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Review–The Battle Over Marriage

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Disclaimer: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any form of compensation. Anyone who has been following politics and social reform issues for the past decade is aware of the ongoing fight to legalize same sex marriages.  Not only in the US, but in other countries as well.  One of the biggest proponents for allowing this tidal wave of change is the media.  And not just mainstream media either.  Social media plays an important part as well. This book focuses on how the media has played an active role in allowing people’s views to come forward about same sex marriage and to help gas up the engines of change.  But this book is so much more then that.  It also showcases the Gay Rights movement from the very beginnings.  Some of the pieces that are portrayed in it are heart wrenching.  While others are heart warming.   If you ever wanted to read a history of the Gay Rights movement and how media played a role in its progress, then

Crazy life

I am sorry if anyone has emailed me lately and I haven't had a chance to respond.  Things have been really hectic here. And when things are slowed down for those rare moments, I have just been trying to relax.  That is a little hard to do considering. For those of you who do not know, I was just diagnosed with uterine cancer.  I had my first visit with the oncologist last week.  They have already set me up for surgery on September 23rd.  So right now I am running around trying to get everything done that needs to be done before the surgery. After the surgery, I will be in the hospital a few days.  I plan on taking my kindle and getting as much reading done as possible.  However, I am betting that I won't be able to concentrate enough to read.  I was told to expect to be getting morphine or dilaudid after the surgery.  So I will probably be in la-la land afterwards.  I would rather be in Nora Roberts Land though. I am trying to do some reading before in order to get some posts u

The Waiting Game

I have never really been a patient person.  Now more then ever. So here I sit, waiting.  Waiting to find out if my life will irrevocably change.  I already know that no matter what the diagnosis, I will still require surgery.  It's just whether or not I will receive the big C diagnosis.  I am so scared right now.  One of the worst things is that the sister I live with won't let me just be scared and cry it out.  That is what I need.  The only time I can do that is when she isn't around.  Otherwise, she tells me that I am being silly.  That I just need to think positive.  That everything will turn out fine.  WELL, I'm sorry if I am human and knowing that I might have cancer is completely freaking me out.  I'm sorry if me showing that I have emotions is the wrong thing to do.  Why can't she just let me express how I feel instead of repress it?  I just really need a shoulder to cry on.  Unfortunately, I just don't have one. My best friend hasn't been around

Life update

It's been awhile since I have written a blog post giving an update on my life and my health. Things have been pretty crazy here.  My health has been in a really steep decline.  In fact, I have been in the hospital already twice this year.  Both times I needed blood transfusions due to severe anemia.  Come to find out that one of my medicines was actually exacerbating my problems.  So I can either continue to take the medicine and have issues with one problem or not take the medicine and have issues because of another problem.  It just seems like I can't win. I had a biopsy about a week and a half ago.  I go for the results on Friday.  I certainly hope that it isn't the big C.  Too many in my family have been taken because of that disease.  I don't want to be added to that number. Even if it isn't cancer, they are still planning on doing surgery to remove the issue.  So I will be in the hospital for almost a week post op.  Maybe more if I end up needing more blood. 

Awakening the Luminous Mind

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Book Description     Awakening the Luminous Mind is the third book of guided meditation practices in a series by the acclaimed author and teacher, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Tenzin Rinpoche will guide you to bring these simple practices into your everyday life by turning inward and finding what he calls your "inner refuge." By this he means boundless space, infinite awareness, and the qualities that arise that have the power to transform your life. As you follow the principles in this book and complimentary CD, you will discover greater creativity and intelligence, liberation from suffering, understanding and connectivity, and freedom from the ego that strives to control our life experiences.   Book Review   One thing that I try to focus on is my spiritual well-being.  Whether it is through spending time at my local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, reading my tarot cards, or meditating, I feel that it is important to tune into my inner self in order to create a

This Path We Share

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Book Description   The book that any grandmother, mother, sister, or friend will want to give to a new bride... and to herself. How did a farm boy from North Dakota and a willful 17 year old from South Dakota forge a relationship that has lasted more than six decades? How did they withstand tragedy, unprecedented social upheaval, breast cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and 400,000 miles of travel together? And why do they say, after all that has happened, "And so we lived happily ever after"? Book Review   Lois Tschetter Hjelmstad has been married to the same man for 60 years.  In this poignant memoir, she looks back upon those glorious years and shares how to keep your love alive. It is through her experiences that she has come to several realizations.  There are certain things that must be done in order to keep the fire burning within your marriage.  And these are not only during the joyful times, but through the tough times as well. This is definitely

Working It Out

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Book Description   In 2006, Abby Rike lost the life she knew and loved when her husband and two young children were killed in a car accident. Devastated and numb, she shut down. For nearly three years she walked through life like a spectre, present in body only. As she descended, so did her health. Fortunately, Abby was not alone. She had loving parents, supportive friends, and a faith that continued to sustain her. Little by little she found the courage to return to life. Joining The Biggest Loser proved a catalyst for the physical and emotional changes she needed to make. In fact, against all odds Abby gained strength, courage, wisdom, and continued her steadfast relationship with God. Instead of anger, she found herself slowly but steadily healing. She lost a hundred pounds but gained hope. In this riveting book, Abby tells her story--from her joyous life before the accident to the unbearable pain that followed it and her eventual emergence as a woman reinvigorated by her

Live Below The Line

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One of the things that I have recently learned about is an upcoming awareness campaign called Live Below The Line .  This campaign is trying to help raise awareness about the extreme poverty that many people world wide live in.  Did you know that over 1.4 BILLION (yes you read that right! that says billion) people only get about $1.50 worth of food and drink per DAY!  Most Americans eat more then that in snack food alone per day.  So the challenge is to attempt to live for 5 days with only eating or drinking $1.50 worth of food and drink per day.  They are also asking to help raise money for the charities that they are partnered with.  For the US, those charities are Shot@Life , Unicef , Care , The Global Poverty Project , Global Syndicate , Malaria No More , and Rainforest Foundation US . As a review blogger, I get forwarded marketing campaigns through BzzAgent a lot.  It is usually for various products.  However, this one I felt was a very good social concerns cause that everyo

Fine Black Lines

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Book Description   Written by a breast cancer survivor, hailed by professionals and patients as an excellent resource, loved by its thousands of readers, the award-winning Fine Black Lines provides courage, comfort and hope through its introspective journal entries, startling photographs, succinct poetry and reflections. Book Review   Having lost my dad to cancer when I was only 16, this book really hit home.  But not for just that reason either.  This book is great for anyone going through some major health battles.  Lois Tschetter Hjelmstad takes you through the rough landscape of trying to get through each day while not knowing what lays ahead of you health wise.  The poetry that she writes will touch your heart and soul in such profound ways.  The to read her journal entries alongside of them, you can see what was going on at the time and how she was feeling emotionally as she wrote each poem. If you or a loved one is going through a battle such as this, I highly

Long Time, No Blog

Sorry for going dark for so long.  My computer died and I am just now finally back up and limping along. It may take me a few days to get through all of the emails that I have to get through.  I did lose quite a number of emails and other things though. Unfortunately, I lost my calendar and spreadsheet of all my reviews.  I know that I missed doing some reviews while I was down.  And I am pretty sure that I have some reviews due very soon.  I know I specifically have one due for today which I will be typing out in a few minutes. As for Ben, he was transferred back to the local hospital at Christmas time.  He is unable to walk.  He is unable to see clearly.  He can see outlines of things, but everything is one big blur.  And worst of all, he has trouble thinking clearly and remembering anything.  He went from being extremely smart (reading a few grades above his own) to not even being able to name colors.  It is so heart breaking to see this.  Now the hospital is saying that the

Update on Little Ben

Thank you everyone for all the prayers that you have been sending Ben’s way. He had the surgery.  However, he is still having seizures and they are now showing up in a different part of his brain.  The doctors are unsure how or why this is happening.  So they are keeping him still in a coma. They said that until he is able to stop seizing they need to do this for his own health.  It’s not like small little seizures every now and then.  They are huge long ones that are uncontrollable.  The other day he had a seizure for over 3 hours long.  They aren’t even sure at this point how he is going to be when they do wake him up.  They aren’t sure what kind of damage this has done to his brain.  There is a chance that he will have to learn to talk and walk again.  It’s just so disheartening to think that even though modern medicine is so advanced, there are things that they just have no clue about. So as it stands, we are just in a holding pattern with him.  This coming Friday is hi

Early Review–dot.com dating

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Book Description   A third of America’s singles are dating online. Millions of singles find the love of their life through a dating site. So what about you? Do you fear megapixels and modems will take the romance out of finding love? Are you put off by a stigma that no longer exists? Or maybe, with more than 1,000 online dating sites to choose from, you’re wondering who is truly safe and trusted. Whatever your reasons, this easy-to-read book will help you gain confidence in finding love online. You’ll explore: Ways to Avoid Liars, Losers and Freaks Six Ways to Know if Online Dating is for You The Big Myths About Cyber Dating Five Questions You Absolutely Must Ask Before Signing Up   Improve your love IQ with the help of relationship experts Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott. Learn the inside information you need to know about using dot.com dating to find your potential soulmate. Book Review   Part one of the book is devoted to

F is for Fran

Growing up, our next door neighbor was Ms. Frances L.  I always called her Ms. Frances.  She was my mom’s best friend. My mom told me of a time where I was going to run away.  I packed my bag and I was heading out the door.  Of course, I wasn’t going to go far.  I was just heading next door to Ms. Frances house.  My dad used to love playing pranks on her.  I remember one time when she was having a pool built in her back yard.  She was over hanging out by our pool with me and my mom.  The pool builders told her that her phone was ringing in the house.  She said to not worry about it because whoever it is can just call back later (this was way before answering machines).  The phone just kept ringing and ringing.  The guys kept telling her that the phone wasn’t stopping.  That is must be important for that person to just sit there and let it continuously ring.  So she climbed the fence to get to her house.  It was much quicker then going through our house to get around to her house. 

D is for Dating

I have been thinking a lot about this lately.  I have been divorced now for almost 15 years now.  I had dated quite a bit after my divorce.  However, in the last 6 or 7 years, I completely stopped dating. The reason that this has been on my mind is because I am nearing the scary age of 40 (this October).  I am way overweight and need to really lost a lot of weight.  I am more then 100 pounds overweight.  Plus with my health issues, it just doesn’t make it easy. I miss having someone to go out with.  I miss waiting for them to call.  I miss getting excited as they are on their way to pick me up.  I just miss the thrill of dating.  I also miss just knowing that someone is there.  I am just afraid that if I wait too long that I will end up alone for the rest of my life. 

Review - Nerve

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Book Description   Nerves make us bomb job interviews, first dates, and SATs. With a presentation looming at work, fear robs us of sleep for days. It paralyzes seasoned concert musicians and freezes rookie cops in tight situations. And yet not everyone cracks. Soldiers keep their heads in combat; firemen rush into burning buildings; unflappable trauma doctors juggle patient after patient. It's not that these people feel no fear; often, in fact, they're riddled with it. In Nerve , Taylor Clark draws upon cutting-edge science and painstaking reporting to explore the very heart of panic and poise. Using a wide range of case studies, Clark overturns the popular myths about anxiety and fear to explain why some people thrive under pressure, while others falter-and how we can go forward with steadier nerves and increased confidence. Book Review   I tend to be one of those people who is always nervous.  I get nervous going to new places, meeting new people, and so on. 

Early Review -The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus

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Book Description   Say hello to Holly—a writer way behind on her deadline whose fiftieth birthday is rushing at her like a freight train. Which might not seem so bad if her hormones weren’t making her feel like a Szechuan flambĂ©, her editor wasn’t calling every day to tighten the screws, and her eighty-year-old mother wasn’t biting her nurses because the doctor’s been feeding her enough steroids to kill an elephant. Not to mention the fact that Holly’s daughter has just begun applying to colleges (none of which are within a thousand mile radius of home) and, lately, her husband’s been such an irritating, finger-pointing stinker that she’s found herself dreaming of ways to spend his insurance money… The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus dances effortlessly between the hilarious and the heart-wrenching, the preposterous and the painfully familiar, leaping from the page in a completely unexpected and original way. Sonya Sones is the author of four acclaimed novels for teens—Stop Preten

Review–How To Overcome 5 Obstacles

Life coach Joanna Lindenbaum has created a free e-course which is geared towards women who are wanting to help themselves get over hurdles in their lives.  Joanna uses techniques that she calls Woman Wisdom Success Principles. One thing that I haven’t talked about on her at all is that in January, I was laid off from my job.  This caused me a lot of heartache and panic.  I had been working at that same company for six years.  I have been lost and not really sure what I want to do with my life. Then I found How to Overcome 5 Obstacles by Joanna Lindenbaum.  This short e-course is very well written and easy to use.  The hardest part is trying to face your own fears and demons.  Each section of the course has two parts.  The first part is a description of the obstacle and how it affects you.  The second part consists of exercises to help you overcome the obstacles.  The exercises really get you thinking about how things have been in your life, how you feel about certain things, and

Why is it only Wednesday?

This week at work has been extremely weird.  Thankfully today was really slow at work.  We actually got to leave a little early.  It was really nice. I forgot to bring my camera to work today.  I wanted to take that picture.  I will try to remember to bring it tomorrow. I don't have internet access at the moment, so I am using Windows Live Writer to type my blogs and save as drafts.  Once the internet comes back up, I will publish.  I hope it comes back up soon.  This is driving me crazy!

Soulful Sunday

Last night, I did a lot of soul searching. I had been in emotional pain for a very long time. I felt that I need to start really taking a look at what was causing some of this pain. So last night I sat down and wrote in my regular journal. By the time the entry was done, my hand was cramped around my pen (now I remember why I hate writing instead of typing!) and I was in tears. It was a very cathartic experience for me. Here is what I wrote: I had been trying to win her love all of my life. I always felt that I was never good enough, never pretty enough. I was just a kid. I didn't understand. Why didn't she love me like all the other mommies? Why was she always distant? The only times she would interact with mer was with Ms. Frances. My mom had been sick before I was born. It was always "leave me alone, I don't feel good" or "You don't know what its like to be in so much pain". I never gave up though. I wanted her love so baldy. I rememb

Its a Hard Knock Life

To start from the beginning would be to start with my mom. She was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was only 16. This is an auto-immune disease that affects the joints and muscles. Slowly over the years, her body was being beaten up by her own immune system. I know it was hard for her going through life. Unfortunately, when I was younger she always made us feel like we didn't know what it was like to be sick. That since she was going through this horrible thing, only she knew. So when we did get sick, it was sort of written off until it was really bad. When I was young, I was constantly having ear and throat infections. The pain would get unbearable. They finally stopped when I reached middle school. I had a couple of years living normally. Then when I was 14, I started throwing up frequently. My mom kept threatening to have me commited since she thought that I was forcing myself to do it. I wasn't but I just couldn't convince her. It wasn't unt