Maria Shriver's March on Alzheimer's - October 24, 2010 - Long Beach, CA

Join us for the Memory Walk for a cure for Alheimer's! It's easy for you and so important for your children!
Finding a cure or at least a blood test for early diagnoses is very important to me! My mother was stricken with Alzheimer's in her early 60s. She now lives in a care home. She wears diapers, and doesn't know me or remember the last 20 years of her life. As time goes by she is loosing her speech and slowly waisting away. This is a cruel horrible way to die! For family members it is so painful and so costly!! To date it affects 5.3 million people world wide. The numbers grow every year as we live longer and find cures and treatments for other ailments. Check out the Alzheimer's web page for info on the disease and find the date for the Memory Walk in your area. Lets do this for our children!

Holy Guacamole!

This morning began with a pancake breakfast at my mother’s Alzheimer’s care home. (see previous post) This alone on top of menopause symptoms was full day for me.  Later that same day we went to a adult birthday party. Let me set this up for you. I am what most people would call a white English speaking American. (Irish / German immigrant), whatever that means. My son is dating a Mexican girl named Cindy. Her father speaks great English her Mother is learning. The party was for the mother.

The birthday girl

 My excitement of this day was the food. I knew there was going to be some authentic lip smacking food and alcohol! When we arrived we were offered beer or margaritas. I had a margarita, and hubby had a cerveza. Then the food prep begins. I asked if I could help. The method of my madness was to observe. I was handed a bag of avocados and a spoon. Guacamole, by a white girl at a Mexican party? Are you sure?  Then I looked outside and hubby was helping to light the bar b q. We all giggled. It was strange being the minority for once. The three of us were the only "non-Mexican" guests there.

Hubby, me, and Cindy shaking the camera.

The food turned out great and I ate too much. The guests were enjoying every last bite of what my son and I called the “white girl guacamole”.  We joked that an Anchor man and camera crew were going to expose the secret at the end of the party. We ate and laughed and hubby drank. I mean he took shots of tequila. I had a few shots with an hour or two in between. Him, not so much. He and others got pretty drunk. It was all fun, and no issues. That was until I got him home. I tried to get him to drink some water. It was too late for water. To say the least I was cleaning the bathroom at 10:00 at night.  He woke up Sunday morning to get ready for a plane ride from California to Montana still drunk he says.  

Hubby and Cindys brother partaking.

I think the party is what I needed to get my mind off “things”. This last week has been really difficult for me dealing with menopause. I’m not sleeping, my stomach is bothering me, and I am grumpy! Really grumpy! So I little R& R was good for me. 

The birthday girl and me after our shots.

So hubby is off to Montana for a few days and I hate being alone. SO wish me luck this week. 

Saturday started with Alzheimer's and pancakes then ended with Tequila!

I had no idea what my Saturday had in store for me. I had it all planned out. I was attending a pancake breakfast at my Mothers Alzheimer's home benefit for Alzheimer's in the AM. Then I would take a little bike ride with hubby and the afternoon attend a adult birthday party at my sons girl friends parents house. Sounds interesting huh? It was!

When I woke up I was feeling “out of sorts”. I had a rough night sleep and my head was pounding already. Just some of the wonderful menopause symptoms I have lately. I left my house that morning for the pancake breakfast with a 5 lb chocolate bar my company donated for a raffle and hubby in tow. On arrival I was happy to see a big turnout for the breakfast. A few weeks back I was brain storming with the assistant director. I suggested asking the cooking school around the corner for chefs to volunteer. She asked the school and several inspiring chefs volunteered to help on the grills. The local Starbucks donated coffee, IHOP donated pancake batter, and Raley’s Foods donated berries. I wish I remembered to take pictures of the spread.

 We found a table and I went looking for my mom. Unless you know someone with this disease you may not know what it is like to walk through the halls of such a care home. Interesting to say the least! Alzheimer’s affects its patients differently. So here I am walking through the halls looking for my mom who at this stage of her life has become a marathon runner or something. Her attention span is that of a toddler, and she doesn’t sit in one place long. So I ask her nurses and they all remember seeing her at opposite ends of the building. I find her sitting in the common area. So I have her walk with me outside to sit with us. Her nurses gave her a shower and her hair was still slightly wet. Too bad because there were some clouds and it was breezy so she got cold but couldn't communicate it and it made her cry. I asked her not to cry, and that I would get her a blanket. Just then for a split second she recognized me. I could see it in her face. Then the tears started for both of us. She usually mumbles but just then she kept saying she was sorry it wasn't her fault. I felt so sad. I had a nurse get her a blanket but she wanted to go inside. I went to stand in the food line with my husband and let him hold me while a cried.

 I later went looking for my mom and some nurses directed me to another patient’s room where she was quietly sitting watching an infomercial. Yuck. I asked her if she want to come outside and eat but I couldn’t get her attention. So I brought her breakfast to her and her nurse fed her. I did get her to laugh and smile then I said my goodbyes and left. As least I made her smile.

The visit with my mom got me shook up. I was already out of it when I woke up. When I got home I knew I needed to do something to get my mind off the visit. It was too breezy to ride bikes hubby said so we went to the Home Depot to buy a plant for the birthday party later and to the pet store. We found a nice plant and bought frozen shrimp and cat treats. A successful shopping trip. I brought the plant inside to clean up but I forgot to bring the frozen shrimp in until 2 hours later. The stress of the day got the best of me and I wasn’t thinking straight. It makes me so mad. Then my head pounds harder.  I still had a birthday party to attend.

Cont,,,,,,

(next post, Holy Guacamole!) 

God helps those who help themselves, and other inspirational quotes.

Those of you readers who know me know that I am not a person to throw the name God around. My religion is personal to me and I am the last person to tell you  who you should believe in.  In my blog today the name"God" can be whatever you interpret is as. Its just that simple.
Those of you who know me also know I hit a few bumps in the road of life. There has most the time been someone with "Words of Wisdom" during these times. Sometimes useful others a bunch of crap.  My Mom was full of wise quotes to fit the moment. One the my most remembered quotes my mother would say was, "God helps those who help themselves". I use to think "how biblical". NOT! Turns out that one of the most inspirational quotes in my life isn't from the Bible at all. I did some research. OK I Goggled it. It turns out that Benjamin Franklin quoted in Poor Richard's Almanac in 1757. During my researching (Google-ling) I read that he and this quote were not well liked by the religious group. So this is all I will say on Ben.

Back to my disappointment. After all it is usually about me. My Mom would tell me "God helps those who helps themselves" while I was wining about  homework, chores even getting my rain boots on. But as a child I had the fear of God and it worked. Now as a adult I still mutter that quote only because I use it out of contexts so to speak. I don't think God will peel your lifeless fat a$$ off the couch while watching Oprah and get you a job. If you give it your best you will get the help you need from whatever powers that be.
This leads me to another of my life altering quotes. I don't know if someone famous said this next quote. I guess I could have Goggled it. A middle age hippie mother at one of my kids school said something to me. It changed my life. I didn't know it at the time. In fact it pissed me off. Here I was pouring my heart out to her. My life was crap! I was getting a divorce, I had 3 small children, my job was going to end soon and this woman told me "You are in charge of your own destiny". It took me a few days for it to soak in. After all I am sure I had several other gatherings to share my pitiful life with others before I realized that no one was going to change my life. CRAP! I had to do it myself. Back to God helping me. God was not going to pull my sniveling un-showered butt out of bed and change the fact that I couldn't pay rent and I was too depressed to cook a real meal. I was in control of that part. Crap! So what now?  
As soon as I took control of things in my life that I could one step at a time the remainder of my problems worked themselves out. So to speak. 
This was several years ago, but these quotes seem to apply to me daily. If you don't like the way your life is going,  your job sucks. Stop and think how can YOU change it?  "You are in control of your destiny" and "God helps those who help themselves". 
Now for my favorite saying that I say to kids when they have a problem they think they can't solve. "Baby steps". You may not be able to tackle the whole problem Plan your attack using baby steps. 
When all else fails, and life is dumping a load of lemons on your front porch. Grab the vodka and make lemon drops!

 Whats on Oprah?

Finding inspiration for this probie blogger

I spent my Saturday morning alone surfing the internet. I decided to check out blogs to try to get some inspiration for my blog. I found blogs with recipes, women blogging about their cats, and tons of blogs written by moms. What I found in most these blogs is most the authors blog about what is real in their lives. They don't seem like they are trying to be something they are not. I realized that when I write I'm self-conscious because of my lack of skills and that I am afraid no one would be interested. The blogs I read today mostly didn't seem to care as much as they wanted to get point across. Some were raw and at times un-inhibited. Others were timid and even ask if they were giving to much info.
After reading blogs for hours I decided that I want to be a better blogger and that I need to let my hair down and blog about what interest me. In the future I wont worry about who reads my blog and what they think. I am sure this will help me with my "writers" block.
So in the future here in my little corner of the blog-sphere expect, more about my cats, Hello Kitty, what I cook, Hot flashes, and lots about what gets on my nerves.

Who needs #FF when you have, BIG CUP COFFEE DAY!

I have a tradition I started when I became a Facebook addict. I don't work on Fridays and I love coffee. So on Friday mornings I find the largest coffee mug I have. I log onto Facebook and update my status which usually reads like this. "Good morning Facebook, I have the largest mug of coffee I can find and I am not working, so what day is it kids? Its BIG CUP COFFEE FRIDAY!".

Funny thing about this is that some of my friends comment Thursday eve whether or not it will be Big cup coffee Friday. I don't post this in my statues if I work on Fridays.
I also like to post something on Wednesdays about it being "Hump Day". *giggle*

When life keep waking you up, and other Menopausal gripes.

This past year has been crazy for me. It feels like the older I get the faster life speeds by me. So many things are happening in my life right now. I find myself looking back to my past regretting not doing things differently. I'm not sure if it is maturity or menopause. (More on this later). My children are grown and working on their lives. None of them have children yet. This is good for them but difficult for me. I am excited at the thought of being a Grandma. My mother was a awesome grandmother to my children in every way! I say was, because she has been stricken with one of the worse diseases to hit the older generation Alzheimer's. She is in a care home now and doesn't know her family or the grandchildren she loved so much. She wear diapers and laughs a lot. Her father also had Alzheimer's and pasted away recently. I am afraid this disease is hereditary and I wont be able to spend time with grandchildren or worse I will have enough time with them and then be stricken with the disease only to bring heart break to them. I know too well the heart ache of having someone in this condition. You loose your memories, you independence your dignity. This is one of the many thoughts I have bombarding my brain daily as I drive around working. After awhile I get depressed. This is the Menopause again. I said I would say more on this.
In recent months I have what I call "waves" of symptoms. Depressions, migraines, stomach ailments, appetite changes, hot flashes and loss of sleep. To me it feels like PMS on steroids. These symptoms have been coming on every few weeks and last for about a week. More intense as the months go by. This last month was the worse. My husband asked me to call my Dr. (haven't yet). I felt like a blob. When asked a question I couldn't come up with a answer. I was unable to make decisions. I couldn't even decide what to eat or what to wear, and everything made me cry. The depression slowly faded although I feel it trying to rear its ugly head now and then. (more on the failed Chicken and Alfredo dinner).
I mentioned the thoughts bombarding my brain. I drive for a living. Sometime a hundred miles a day. Not your big time truck driver miles, but enough to pick at your sanity. When you alone with your thoughts anything is fair game. I tend to take on stresses form people around me. I want to help them or fix their life. I usually find the best fix is money. I have been kind of low on that lately. Besides my part time sales job, I also have my Real Estate Agent License. I love selling real estate but have been unable to in this bad economy. Don't get me started on the economy. I blame corporate America and greed for most of our problems. Yet I currently work for a big corporation as does my husband and I shop at Walmart to save money. This is a whole new subject. More on this later. See what I mean about my sanity?

My 55 gallon

This is my 55 gallon obsession. I started a 55 gollon freshwater fish aquarium this last March. So far I have lots of live plants, 20 fish, and 1 snail. 2 male Dalmation Mollies Gandolf and Rock. 2 Male tiger Barbs Spot and Verde, 2 Gold Barbs, 2 Cherry barbs, 3 male Gouramis, 3 male guppies Sunny + Skyler and noname. 2 Bolverian Rams Dippsy Doodle and Dodge. 2 leopeard cory catfish, 2 spotted cory catfish, 1 apple snail. I also have a 10 gallon freshwater tank with, 6 neon tetras, 4 rummy nose and 5 shrimp and a trumpet snail.

A frame for a friends baby

This is a frame I made for a friends baby shower yesterday. Its for a 4x6 photo. I didn't have one so I placed a cartoon in it for now. Her baby is much cutier!

My first attempts at scrapbooking

A pillow for my bedroom

Wow I havent updated this page for awhile.

This is a pillow I just crocheted for my bedroom. My hubby and I repainted our bedroom in December, and bought new furniture. so I had to make something to match!

I will work on getting some of my recent projects on here a.s.a.p.

I have some scrapbooking projects I just completed to share.

My 2nd project

This project #2. (since picking up crochet hooks). I took the photo below before I finished the fringe. The one above is completed. It is a lapkin to match my living room.