Need a Little LOST Fix...

Oh no no, you don't even look that good...Oh my!

Ok, this is a weird thing. One of my favorite TV shows is LOST. So, I was hangin' out around the web today lookin' at this and that and behold, Sawyer has given me my very own nickname. It's FREEBIRD. Isn't that cute? I like it.

Click HERE for your very own nickname from Sawyer.

Tony Stewart WINS At Talladega

Tony Stewart not only won the pole and sat out in front all day, amidst a terrible crash, but in an exciting finish with Earnhart Jr., he won the race without even breaking into a sweat. He's not a regular in the Nationwide Series, but today at Talladega there was no stopping him. It was his race from the beginning to end. He never even took tires the whole race. Yippee! Way to go Tony! Look for the story at http://www.nascar.com/

According to NASCAR News, Stewart celebrated in Victory Lane with a young girl from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and dedicated the win to her. He said he told her before the race he'd try to win for her so she could celebrate after the race.

"I told her we'd try, now we're going to have to take her on the road the rest of the year,'' he said of his new lucky charm.

OK, Stewart fans, lets hope for more of the same at the NASCAR Sprint Cup race tomorrow.

I just know my sis is yelling at me right now because she and my son are both Jimmy Johnson fans. Jimmy is a home town boy and he's good, but I just looooove my Tony and he's better.

I've always gone for the bad boy. Guess I still do.

GOOD LUCK TOMORROW TONY!

25th Album

Join in and take at least one pic every month on the 25th. Do it for a year. Create an album.
This idea is a free mini class from shimelle. She gives excellent ideas and tutorials.
Check it out and join in.

Here’s my photos from the day: Ooops! No photo. Not a good way to get started.
Read my post from yesterday and bear with me. I'll be on board soon.

My First Forum

I just joined my first scrapbooking forum. I even have my own place within the forum. I not sure how this works, so have some studying to do. I think it'll be fun. Here it is http://cardoftheweek.ning.com/
I'm not sure what to say about this right now.

In Memory of GC

I just got the call from MB that G has passed away. Very sad! Very sad! I'll miss him. It's odd that I must mention that he was ornery, disagreeable, cranky and sometimes downright mean. I've know him since I was 16. He was my best friends husband. He was also my husband's best friend. They spoke on the phone every single day for years. Sometimes they would even speak 2 or 3 times a day. Honey knew more about him than even MB knew. G could share with Honey the things that scared him, or the traumas of being in the Vietnam war. He could safely complain about his pain and the idea of dieing sooner than later. He felt safe with my D and was able to open up with him. They were good friends. I'm so grateful that Honey went to the hospital with me today. Even though G wasn't conscious, D got to hold him, speak to him (hoping he could maybe hear him) and pray for him.

My Honey doesn't cry often, but today he couldn't hold it in, or maybe he didn't want to. Off and on all day, his emotions have gotten the best of him. Just now we shared a moment hugging and crying together. I thought he went to bed, but I can hear him in the bedroom right now sobbing mournfully and praying. Simply crying out loud from grief. I don't want to go in there because I know him and he needs to talk to God right now in private. I know he needs to cry and grieve. I myself cried hard all the way home today, then promptly took a pill and went to bed.

Our day started out going to the neurologist for my spinning...dizzy spells, vertigo, what ever you want to call it. Three different Doctors in nine days. No one knows what causes it nor do they know how to get rid of it. So, as long as I don't move my head or body, I'm fine. I have a CT Scan scheduled for next week.

After the Dr. appointment we drove over to MB & G's house as we planned yesterday. No one was home. I looked in every room and no one, including G, who was almost completely paralyzed from his stroke, was home. There was a huge amount of black stuff on G's bed. I mean a lot of it. I honestly didn't know how or what to think about that so I pushed it out of my mind. Honey didn't see it. I immediately called MB and she explained that when she woke up and saw the black stuff, she determined it was coming from his nose and mouth and immediately called 911. A fire truck, an ambulance, and four squad cars came within minutes. After, what can only be described as an interrogation of MB and her brother, D, did they finally take G to Alvarado. Then transferred him to Kaiser to the comfort ward.

By the time Honey and I got to the hospital, G was not conscious and he was struggling with breathing. We tried to wake him, but he was definitely in a coma. When MB asked the doctor, "How long?" the Doctor told us HOURS! G was gurgling everywhere in his body, which is a very distinct sound. Some refer to this sound as the Death Rattle. He was immediately put on a Morphine Drip and he never did regain conscious. He died approximately 8:00 p.m. on Friday, April 25, 2008, at the age of 58, from complications from advance diabetes and at least 2 severe strokes. He may have had a 3rd last night, but there was no point in doing tests

The weeks after his second stroke, he went to a convalescent home for physical therapy. He did not progress and in fact was uncooperative and absolutely hated it there, thereby make the nurses lives hellacious. He begged MB to let him come home and when the Dr. said there was nothing more they could do, he went home. MB had prepared a nice bedroom for him, including a hospital bed, a spiffy wheel chair, and a harness lift. Turns out MB and D bit off more than they were prepared for. G was simply in too much pain and nothing one could do for him helped, including a ton of meds. None of them were getting any sleep because he demanded to be move, or rubbed, or given a drink of water, or you name it. It was constant and required 24/7 attendance to his needs.

It's God's time for him. He was so tortured in his heart and soul. His entire body was in excruciating pain and he was unable to sleep. The ton of meds. seemed to have no effect on his pain and muscle spasms. Nothing was working.

When we were at the hospital, Honey, MB, her Mom and Brother and myself stood around his bed and prayed for Peace for him. We prayed that God would take him soon and peacefully. And that is exactly what happened.

MB kept telling me what a good day they had yesterday. He wasn't struggling as much as usual and they were able to talk about things. He seemed comfortable to an extent. Last night he wanted to converse, he was in good spirits and he appeared have his best night in ages in-so-far as sleep. He seemed to be adjusting to his meds. and MB was very encouraged until she checked on him this morning and discovered the huge amount of black guck.

I'm afraid I may be rambling, but I must.

He spoke to Honey last night. He always asks Honey about me, but last night he told Honey to tell me that he loves me. For me that was little gift from God. We were like fighting siblings together. He was very witty and we could laugh, play and have fun, but boy could we push each other's buttons. To be totally honest, there were times when I just simply didn't like him because of his meanness to MB. But, I've always thought of him as family and I've always loved him. He's Uncle G after all.

I am very sad, because he's gone. I have never known an interesting character like him and most likely never will. He was one of the most unique individuals in my life and I honestly feel blessed to have had him in my life. There will never be another like him.

Thank you God for helping D with the words to save G from and eternity of hell. Thank you for giving him the opportunity to talk to G and to let him know what he had to do to be saved. Thank you for giving us the peace of knowing that he is meeting Butchy, his beloved dog, at the gates of Heaven. Thank you God for your Grace. Thank you for taking him Home. I know his pain is gone. His torment is gone. Thank you for hearing our prayers. Thank you for allowing us to share in his life. Thank you for taking him gently and peacefully. We know it happens in your time and thank you for allowing us the privilege of his presence in our lives. We know you have important work for him now. Thank you Lord, for his unique friendship and love. In Jesus name. Amen

Acts of Kindness

WAYS TO GIVE SPECIAL ACTS OF KINDNESS

WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN.

Help someone. Do something that's selfless. Find a way to give back.

1. Wake up each morning and pray/meditate on how/wanting to be kind to people...wanting to give with no expectations.
3. Learn how to be kind and giving.
2. Notice how I feel when I offer acts of kindness.

This is a way of life that I want to learn. At this point not knowing where to begin, I need to take baby steps. Consciously, I think I do my best already. Lord, gift me with the knowledge and guidance to go above and beyond for others. Help me Lord to give selflessly. Thank you for guidance in your ways of giving and doing for others. Help me to stay out of my own way.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Another HAPPY BIRTHDAY

OMGosh, Happy Happy Birthday to you too, my little nephew, J. I know you must be having a blast. I hope you got lots of toys and had a fun party. I wish I could have taken pictures of your fabulous little face when you opened your presents. Next year your new little sister will be here and she'll be at your party and hopefully, we'll get some good photos of you both. Isn't that cool?

I love you, darling boy and can't wait to see you soon.

Love Auntie Kat

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY

Happy Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet baby girl. You are 25 and smart, beautiful, wordly, and talented. You are everything a mother could ask for in a daughter. You are my dream come true. You are the light in my day. You are my blessing from God. I love you more than words can describe. I love you with every bit of the heart and soul that God gave me.

I hope you have a fun, exciting, special Birthday and that your are with people that you love. You know, as your Auntie P would say, your cheerleaders.

I know you can feel the giant HUG that my arms are putting around you right now. Can you feel the squeeze?

God Bless you my sweet. You are and have always been in his hands.


Love Mom

What?...Vertigo

I honestly thought this blog would have more scrapbooking layouts and what-nots in it. I guess I'm a little disappointed that I haven't used it in a more creative way. However, I still have that plan... and am looking forward to executing that soon.

This is my seventh day with Vertigo. I can't move my head or body without having a dizzy spell. I feel like, well, you know what and I'm bummed because I can't do anything productive. I had this horrible, debilitating, incapacitating, horrible thing once before, about ten years ago and it only lasted a couple of days and poof, it was gone. The doctor doesn't know what causes it or how to get rid of it. I'm seeing a neurologist on Friday and having a CT scan next week.

Here's what I know right now. I can breath, walk, talk, and write this reminder of my Dr. appointments in my blog. Much much more than many.

Ms. Ruby Sue Pondering the Bees and Flowers in the Yard

I just look at this old girl and melt. What a good girl she is and what a faithful loving family member! It’s a glorious Spring day in San Diego and Ruby and I were in the yard taking a couple of pics.

It turned out to be a bit of a yellow day. Do-ya-think? I was trying to get a picture of a bee on this pretty flower. Not too bad for a novice! I bought this digital camera a year or so ago and I love it. My sis helped me pick it out...she has the same one. I was playing with the settings and working on this bee with different settings. This is the best pic I got out of about 10 pics.

I know you're wondering where the bee is in this picture. Bummer! He escaped! Kind of a pretty picture though.
Lemons anyone? These lemons are actually from a dwarf lemon tree that seems to be taking over a corner of the yard. I would never pull it out though. My son-in-law gave me this tree just before he passed at an extremely young age. Another day for that story. I love this lemon tree!

Roses are blooming everywhere. San Diego has the climate for beautiful roses. This particular bush is right outside my office/scrapbooking room window. It's a low window, so I can sit at my desk and be inspired with its beauty nearly year around. If anyone knows how to get rid of aphids without damaging the leaves, please please let me know. I get them every year. They love my roses almost as much as I do.

This is just a cute little place to look. I keep waiting for the wrens or maybe finches to take up residence. I think it would make a fun summer cottage...

Hey Honey, what do you think of our camera? It's so fun. Thanks so much for helping me pick it out. I've never regretted it. Let's not forget to take our cameras to Myrtle Beach and New Hampshire!

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, 'Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.'

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. 'I will come next Tuesday', I promised a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren. 'Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch! 'My daughter smiled calmly and said, 'We drive in this all the time, Mother.'

'Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!' I assured her.

'But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks,' Carolyn said. 'I'll drive. I'm used to this.

''Carolyn,' I said sternly, 'Please turn around.'

'It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.

'After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, 'Daffodil Garden ..' We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

Who did this?' I asked Carolyn.

'Just one woman,' Carolyn answered. 'She lives on the property. That's her home.' Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory.

We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. 'Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking', was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. '50,000 bulbs,' it read.

The second answer was, 'One at a time, by one woman...Two hands, two feet, and one brain.'

The third answer was, 'Began in 1958.'

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at a time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world .

'It makes me sad in a way,' I admitted to Carolyn. 'What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!'

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. 'Start tomorrow,' she said. She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays.

The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, 'How can I put this to use today?

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting....

Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...

There is no better time than right now.

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special. I did!

Thanks to Joann at http://babygabespage.blogspot.com/

Mini Album Surfing

Wow, I was doing some blog surfing and found this great spot on Scrapbook Crazy. There are different types of mini album examples to help you create your own mini album. Lots of different ideas. Here's the spot http://www.scrapbook-crazy.com/scrapbook-album-instructions.html

My Need to Release

Spent some time with MB's husband, GC today. GC had his 2nd stroke a few weeks ago. This one is worse than the first. The stroke is in the exact same spot in his head except on the opposite side. So now, his best side is already a damaged side. He is in physical therapy but progress is very slow. He can't even hold his head up or move in bed. He can't use his left arm or leg at all. He can't put any weight on his left side. Even the left side of his mouth doesn't work. He has to be watched while he's eating so he doesn't choke on the food that collects on the left side. It's awful! He's a prisoner inside his own body. His mind is in tact. He's begging to come home. How will MB take care of him? It's all so day by day. The doctor team wants to have a meeting with MB on Friday to determine how to make GC more comfortable and less agitated. I think they want to send him home already. And, who would blame them. He pushes the button every five minutes literally. He is driving them crazy. All he wants is for someone to move his position. They try to tell him that he can't push the button all the time and he doesn't care. He's so unhappy and miserable. How much of that will MB be able to handle? The doctor said his diabetes is so advanced that he could have another stroke and die any time. Or, he could live for several more years. More will be revealed...day by day.

Lord, I pray that you have mercy on this man. If he is to continue to live, help him to get stronger. I reminded him today that you will never leave him and I was encouraged to know that he is talking to you daily. Give him the will to work on his physical therapy daily.
And, Lord, help me to know how I can be of the most help. Use me God to help him and to help MB. Thank you for opening my mind to where you may need me. In Jesus holy name, I pray. Amen

Scrapbooking a Mini Album for ORG

This is actually the first mini album that I've done on my own. All the other mini albums I've made were made in classes that I took from the designer's of the albums we were creating. I'm kinda proud of this one especially since it's for my little one year old niece. Since I've gotten into the mini album side of scrapbooking, I haven't been working on pages. I have an exhaustive amount of pictures that I would love to turn into scrapbook pages someday. Anyway, here's a slide show of this cute little album.

Ruby Sue

Let me introduce you to my oldest furry daughter, Ruby Sue. Ruby is usually very furry, but we shave her during the summer as in the picture. This old girl is 14 years young and still dancing like she belongs in a circus. She's a border collie/shepherd mix. She is a good girl and has always been the ideal family pet. She loves us beyond unconditionally. Even in her old age and with her hearing failing, she still watches over us as though her own life depends on it. She completely tolerates Peggy Sue Pugster who demands to dominate her. Yeah right! And, the cats...they are a wonderful source of exercise for her. Being the working dog that she is, she spends a few minutes each day rounding them up into corners of the house and then licking them. Poor kitties aren't crazy about this little routine, but seem to take it in stride. Ruby finds great joy in her daily dog work. She's in good health and will hopefully live another 14 years.

THE ANGEL

I wanted to share about an angel that came into my life recently. D is 48 and has been homeless for 15 years by choice. She rides a bike everywhere she goes. She earns money by cleaning houses and taking care of sick people. She has severe hyperactivity and ADD. She is totally aware of her handicaps and seems to only focus on the positive things in her life. Even the things that most people would think devastating, she talks about them in a positive light.

I want to say that she seems to have a halo.

The little that I know of her past is that she had a daughter at the young age of 13. She eventually agreed to let her sister adopt her daugher and then left home. She hadn't seen her family in 22 years. A friend encouraged her to contact her mother and then gifted her with an airplane ticket to see her family this past Christmas. It was an incredibly wonderful event for her. She now knows that leaving her daughter with her sister was the absolute right thing to do. She says her daughter is a happy, beautiful, talented, nice, young woman today.

D is a self-proclaimed healer. She says, "God works through me to heal people." I believe her because she knows it to be true. I've never witnessed her healing powers and most people might even think she's quite the quack, but I love that she is so true to herself. She's pure. What she says may seem crazy to most, but she is so clear, concise and positive that one can hardly believe it's anything more than truth.

I don't want to forget the feeling I had while in her presence. We connected on a level that I can only explain as a gift from God. We are nothing alike and I don't typically connect with people quickly. I'm embarrassed to say that when I reflect on our meeting, it even sounds bizarre to me that...hmmm, I guess, that I would have even taken the time to engage with her. She's a character like no one I've ever met, and I instantly loved her. I pray for her safety in life. Thank you God for the gift of an Angel.