Category Archives: difficult issues

I’m feeling better, so Awards Night is here…..Drum roll please…….

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Well, it has been a while since these awards were bestowed upon me, but I have been a little busy! Life is slowing down, so I’d like to pass these awards along to those that deserve them! Please forgive me for taking such a long time!

Many thanks to Tanumoy Biswas! Your kindness, wit, friendship and support has meant a lot to me. I enjoy finding comments from your on my blog. Thank you for the nominating my blog for so many awards. It was very kind of you. If you would like to check out Tanumoy blog, follow the link below. You will not be disappointed.

http://thenomadicsoliloquist.wordpress.com/about/

So, each of these awards has a certain life value attached to them, something we must imbibe and invoke within us. And these gifts are a constant reminder that we must remain Versatile in our thoughts, light up the dark corners of our mind with Sunshine, Never forget to respect our Inner Peace, bring changes in other’s lives by being positively Influential, and make this pale blue planet of ours an Awesome place to live in. Cheers!

The ABC Award requires me to write a word or a phrase about myself for each of the English alphabets, so here it is:

A: Apple- I love apples. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I enjoy apples daily. For the old saying to actually work, I’m not sure how many I would need to eat in a day!

B: Barry- I cannot imagine my life without my sweet!

C: Cats- My mother’s cat is cute, but vicious! I do not like that cat!

D: Dogs- Man and woman’s best friend! Our sweet Maggie is part of the family!

E: Easter– The day the Lord rose from his grave.

F: Flowers-I love flowers!

G: Gardening- I enjoy gardening. It is such a joy to watch the plants you put in the ground, come to life. It can be very therapuetic.

H: Hawaii- One place in the USA I’d love to visit.

I: Income- one of the hardest things to live without today!

J: Jack- with my name being Jill, I honestly have never met a Jack I could get along with.

K: Krispy Kreme–A place that would be my second home if it would not make as big as the side of a barn!

L: Lantana-One of my favorite flowers

M: Maggie May– our favorite puppy dog

N: Naive- I have often been called naive, I have a tendency to believe anything you might say

O: Oreo-the perfect cookie

P: Poetry-I would love to learn to write poetry, but I haven’t got a clue where to start

Q: Queues-things given to elderly people to help them perform daily tasks

R: Ricochet- I just like how this word sounds.

S: State-There are so many states you can get yourself into. {State of panic, state of mind, state of confusion, state of Georgia, etc,,,,,

T:Tchaikovsky- composer

U: Umbrella-Now that I only have one hand to use, this is a totally useless instrument. But a cool word.

V: Vanilla-such a wonder spice

W: Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: {Gene Wilder version}-Thank goodness this is not real, but it is such a good old movie

X: Xena: Warrior Princess–stupid television show

Y: Yogi Bear–one of my favorite cartoon characters

Z: Zipline-riding a zipline is at the top of my bucket!

 MY NOMINATIONS:

(feel free to choose all, any or none of the awards)

http://goomfh.wordpress.com

http://likereadingontrains.wordpress.com

http://foodandwinehedonist.com

http://tylerpedersen02.wordpress.com

http://transcendingbordersblog.wordpress.com

http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com

http://mariejulietteleblog.wordpress.com

http://momentsinyourlife.wordpress.com

http://proverbsgirl.wordpress.com

http://healthisfromheaven.wordpress.com

http://dshenai.wordpress.com

http://kregianmiralpoems.wordpress.com

http://corbanwilkin.com

http://eugenejferguson.wordpress.com

http://renardmoreau.wordpress.com

http://doncharisma.wordpress.com

http://michellemarieantellg.wordpress.com

http://goodtimestories.wordpress.com

http://mcclendonvilla.wordpress.com

http://mjraik.wordpress.com

http://harshitmoon.wordpress.com

http://thoughtsfromanamericanwoman.wordpress.com

http://bearspawprint.wordpress.com

http://anaturemom.com

http://inlovewiththelord.wordpress.com

http://walterbright.org

http://secretangelps911.wordpress.com

http://rickmallery.wordpress.com

http://alluglyboysdo.wordpress.com

http://randomlyabstract.wordpress.com

I believe, more than the nominations, it’s the feeling of connectivity with a community of great bloggers that matters at the end of the day. So, there are no rules, no limitations. Congratulations to all! Spread joy, stay connected and keep smiling! One Peace, One Love, One World. Tanumoy, I liked what you said here, please do not be upset with me for using your words.

I chose newer blog visitors for my nominations! I have read each blog and enjoy them all. Have fun!  As the person nominating me did, I chose to only do the requirements for the ABC Award. You can chose to do them all or none!

Related Content:

• Awards, Nominations & LOTS of Self Talk!
• Lighten Up My Day
• Inner Peace Award
• 2 Awards Combined in 1
• “Moment of Inspiration”: Two Very Special Awards!
• Blog Awards Galore: A ‘Four’some Treat!
• Dessert Served Warm: “Super Sweet Blog Award”!
• Shine On Tanumoy with the… “Shine On Award”!

Daily Prompt| Origin Story

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I have always kept a journal. Summarizing the day always seemed to make me feel better and helped get any feelings out that I usually would let build inside myself until I got angry.

I gave the journals up with my first marriage. I missed the writing, but I was focused on being a new wife,  no time to write.

Barry and I started the blog after we both dealt with serious illnesses.  Barry suffered a Massive Right MCA Stroke in 2011 and I had brain surgery in 2009 to remove a brain tumor. The tumor was benign, but it left me with a few after effects. The tumor he was unable to remove, started pressing into my cranial nerves causing twitches, voice trouble and neck problems.

The tumor ended up being a side effect to a genetic disorder that can cause all sorts of health issues. Barry has been released from his neurologist care, but just needs to call if any issues pop up. My neurosurgeon has released for the next five years. As long as I have no issues, I only have to see his funny face every five years, I love it!

The blog was originally the idea of our Neurological Counselor. She felt that if we wrote our feelings down, we could manage any issues better. It has truly helped. Barry and I communicate better, we aren’t cranky with each other, and our relationship has improved. This helps us transition through issues as they come up.

We continue to blog today, because it is helping to retrain our brains and keep our writing skills as sharp as we can. We work on the daily prompts together. Keeps the brain sharp. We enjoy writing together. We pass ideas around until we come up with a good response to the daily prompt. I do the weekend post. Barry does two post a week and I do the other two days. Most of the time, we work on all the post together. It has become an important part of our day!

Daily Prompt: Pat on the Back

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Tell someone you’re proud of just how proud you are.

Photographers, artists, poets: show us SUCCESS.

Our nephew, Jonathan, has overcome tons of odds to get where he is today. He has trouble with attention at times and has faught tooth and nail to keep his schoolwork up. He can be a bit lazy, but has made the grade every year and becomes more focused daily.

He loves the outdoors and working outside. His favorite pasttime is torturing his little brother. He has matured so much in the past year. He is turning into quite a nice young man.

He is so handsome at fifteen years old. The good thing is, he hasn’t discovered girls yet. I cannot believe they aren’t beating the door down. Hopefully he will not notice girls until he is in college.

He shows me such respect and is the only person around, other than Barry that doesn’t treat me like I’m a different person since the brain surgery. I’m still Aunt Jill to him. That rewards him the greatest respect from me. To have him show me that kind of respect at his age amazes me.

I cannot believe he is such a sweetheart. I beam with pride as I watch him grow into such a good young man. I’d love to think I might have had a small influence on him. It is an honor to call him my nephew. Who knows?

How to get from what if to so what? | Give it to God

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My life is full of fear daily, my illness can pop up with a change at any moment, the good Lord helps me manage that fear. I have focused on what if this happens, what if that hapoens, I am learning to  focus away from the pain and find something positive to focus on.

Giving my pain and issues over to the Lord has made my life so much simplier. I do not stress as much as I used to about the little things in life. Allbeit my health is not a little thing, but the Lord eases my anxiety.

Although I am almost through with my chemo treatments, with radiation coming up quickly, I find myself wondering what next? My counselor says it is time to let that go and get to the point of saying so what when something new happens. Get straight to handing things over to the Lord and get on with your life. Just handle it and don’t worry! I’m getting there, but I need a little more practice. God is still helping eith my coping skills.

Setting boundaries with family is another issue altogether. I have to pray about it a little more. Still looking for answers on how to handle that situation. Wish us luck!

Daily Prompt: Life After Blogs

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Your life without a computer: what does it look like?

If I did not have a computer to do my blog and everything else we do online, the word old school comes to mind. I remember diaries, writing letters, land line phones, and actually talking to one another.

Kids today may not understand several of these things, but the human brain is an amazing organ. It can help you learn new things. They would learn to cope quickly.

My life without a computer just takes me back in time to pre-technology. I’d feel as if I were in high school again. The only negative I see in the picture, is paying long-distance fees for the telephone. Otherwise, I’m good!

Writing through cancer: For the Week of July 28, 2013: What Did You Notice?

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I was unable to walk today, I’m not feeling my best, so I stayed close to home. We went to church this morning, but unable to attend tonight. I tell Barry to go without me, but he doesn’t like me home alone. I gave up and quit arguing.

Yesterday,  Barry and I walked the yard and updated our garden journal. I’ll use our stroll around the yard for this post. We started at the front porrch. We have a few Chinese Fringe Flowers that need pruning and a few new spouts have popped up, that need transplanting. A few weeds that need to be handled,  but nothing I cannot do.

My minature butterfly bush has come back out and is almost three feet tall already. I need to work on the decorative well pump by the porch. My butterfly garden is suffering from inattention. The hosta’s have come up beautifully and I have a few that need transplanting this fall. It may take us that long to get the garden back to glory to make room for them. A Sweet Gum Tree has taken root near the water spicket. That needs to go!

On the hill to the right of the house, we have planted two red maples and attempted to handle a bad wash area with monkey grass and lillies. They are filling in nicely. Might take a year or two for it to fill in.
To the left of the new trees, we planted a few Chinese Fringe Flower Shrubs to act as a barrier near the guidewire for the telephone pole. Looking good near the road.

At the drive, I have a combo of old-fashioned lillies, Stella D’odro lillies and knockout roses. We have tons of room to add to this area, I just need to figure out what to add. We recently moved the mailbox to the otherside of the drive. It needs sprucing up.

Down the rightside of the drive, is considered mom’s territory.  We have a couple of things there, we planted prior to mom’s arrival. There are three heavenly Gardenia Shrubs well-established. One blueberry bush is closeby for the local critters to enjoy.

Behind those a Pin Oak is coming in nicely. It is large enough to sit a chair under to enjoy a little shade.  The rest on that side is is mom’s territory. I need to feed her a friendly reminder that she needs to do some weeding.

Under our bedroom window, we discovered a few surprises. Four O’clocks planted a few years ago have come back out and a lantana has popped up thanks to some sweet bird in the yard. It will transplant nicely when the time comes. The Hosta’s have come back out. They are huge and need a new home.

Beside the garage door the Smilix vine and lantana are gorgeous. The ramp and porch are around four feet tall. The lantana has out grown the porch already. The back of the house is more natural. We have two Corkscrew Willow Trees, a beauty berry bush, and one lone Pampas Grass. We need to do more in the back. I’d like to get a few hardscaping projects done. Barry and I will work slowly on those.

There is evidence of unknown wildlife either living or traveling through the yard. We watched a bunny run around for a few minutes. By the driveway, we saw a couple of lizards and salamanders playing aound on the porch. Barry got a wildlife camera for a retirement. We have been attempting to get pictures of what happens in the yard at night. No success yet!

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                                 Gardenias

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                                  Hostas

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                                       Gerber Daisy

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                                   Maggie and Mom’s Iris’s

Daily Prompt: Back to School | Recess

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If you could take a break from your life and go back to school to master a subject, what would it be?

Going back to school to master anything scares the pants off me, but if I had a choice and the time, it would be any and all forms of recess. I was always the shy kid picked last for teams (does wonders for your self-esteem), because I sucked. When I tried out for cheerleading, I got into a split (my first ever) and couldn’t get up. I had to help to get up. I was the laughing stock of the entire school for weeks.

I could not run fast to save my life. A sit-up in those days would kill you. They tried to make you do male push-ups, but that did not last long. No one could do one! Then there was the totally embarassing, “We must, we must, we must improve our bust, the bigger the better, the wider they spread, the boys depend on us!” How utterly embarassing is that in front of a gym full of kids?

Masteringing recess would boost my enthusiasm for exercise later life. If I had learned to enjoy excercise at an earlier age, maybe I wouldn’t avoid it like the plague today. Above I am talking about middle school, once in high school, we were given more choices. Band, chorus, drama, horticulture, and tennis along with a few others. I chose chorus and exercised my vocal chords.

My homeroom teacher in 9th grade was a coach, the JV girls basketball coach. He saw me walk in his classroom and started the recruiting. I’m a wee-bit tall. I had no idea how to play, much less whether I could dribble or not. He didn’t care, he was dertermined to teach me. I played one game, got my picture in the annual and quit. I sucked at basketball too! But my dad was proud because I tried.

If I was just a little more attentive, maybe I would have a greater interest in being fit today. My lazy days of middle school sent me into fearful choices in high school and I has been left has left out of shape st 47. It is truly tough to whip an old body into shape when it hasn’t been exercising all along.

My mother’s appetite

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Today, we arrived at my sister’s home to sit with pop while Kristie took Little Man to an appointment. The minute mom walked in the house, she had a plate of what Kristie was cooking for supper and had made herself comfy at the dining room table. It was getting late, so they rushed off to the apointment.

The minute they walked back in the house, mom sat her drink down next to her bag of candy. She headed straight for the kitchen again. She returned with a bowl of bean soup and cornbread. After that, she returned with a slice of cornbread. She said she wasn’t full yet, so she made a ham sandwich for the road. She finished the sandwich before she left and went after the cornbread again. My sister asked me to get her out of there, so she didn’t have to bake more bread.

All of this eating took place in about 10 minutes. I took her bowl away and said it is time to go mom. She grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

Parents: Raising them

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Currently my father continues to have spells of v-fib and passing out. For some reason, his implanted pacemaker/defibrillator does not fire properly. 

I received a call from my sister, that it has happened again and he is in an ambulance on the way back to the hospital. She did not know his status once in the ambulance, but was on the way to the Emergency Room. She told me to stay home and take care of myself, that she swears she will call as soon as she has news.

I had a chemotherapy treatment last friday and a hospital emergency room is the last place I need to be at the moment. I’m exhausted and my bones ache like crazy, so I’m going to kick my feet up and rest.

My mother appears to be having an issue with the amount of attention my dad is getting from the three of us. She has a doctor’s follow-up after cataract surgery scheduled tomorrow. I asked if it was ok to reschedule, so I could be there with Kristie to help sign him into hospice. Mom agreed and went to her part of the house to makeba call.

When I went to tell her it was rescheduled, she was on the phone complaining that we are ignoring her needs and not getting her where she needs to be. She was talking to one of her sisters.

This is totally untrue. My dad is not well and not expected to live. I just do not get this childish stuff.  I know she has an ilness affecting her thought processes, but it is not exactly the same.

I asked her to please verbalize if she has an issue with a schedule change. She says she will. What else do we do?

The Infusion Center

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Saturday afternoon, Barry and I were at the Infusion Center to receive my Nulastin injection to boost my white blood cells. As I sat quietly waiting, I looked around and listened to the conversations around me.

The gentleman sitting to my right was on his second round of chemotherapy for bladder cancer; the lady to the right said hello and dozed back off quickly.

There was a young man in his twenties sitting across, the nurses’ s were hanging blood for. His bloodwork needs boosting to continue his treatments next week.

The gentleman in the chair next to him, had his wife with him. She she speaking to the lady two chairs down from me. The lady down from me, was stating that she was giving up. Her husband could no longer sit with her, he was tearful and upset. He left the room and twenty minutes, a young lady showed up to sit with her mother.

After listening a while longer, she revealed that she was going through her sixth round of chemotherapy for the last time. Years ago, it had started in her breast and just spread around her body, until she now had brain cancer and nothing was helping.

She said she cannot do it anymore and is ready for her seat in heaven. Her daugher started to cry. I started tearing up, Barry pulled the curtain to allow what little privacy that is avaiable.

As I listened, to the hustle and bustle around me, I was hit with the sheer magnitude of the number of people that float though those rooms. The waiting room is always full, and when called back for my turn, I’m taken to the only empty seat in a bay.

It is truly sad to see all of these wonderful peeple going through the agony of chemotherapy. But this is still a statement for how far medical technology has come. All those people in there numerous times surviving, although having to come back for more.

I’ll continue this post after I look up some numbers. They have to be up there. I never thought about it before this date.