to a much smaller place up north that won't have room for our MANY props, both homemade and purchased, so we've sold and ditched just about everything by now.  I also didn't really have time to make new stuff, like tombstones, which are relatively easy but still take several days to get a decent amount ready, and that foam board has gotten really pricey.  Our old tombstones are ready for the bin.  They last a long time if you make them right!  I got about ten years' use out of those, with only minor touch-ups to the paint.  But anyway, we're more or less broke, so we'll be hiding at home eating popcorn and watching our extensive horror movie collection.  I hate disappointing the neighborhood (we ARE known as "the Halloween House," but that's just not an option this year.

I realize this post has nothing to do with insomnia or tinnitus, so I should probably get to those.  I got about an hour's sleep this morning, and that was it.  My husband, however, slept like a very snorey baby due to his Sleepsonic pillow and Hemi-Sync CD (I'm not sure which CD he used last night, but it sounded kind of like  gentle music and rain).  Though I am admittedly jealous of his special pillow and CDs, I am VERY glad he slept, because his tinnitus was driving him crazy yesterday with a new temporary tone.  He should have a new post up on his blog at some point today.  He wants me to edit it first.  

I can only tell you what I've learned about tinnitus and my own very mild case--he can tell you how it feels to have tinnitus (and the accompanying headaches) take away your life.  All I can tell you is that it is absolutely horrible to have the person you love more than life in such terrible pain and torture and there being NOTHING you can do about it.  Imagine it as a terminal cancer that NEVER ends (I am NOT being unfeeling here--I've nursed someone through terminal cancer, too).  The agony just goes on and on.  I was one of those teenagers who listened to music too loud, rested against the speakers at concerts, and laughed about how muffled my hearing was the next day.  I no longer find that kind of thing amusing.  My husband and I both had convertibles and listened to industrial music at a ridiculous volume to balance out the sound of the wind whipping by.  We did all these things without a second thought.  

Now, my husband and I are attempting to learn basic sign language, using DVDs we borrow from the library, because his hearing is starting to fade, overwhelmed by the roaring noise in his brain.  My mom has flash cards and is already way ahead of us, which shows what a loving, kind person she is.  She started learning about a year ago.  

I don't feel too exhausted right now, though with all the work I have ahead of me today, I realize I'll crash at some point, and I'm probably not in any condition to drive.  Good thing my HUSBAND slept, because we need, at the very least, cat food.

For some reason, we have become the Cat Club of the neighborhood.  TEN CATS were on our porch alone yesterday, and there were a bunch more in the yard.  We really cannot afford to feed all these guys, and I know if I called animal control, the cats and kittens would be dead in a week, but I don't know what to do!  I wish people would spay or neuter their pets, like I do.  There are inexpensive clinics available all the time, and if I had the money, that's exactly what I'd do with all these guys who show up starving on my porch, then adopt them out.  I joke about sports cars and castles as my "Lotto Dream," but animal rescue is where my heart is.

Well, I think that's enough about me for today.  Hope you enjoy Halloween (if you celebrate it), and if you're too old to trick-or-treat, get dressed up and scare someone (but not in a mean way)!  Please check Beat-Tinnitus later on today, as he will have a new post, and don't hesitate to contact either of us if you have questions about how we cope, the products we use, or hey, just who we are.

Wishing good health to you and your family,

InsomniAmy