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Long Time

Sorry I have not written in awhile, but I have been busy. What to tell people. Well I am finished braille 2. I am moving on to braille 3. I will be starting that in October because September is going to be a busy month for me. Everything is in except for my last label assignment. As soon as I get the new label maker I will send it in.

The other label maker was defective and had to get sent back. Apparently I was not the only one with problems. That is nice to know. I am awaiting its arrival. I can not wait. I really enjoyed making labels for things. Oh well.

I was also doing my physical therapy again. This was another reason I was away from this. I was busy with that and by the time I got home, I did not feel like typing. I was tired.

I will type more later. I may wait a little again. I will have to see. Later.

Label Maker

So I know that I had the label maker and did get to use it some. It was defective and I had to send it back. Now I have to wait for a new one. ARG! Oh well I will survive. I sent in all of the labels that I made. So at least I am caught up with everything. All I have to do now is send in the tenth assignment and make the labels when I get the new one. I am so upset that I had to send the other one back. Oh well. Later.

Wow!

So I was busy last week and that is why I did not write. Today I went to the Apple Store for my 1 to 1 training. What I went over was so simple it makes my head hurt. The man that knows the most about voiceover helped me.I let him know what I wanted to work on and he focused on learning all about that. He actually told me that he was sitting in front of his computer with his eyes closed. His wife thought he was crazy. He told her that he was doing it to help me, so he knew what it was like for me. At least he is trying to see what things are like in my world. That makes me very happy.
What I went for was so simple, once it was figured out. I hate how simple the MAC is to use most of the time. I am running out of ideas for my training. I will figure out something. I am going to go. I will type more later.

What To Say

Well my rehab teacher came today. Last week when she was here, we made pirogues so I knew how to cut them. We made them again today and I did a little better this time. So the next time I have her is July 24th. She is going away for ten days.

I have not yet placed them, but I made up labels with my label maker. I need to put the labels where they need to go and take pictures of them. I then need to describe what the letters or words are and send it to my professor. I am getting sick of the whole braille thing, but I need to do it to learn to read it.

Yesterday was a good day. I went to the mall and did 1 to 1 training for my computer. I like the fact that they are willing to try and help me. That is the best part about the Apple Store. There is one guy that kind of knows accessibility, but he is no expert. I had him and a another guy that was shadowing us. He wants to learn accessibility too and what better way then to deal with someone who needs it all the time. I know people have complained about the Apple Store, but they have always been really nice and helpful with me. VO is an Apple product.

Well I am going to go. I will write next week. Later.

Another Lesson

So I finished my eighth braille assignment. It took me almost three hours to do, but I got it done. I got things back from my professor today and it was perfectly done. That is good since I actually had to read braille for this assignment. With this one done, I only have two more to do and then I can move onto braille 3. I can't wait for that to happen. I have till the end of the month to get number nine done. I am hoping to get numbers nine and ten done in that time though. I have greatly slowed down. I can only imagine that I will slow down even more with the next two units. Braille 3 is un-contracted which is reading braille letter for letter. Braille 4 is contracted braille. Certain symbols stand for certain things with that one. I will be happy when I am finished with this. I will right more next week. Later.

Sorry

So I was busy last week and that is why I did not write in the blog. I did finish assignment number 8, so all I have to do is type it up and send it. I also have to take pictures of my braille labels and send those to my professor. That should not be that difficult though.

I am starting to get a little tired of the braille, but it will open doors for me. I know that. I will be able to listen to music and surf the web. I can not do this right now. I have to have voiceover on to do things. Once I know braille I can get a refreshable braille display and do to things at once. This is the main reason I want to learn braille. I want to be able to do more than one thing. I will write more later, but for now I am going to go. Later.

It Is Here

So my long time label maker is here. Yeah! I successfully made two labels and send them in like I was supposed to. It is really nice. The tape and it do not go together though. What is described on it and what I got are two different things. I got a newer and probably a nicer one then what is described. Not everything is different, but enough is. I will hopefully figure it all out.

It does take regular label maker tape, so when I run out I can just buy more. It came preloaded with a roll. There are also three extra rolls with it. Once I really get the hang of it, I will be golden. It will take some time though. I messed up the labels last night that I was trying to make. I thought I had the write letter ready and I had the letter next to it. Oh well, no one is perfect.

Hopefully this will help me to be more independent like I want to be. I will have to make sure stuff is in braille and print for others. The braille is great for me, but others need to know things too. I am so excited about it. Later.

Over Halfway

Well I am halfway through my braille lessons. There are ten of them and I am on number seven. I am still waiting for my label maker to come. As soon as I get it I need to label things and send it to my prof. Not a huge deal though. I am so happy with how I am doing with this. I am going through it faster then I thought I would. I will probably slow down greatly though with the next unit. It is un-contracted braille or grade 1 braille. It is where all the words are spelled out letter for letter. It makes me nervous and excited all at the same time. I have never gone this far before. It is learning another language. Now I will be able to speak and see what I am reading. I will write more next week. Later.

Another Assignment

So yesterday, I sent off my fifth assignment. I am now halfway through them. There are ten lessons total. I will hopefully get this done next month. I am taking my time a little more with this one. I do not want to rush it. If I really wanted to, I technically have one month per lesson, but since I am so far ahead that does not apply for me. Oh well. I am doing good and can ask for any more then that. I will write more next week. Later.

Have Not Gotten It Yet

So the braille labeler that I have been waiting for has still not arrived. I know that my prof said to do the assignments and when I get the labeler to just catch up with those. I can do that and more than likely will. The labeler will just make my life so much easier. Arg. I can not make it get here any faster and that is what is killing me. Oh well I just have to wait for it. Maybe it will get here tomorrow or not. Who knows. Well I am going to go. Later.

Braille IV

So I am finished the first four lessons of this unit. After the fourth lesson and assignment, I receive a free labeler to keep. I have done this and will probably get the labeler tomorrow. I am so excited about it. Hopefully this will help me be even more independent. I will be able to label clothes and things in the fridge and know what it is. I will use only the first letter in certain words, but it will be worth it. No more guessing about stuff. I can not wait for it. Yippee! Later.

Braille and Stuff

So it is now official, I got my certificate for finishing braille 1. Now I am working on braille 2. I know that is going to take me longer then a month to finish. that is ok though. I like how I get to keep everything except for the tapes. I also love how all of this is free for me since I am blind.

I also received my stuff last week that was ordered for me. I got a flame resistant apron that was $65. At least I did not have to pay for it. I also got braille measuring cups. They match my braille teaspoons that I got a few weeks ago. They are super nice and go from 1\8 cup all the way to 2 cups. They are really nice, there is a pour spout on them too. They are black in color just like my spoons. I also got braille paper. I will need this later in my braille courses.

So that is everything for now. Till next week. Later.

Braille III

So hopefully I am now finished with braille I. I missed a few things and had to send them off today, which I did. I want to start the second one already. I want to start on the alphabet again. I already kinda know it, but hopefully this will be a good refresher for me. I am going to go, because it is raining and I have a headache. Later.

Braille II

So all I have to do is email my professor the final three assignments. There are six total lessons in this first unit and I have three of them in already. I will probably send them off tomorrow. I love email. That is how I have been sending things to her. Not only do I almost have this done, I am also getting a new tape player. The digital player I have from BARD is no longer holding a charge. I called Monday and the nice guy I talked to said that they would send a new player out Tuesday morning. Once I get the new one all I have to do is put the other one in that box and send it back. I did not have to explain anything to him. Wow, sometimes the government can be really good. I did say sometimes. Well I am going to go. Till next week.

Braille I

So I am really chugging along with my first braille course. Hopefully I will be done with it by the end of the month. I have six months to finish it, but I do not need that time. When I intially learned the alphabet, I learned more then I thought. It is helping me go through the first part faster. It is really easy for me, but the review is good and won't hurt. Hopefully this will help me and I am planning on learning braille so I can actually read it. At least that is the plan.

Braille

So I am now learning braille. I am starting from the beginning. It is all free, that is the best thing about it. It is through the Hadley School which is corrspondent school. That means it is done through the mail and email. So I am not super rushed to get things done. I like that.

I sent in my first assignment and my professor got back to me. She really liked how well my first assignment was written out. That is a good thing. Now I get to start on lesson number 2.

As for my rehab, last week I made meat sauce for spaghetti. I did try some which is a miracle, because I do not remember ever eating it. I love pizza and never liked spaghetti sauce even though they are both tomato based. I did try it and liked it. So I even impressed myself with that one. She is not coming this week because of her schedule, but I will see her next week.

Success

So last week I made brownies. I was actually able to take them out of the oven because of my nifty gloves. It was nice to do it and not have to rely on anyone else to do it for me.

So tomorrow I am going to brown meat and make spaghetti sauce for dinner. It will be interesting. Hopefully I won't destroy anything. Also hopefully it will be edible. I will tell you about it next week. Later.

Tomorrow

So I once again have my rehab. Last week we amended what she is going to do for me. I am going to start taking braille with the Hadley School. The nice thing about this is that it is all free. Sometimes It is nice to be blind. If it was not for my blindness, I would not be getting this.

So tomorrow I think I am going to make brownies. Something new and different. This should be interesting. Later.

My Stuff

Well the microwave is now marked. I do not remember if I said that last week or not. I used my new spatula last week and made grilled cheese and tomato soup. Also my braille teaspoons came last week too. They were on back order so they did not come with everything else. They are so cool though. They have everything from a dash and pinch to 2 tablespoons. The coolest thing is there is a smidgen and drop spoon with them. If you think about it, it does make sense. If you are totally blind and never baked before you would not know what it is. I mean I used to be able to see and I would mess that up. Well till next week.

Stuff

Well the majority of my things came. I now have mitts that go up to my elbow and are fire retardant.

I guess the biggest deal is that the microwave is marked in braille. Now I can use the microwave. This makes me very excited. I can once again use the microwave. It takes me a little to get the right number, but that is okay with me. I do not mind taking my time to make sure I get the right number.

I haven't really tried the mitts out yet. I will be baking again and that is when I will really get to try them.

I also got a double sided spatula. This week I will get to use that. Hopefully all of these items will greatly help me. Later.

My Stuff Is In

So after waiting months, I will get the things I need to make life easier. After tomorrow I will be able to use the microwave finally. YEAH! I will also be getting other things that will make life easier for me. Hopefully I will now be able to take things out of the oven. I will have gloves to help me with this. I have to practice my braille again because I will need it. That is cool though. I will report on how certain things are next week.

Good News

So I got a letter today about the things that were ordered for me. Hopefully this means I will be getting them soon. It will help me greatly with doing things on my own. I can not wait for the stuff. I am so excited about it. Instead of having rehab tomorrow, I am having it Friday because my instructor has an emergency she has to deal with. So hopefully I will have more to talk about next week.

Not Much to Say

This is going to be short today. I did not have rehab last week because of the weather. I am not having it tomorrow because my teacher has to help another client. So I will not have it till next week. There is not much going on with me. I will try to come up with something interesting for next week. Later.

Blueberry Muffins

So last week I made blueberry muffins. They actually came out good. I got to try the new ice cream scoop that was bought for me to use. I did not make much mess this time. I took the muffin cups out of the tray and filled them with the new scoop. It was nice not making a mess this time. It was much easier taking out the cups and filling them. I am going to cancel this week because there is going to be a lot of snow.

Where I Was

So I need to explain where I was last week. I was at the NIH or the National Institute of Health. I was there for the second time concerning my ECD or Erdheim-Chester Disease.

I love it down there. People are so nice to me. They also have really good food at the hospital. I know that typically hospital food is bad, but not at the NIH. Their menu rivals that of a restaurant. There is fish, chicken, steak, and pasta on it for dinner. Lunch and breakfast are equally as good. There is quite a selection of beverages and desserts too. I actually enjoy going to that hospital because of that reason.

This time was much easier then when I went in November of 2012. That week was horrible. I had no down time and kept going all week. At least this time I was able to breathe and had some time to relax.

It hasn't happened yet, but I hope that what I do does help people out with the ECD. I am going to go, I will catch you all later.

Muffins

So last week I made more corn muffins. They turned out okay, but I did not add one ingredient and I should have. The muffins were not burnt, but they did not have the flavor that the other ones had. I will be trying it again and this time I will follow the instructions to the letter. No more trying things for me. Oh well.

I won't be around next week. I am going to be at the NIH or the National Institute of Health for a week. I will be back the following week. Till then, later.

What to Talk About

So I am not sure what to talk about. I am doing rehab, this allows me to learn how to do stuff in the kitchen.

So far I have peeled and cut carrots. After that I cooked them and ate them. I made macaroni and cheese. I have also done an apple cake, corn muffins, and oatmeal raisin cookies. The corn muffins did not turn out well, so I want to try it again tomorrow. Hopefully they will be okay.

Last week they were in the oven a little to long. I am also learning to do dishes. I did this when I could see, but never liked it. Things are still the same with that. I still do not like doing dishes. It is more of a necessity then anything else.

So I know that this blog was supposed to be about my computer, but I am changing my mind a little. I want to talk more than just about the computer. Do not get me wrong, I love it and all it does for me. There is so much more going on in my life I feel I should talk about that too. Later.

Holidays Are Over

So the holidays are over with and I am another year older. That's right I had a birthday on New Year's Eve. I am now another year older, but I am not sure about the wiser thing. Oh well.

So I am not even sure what I last talked about. I know I was mentioning about my iPhone, iPad, and MAC.

I got a new app last night for my phone. Hopefully this will help with travel stuff. I have not really played around with it yet. That will happen today.

I also got an app for my iPhone, iPad, and MAC. I have not done anything with it yet, but I will be soon. It is called 1password and it does cost money, but is worth it. The premise is it will store all the info you and all you have to remember is the master password.

I had another app called 12 Days for the iPhone and iPad, but I deleted it. The app only worked till Monday. The premise is that for 12 days iTunes gave away something, whether it was a book, movie, song(s), or an app. It worked from December 26th through January 6th. If you did not want the gift you did not need to download it. It was totally up to the person. Some things I downloaded because it was free and they sounded interesting.

Ok that is enough of me ranting. Till next week.