I’m so excited….one more award!! I can’t believe it!

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Knowledgenut  (http://knowledgeknut.wordpress.com) nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award. Knowledgenut is a blog, I recently came across. You are a sweetheart and your blog is witty, fresh, intelligent and a pleasure to read.

I am thrilled that they have visited my blog and felt I deserved this award. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Visit us anytime you want. I love to giggle and things that make me think. I don’t think enough anymore! 

For The Liebster Blog Award (here are the requirements):

1. Link back and thank the person who gave you the award.

2.Display the award logo on your blog.

3. Answer the 11 questions.

4. Nominate up to 11 other bloggers for this award and link to them.

5.  Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.

The 11 Questions:

1. Name a book that changed your life? The Bible

2. Who is your favorite author/writer? Tom Clancy

3. How many pets do you have and what are their names? two, a boxer bulldog named Maggie and a Japanese Fighting Fish named Shotgun. We got him for Christmas.

4. Name the craziest thing you’ve done? Hit a local law enforcement officer across the face when he wasn’t minding his business

5. Who’s my best friend? My husband, Barry

6. Name a childhood prank? Hiding in the ditch, rolling hub caps down the road when a car passes.

7. Who are your favorite music artists? Mercy Me, Uncle Kracker, Barry Manilow, Josh Turner, Miles Pike, Oak ridge Boys, Alabama

8. Name a place you would love to visit? Greece

9. If I had just 5 minutes left to live what is the one thing I would do? Tell my husband I love him, kiss him….pet and hug my dog….call my mom and dad…..if I had time, call my sisters

10. What’s my favorite sport? College Football

11. How do I define love? Being supportive and just being there. Show the person you care about that you will be there no matter what  and you will do anything for them.

My nominees are as follows. I realize I am getting some of you more than once, please forgive me if you are overwhelmed with blog replies. Just remember, In my opinion, everyone deserves one! Congratulations!

1.http://khaulanaxir.wordpress.com

2.http://peacefulpartings.wordpress.com

3.http://nativemichigander.com

4.http://mintedmoose87.wordpress.com

5.http://inlovewiththelord.wordpress.com

6.http://theasianreloaded.wordpress.com

7.http://hopeforheather.wordpress.com

8.http://lindavernon.wordpress.com

9.http://beatingcowdens.com

10.http://vivsspecialthoughts.wordpress.com

11.http://mollybandme.com

Again, THANK YOU! Knowledge nut!

Crazy Dream…….

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I woke this morning thinking to myself, ‘that is the craziest nonsense I’ve dreamed lately’. Most of the time when you wake up, you can remember bits and pieces of where your dreams have taken you through the night.

When I climbed out of bed this morning, I felt like I was in the middle of a real situation. I told Barry and Miss Maggie ‘Good Morning’, and Barry told me to ‘get my lazy tail up, I know what happens when I miss breakfast’. I haven’t a clue what he was referring to, but it played right into my dream. You’ll understand in a few minutes.

Now to the crazy part:

In my dream, the world we live in was a  little (lot) different. Anything considered unhealthy was illegal.

Eating at a fast food joint was illegal. There were only a few still open, and  they ran you thumb print, searched you, and checked your car before letting you in the door. Then there was a cover charge to get a table, $20.00.

McDonald’s and Zaxby’s were the only two brave enough to stay open. I guess it’ll take a nuclear disaster to get rid of Mickey D’s.

If the police caught you in the parking lot, you could be arrested. They drove through regularly to check car tags. They kept track of who frequented the restaurants and when.

Soda was another thing that was outlawed. As a Diet Coke addict, this is the one that would have me in permanent residence under the jail. I just do not see myself hiding in a closet to have a Diet Coke!

You had to get up eat a healthy breakfast, healthy lunch and supper and eat two nutritious snacks daily. They somehow monitored your activities at home and at work. If you were caught, it was off to jail.

You got a public flogging if you fed something unhealthy to a child under the age of 12. The law was drastically toward keeping our children healthy.I was in the middle of being flogged when Barry woke me.

My sister visited that day, the dream was still in my head. My nephew asked for a drink, I knew all I had on-hand was Diet Coke. It actually crossed my mind about what would happen if I gave him a soda.

If you had a bad mouth, it was a public flogging. Anything that was ugly and deemed inappropriate in society today, was illegal in this crazy world I was dreaming about.

I thought about it all day, trying to figure out where this craziness came from in my head. Until I remembered we had watched “Demolition Man” the night before this dream.

I do not ever remember a dream affecting me like this. Maybe, it was something I ate. By the way, we have not frequented Mickey D’s in quite some time!

Daily Prompt: Quote Me

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Do you have a favorite quote that you return to again and again? What is it, and why does it move you?

-Follow your bliss!-Joseph Campbell http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php

I have always taken this one to mean ‘follow what you love’. You cannot be happy in life, if you do not enjoy what you do. When my niece and nephews would ask me questions about what to do with their lives, I’ve told them to figure out what they love and go for it. If they choose right, they’ll shine. If not, keep looking until they find what makes them happy. One nephew is a pastor, this choice suits him perfectly. His twin brother is an artist and professional ballroom dancer, he has been showing his creative side since he was five years old. Their sister, is the perfect mother, wife and homemaker. She plans to homeschool her kids, which will be a breeze for her. My sister did a fabulous job with her kids. Of course, my brother-in-law is included in this praise.

-The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.-Joseph Campbell http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php

I continue with this quote with my younger nephews, who are still young enough to be figuring out who they are and what they want to be. They are both sweet, loving boys; but with totally different personsalities. I’m enjoying watching them grow into handsome young men and I encourage them to be themselves regularly. They will eventually figure out who they are and where they are headed in life. My younger sister is doing a wonderful job with her boys. She is a great mom with many challenges, but they are getting there. Of course, my brother-in-law is included in this praise.

I attempt to apply this one to myself daily. I learned early in life that I am a caregiver. I went to nursing school and worked for over 25 years before we had to close our business. I continue to be a caring, loving individual I have always been. I receive phone calls for medical advice regularly and do my best to give accurate, fabulous advice because I wouldn’t want to steer anyone in the wrong direction.

Even though I may not be actively working, I take care of my mother, my husband and myself daily. Sometimes it isn’t easy to be, the one person in the house, with the best memory. Making all the decisions can be a bit tedious at times. Barry has been in management for over 30 years, he isn’t the easiest person in the world to take being told what to do or how to do something. I am trying every avenue I know to figure out how to work with Barry. I don’t want to argue with him daily when he retires. I have to remember that Barry is only being who he is and that is his priviledge!

Thank you! just a few more awards!

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Blog of the Year: Thanks to Lucewriter, http://writersite.org/author/lucewriter/ I will get my third- star on this award. Luanne thank you for being so supportive, encouraging, and just plain and simply a super, sweet woman.

 Your comments to my post always make me smile. You are always there to listening to be rant and rave in words, being supportive all the way. Thank you for listening.

Blog of the Year Award 3 star jpeg

The rules/requirements for this award are as follows:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/   and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

Lucewriter also nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Thank you again, Luanne! You are super special.

inspiring2H

Display the award logo on your blog

* Link back to the person who nominated you

* State seven things about yourself

* Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them

* Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements

nominated by lucewriter/writers site.com

nominated by lucewriter/writers site.com

 

Luanne, again thank you! Your kindness is overwhelming! She also nominated me again for the Super Sweet Blogging Award! If you ask my husband, he might argue with this one, but he does like my writing. 

I’m going to combine my requirements and only state seven things about myself

  • Cookies or Cake? Cookie, of course. I’d have to say chocolate chip. Yummy!
  • Chocolate or Vanilla? I must admit chocolate is my friend, but a love french vanilla in my coffee.
  • Favorite sweet treat? Tiramisu (sp).
  • When do you crave sweet things the most? Ummmmm, I have to watch my waistline, so sweets are a treat. There are always those stressful moments, when nothing will do the trick, but a sweet treat!
  • If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be? Sugar Cookie: plain and simple, nothing fancy.

I’m going to combine my requirements and only state seven things about myself, since I’m running out of things to say about myself.

1. I’m a crafty person.

2. I believe in marriage and a happy home.

3. I believe it is the husband’s job to take the garbage out.

4. I could care less if the dishes are done immediately following a meal.

5. My stepson thinks I alone ruined his life.

6. I hate being trapped in a body that doesn’t like to work correctly. 

7.My sisters and I may fight like cats and dogs, but I would move heaven and earth to help either one of them.

Now for my nominations:

1. http://hopeforheather.wordpress.com

2. http://blissinimages.wordpress.com

3. http://onceamonth4ladies.com

4. http://gritintheoyster.wordpress.com

5. http://healthyhighway.wordpress.com

6. http://lindavernon.wordpress.com

7. http://inlovewiththelord.wordpress.com

8. http://michelleproulx.wordpress.com

9. http://fishofgold.wordpress.com

10. http://theothersideofugly.com

11.http://peacefulpartings.wordpress.com

12. http://blackmarketfarm.wordpress.com

13.http://maryannemistretta.wordpress.com

14.http://thinkingiswrite.wordpress.com

15.http://dausonstimpsongagnon.wordpress.com

Other than a few old faithfuls, I nominated blogs that I have recently started following. Several are humorous, several are inspiring, all are very interesting. Check them out!

Emory’s Brain Tumor Support Group

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MkI will not be able to participate in BrainTumorThursday again this week due to the Support Group I attend monthly. The group meets the first Thursday of every month.

There is a guest speaker on a variety of topics. I am enclosing the link to the Group’s Page. You can follow the link to Emory’s very informative internet site. 

http://www.neurosurgery.emory.edu/BTSG/index.htm

The group of people who attend regularly are fantastic, energetic, optimistic and simply just a great group to see once a month. They really lift your spirits and are very encouraging. The staff at Emory are a hardworking group of professionals attempting to keep us up to date on current research.

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Rules for awards

The Kat and The Falling Leaves's avatarThe Kat & the Falling Leaves

Happy New Year!  Wishing everyone and their loved ones a wonderful year ahead.

SalsaGlam was a success!  It was really great to catch up with all of my Salsa friends from Montreal, Vancouver, New York and Paris.  We danced up a storm 🙂  I’ll be posting pictures next week.

2012 ended on a sweet note!

On December 22nd Kim at Tranquil Dreams presented me with The Versatile Blogger Award.  Visit her blog for beautiful photography, creative writing and yummy baking recipes.

versatileblogger111

On December 29th, Gegebearbear at Two Rights Attempting to Make a Left  also nominated me for this Award.  Her story is such an inspiration.

versatileblogger

These are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award as follows:

  • Display the Award Certificate on your website
  • Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented your award
  • Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers
  • Drop them a comment to tip them off after…

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Daily Prompt: Resolved

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For years, one of my resolutions has been to eat healthier and get into better shape. I hate to admit, it took brain surgery to get me to follow through with this resolution.

My resolutions for 2010 involved eating right, getting my weight down and exercising more.

At this point in my life, I was looking at the possibility of being in a wheelchair the rest of my life. The neurosurgeon was telling me to correct the complications from my first surgery, he would have to operate again. It would make me better in some aspects, but worse in others. I would end up permanently in a chair and need someone with me around the clock.

At my age, I was not ready to accept such, so I went back to the advice I was given at rehab. They told me to ‘keep moving’. I was killing 2 birds with one stone. The way I saw it, if I ended up having a second surgery….being as strong as I could be, would be to my benefit and the lighter my bodyweight, I would be easier to get in and out of a chair if I needed help.

In 2010, I came up with a few resolutions on New Year’s Eve; I changed my diet habits, joined a gym and started doing things around the house just to make life easier around the house.

  1. cleaned out the pantry of anything I shouldn’t have
  2. joined a gym
  3. worked exercise into my schedule, no matter what else was going on!
  4. my doctor recommended a diet plan, where
    I had to see her regularly to follow my progress
  5. I got my hubby to agree to do everything with me.

By the time December 31, 2010 rolled around I had:

  1. lost 50 pounds
  2. dropped over 47 inches over my entire body
  3. dropped 8 sizes in clothing
  4. had more energy
  5. felt better, higher stamina

The best news of all came with my yearly check at the neurologist. There was new research and some of the problems I had been dealing with, since the first surgery, could now be managed through medications. I was off to meet another neurologist, but NO MORE SURGERY was the main thing I heard.

So, long story short, it took me half my life to actually meet a resolution, but I continue to do it today! With the guidance of the good Lord above, hopefully I can continue to get stronger and healthier with each day! Whatever his plan, I’m following Him!

Daily Prompt: Use It or Lose It!

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This is my first daily prompt. I could not resist, because the title fits my everyday life. Every minute of every day can be summarized by ‘Use it or Lose it’.

I get up in the mornings and walk past my wheelchair to start my day. If I do not continue to walk, it will get to the point that I can’t.

I exercise one hour everyday because my muscles have a way of forgetting how to act right, so I have to remind them.

I read my bible everyday, to strengthen my relationship with God and it exercises my eyes. Makes the muscles in my eyes work. They also tend to forget, overnight, how to act right. I also do about an hour of eye exercises daily just to help keep them strong. I do not care to lose my eyesight.

If I am up to it, I try to run a few errands alone, to keep up my stamina and maintain my independence. I love to window shop, if I can’t get out on my own, not sure what I’d do. Had my driver’s license a long time and I am not ready to part with it!

The one thing I did not like losing was my hair! It is hard to style your hair when you only have one useful hand. Short hair is easy to style and I can use my left hand enough to hold a round brush or a hair dryer. I will admit, I miss my ponytail!

Just about everything in my life works with the phrase, “Use it or Lose it”!

To believe or not to believe…..

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‘New Years Superstitions’: I’ve never considered myself superstitious, but my sweet hubby insists every year that I adhere to one he grew up with. His mom and dad would NEVER wash laundry on New Years Day.

I believe it goes something like this: “If you wash your clothes on New Year’s Day, you will be washing a member of your family away.” 

You can read about others at the link I have provided. Several of them sound kind of silly. If you tried to do everything they suggest, you’d have one incredibly busy midnight hour at the beginning of every year. http://www.snopes.com/holidays/newyears/beliefs.asp

In my opinion, this one is kinda creepy, but Barry says that both his mother and father were adamant about observing this superstition. Honestly, I hate doing laundry. I’m not gonna argue when Barry tells me not to.

That Midnight Kiss, starting the New year off the right way…….

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Every girl watches romantic movies about “New Years Eve” and how the night is supposed to end.

You should find your special someone when the clock is striking midnight, look deeply into each others eyes, your lips meet with that knock you out of your socks, blow you away, bend you backwards over backwards with that electric kiss that makes you feel like your insides are melting.

That is what the movie kisses are like. If you are lucky and find that someone special, maybe you will experience one of those kisses someday.

The decimal moments you will always remember those special moments.Then you grow up! There will come a day when you tuck those memories away and start making new ones with the love of your life.

Barry and I were apart last New Years, but we were together in our hearts. This year, he told me he was sleepy. He said if he fell asleep to wake him up at midnight for the know as he owes me from last year, plus this years.

We may be older, but we still try to make it special. We played catch up from years past and I loved the fact that he remembered. Barry and I keep it interesting, even when it is just the little things,Sometimes that is what is the most important. Have a blessed wonderful New Year, all! Goodnight!