Kara my long lost friend

Ahhh high school.  I worked at Dunkin Donuts.  Coffee was free but I didn't really drink it.  (Sigh for missed opportunities.)  Kara was my rock.  She was a fantastic co-worker.  She also helped me with math :P  We had many fun times.  She even was so kind as to let me drive her car.  It was torrential downpour the day I took my driver's exam.  You could not even see out the window never mind see the road!  Of course, I failed.  I don't know how that person could see any better than I.  Anyway.....

I went to Virginia around 1997ish or so to visit her at college.  I remember walking down the cute little strip of downtown going in shops and such.  Very nice place!  Then....well, who knows!?  She disappeared!  Unbelievable!

Over a decade has flown by.  Here it is 2009!  I am flying in to Philadelphia tomorrow to see her! :)  Can you see my smile?  IT IS HUGE!  I owe it all to Facebook!  Thank you SO much!  I looked at the weather online to see 11degrees.  Ummmmm does Lafayette, PA not know I do not own a jacket?  Hee hee off to pack

It's Getting Close!

This year we got to meet Patrick!

I kicked my smoothie addiction.

We learned important lessons.

I got to see my sis hula hoop!

I had lots o fun with Odiferous :)

We flew around the country looking for one competent Dr.

I fell in love with many but realized the one I have at home is my TRUE LOVE <3

I shot my first orchid show just for the fun of it.

We played with ice until our noses ran!

We tried things we never thought we would (chocolate covered bacon).

We cooked, we played, we laughed, we climbed mountains.....

I'm so glad it is over!

see you next year!!!!!!

Trip to Weston, FL results

I started to worry a lot about having my unemployment hearing at the same time as I had a Dr. appt.  I began thinking what if I get upset and cannot drive home from Weston?  Jim finally agreed to come with me.  Thank God!  I never would have been able to do my hearing and my triage simultaneously.  Whew!

So this nice Irish gent (Jim liked that part) was nice and knowledgeable.  His hands shook a lot.  I wonder if that makes his job difficult.  It was a task to not laugh when he was looking in my eyes.  I went through all my symptoms and labs and such.  He believes that my tumor is not causing me any issue.  He told us that 10-15% of people just have one.  It is not causing any crazy hormone issues really.  It is not causing me any eyesight loss.  So that is all good.  He does think I have polycystic ovarian syndrome.  I told my grandmother this and she got TOTALLY hung up on the word "syndrome"!  As if it was related to Downs "Syndrome" LOL  I have a case of insulin resistance that has been lingering.  He gave me a medication to treat that.  This will hopefully cause a chain reaction to all the other things that are wrong.

life is too big

OMG

I am wigging out.  Do they still use that term?  I feel like my life, my future my everything is riding on tomorrow.  It is not just a typical doctor's appt.  It is the final straw.  It is Endocrinologist #3.  #1 is too far away.  #2 is wishy washy and unhelpful.  #3 is part of Cleveland Clinic.  He works with an interdisciplinary team.  My only hope is that he will not send me on my way to find another type of specialist to solve my issue.  If this man does not have any idea I may as well just give up.

I am organized this time!  I pieced out the most important MRIs and labs out of my 3" binder and put them into a smaller one all in chronological order.  I have my menstrual calendar for 2009 in hand with all my SIX periods penciled in.  I have original copies of all three brain MRIs from Melbourne and Tampa.  I made copies of all my documentation to give to him.  I am ready.

News of the day

I just came from one of the many local food banks.  I dropped off toys that my Blue Thong Society collected.  It was so sad to know that our toys were the only ones sitting on the shelf as the others had been handed out and there was nothing to spare. : (  It is very tight for everyone this year!  At least the 3 of us were able to help.

I have an awesome RN that I work with at Hospice of St. Francis.  She was concerned about a close friend of hers that has a 5 year old and a 13 year old.  She is in school FT with 2 semesters to go and is in the process of divorcing the children's father after 20+ years.  They were High School sweethearts but he now has a prescription drug addiction.  My friend said that her friend could not afford Christmas this year and that she went around to Angel tree type things with no success.  I mentioned this to Jim and before you know it his whole company is chipping in and has the list ordered and wrapped!  It makes me all warm and fuzzy!  Big thanks to his peeps!  This Saturday at 2pm we get to meet this family and give the gifts to Mom!  I CANNOT WAIT! :)

I got my MRI results today for the repeat test in Tampa with contrast.  They suggest it may be a Prolactinoma.  With my Prolactin levels only tested once it is hard to gauge but they were high, although not very.  Ho hum.  I am sending off the MRI CD's and the reports to Dr. Brooke Swearingen in Boston.     I hope for some answers soon.

I spoke to Dr. Lawson today and she was able to view my most recent of 5 Cortisol tests.  4 of them were acceptable and 1 showed that I have zero Cortisol AGAIN.  I believe this is because the 5th test I was off the Cortef for 3 days while usually they tell you to stop taking it 24 hours in advance.  Finally!  Something might make sense.  After going cold turkey off the Cortef for the last few weeks at Dr. Lawson's instruction I am being told to start taking steroids again.  Hmm.  I requested a lab slip to go get one last Cortisol level before going back on steroids (Prednesone now) and she faxed it over to me.  Tomorrow at 8am is D DAY and then I am off the the Gaylord Palms to relax with my husband and look at Christmas lights etc.  Ahhh I am looking forward to that!!!!

December Dismay

I just don't know how much more of this I can take.  Seriously.

I was to have an interview Friday Dec. 4th for my old job at Hospice.  She never called.  Monday came and went.  She never called.  Tuesday came and went.  She never called.  Wednesday has come and gone and yep, she never called.  WTF

I go to meet a new patient today.  He has no education.  He is complaining to me for two hours and fifteen minutes about how he cannot afford his ten prescription medications.  I am having a hard time being compassionate.  I am having a hard time not getting up and leaving.  I have six years of higher education and I take home what he takes home.  Does he want to know how much my prescriptions are????  Who is going to help me?  Who is going to be my Social Worker?

I go to the pharmacy and people are RUDE!  I mean R-U-D-E!  I speak to the manager, Ron Pieto and he tells me that he cannot make everyone happy.  Is he serious?  In the last month, he filled two prescriptions incorrectly.  The first one I just handed back the "extra" bottle of pills quietly.  I am stunned.  They don't apologize...why should they?  It's not like I died or something?!  The next time it happens I know that this is an expensive error.  I call to tell them.  Ron is RUDE.  I am disgusted.  They ask me to bring the extra 9 vials of medication back.  Hmmmm $900.....should I save their asses?????  HELL NO!  I donated the extra vials to my endocrinologist's office.  A few weeks go by and Ron gets me on the tele.  "Soooo are you going to bring back that medication like I requested?"  I say "No, I left it with my endocrinologist" with a sweet tone of innocence.  He brings up the fact that it is $900.  Maybe he will think about this and what it is worth to another human being to be treated well.

Back in October I called Sears because my freezer/fridge is busted.  Of course it is approximately 6 months old so it is about time right?!  Ugh. :( They send someone out to tell me it is not really busted.  I let a month go by before calling again.  This guy orders 2 parts.  One part came in the following week but the other still hasn't.  I call Sears again to say WTF.  The first customer service rep tells me the part will never come because they do not even make it yet since our fridge is a new model.  This person transfers me to the warranty dept. who tells me I have not waited long enough.  After 30 days of waiting for a part that is never going to come then, and only then, they will replace the fridge.  I tell them that the 11th will be 30 days...it is the 8th.......I'm sure that I don't even have to tell you what their answer was.  Jim gets on the phone and tells them that their rules are unacceptable.  She hung up on him.  The last time I called Sears (Nov 27th) they hung up on me ten times.  I just kept calling back.  They just kept hanging up.  It lasted 90 minutes. I was stunned.  Shocked.  Bewildered.  Have we really gotten this bad?

Details

I got an email from my PCP Dr. Rebecca Hunton a few weeks ago.  She is the one that helped me on the bio identical hormone replacement therapy and then on to get my brain MRI to find out I have a pituitary tumor.  She is great!  She always spent a lot of time with me discussing things and teaching me.  Now, she is filing bankruptcy because she spends time with her patients and she cares.  We are not just a 5 minute visit. We are not just a paycheck.  Unbelievable!  I can still go and see her if I want to pay out of pocket and then get reimbursed from United Healthcare.  This is obviously not a feasible option :(

I called the compounding pharmacy that I use to fill all the hormones to search for recommendations.  They have several pharmacists on staff and they always help people educate themselves about hormone replacement therapy etc.  They are very nice and knowledgeable.  They gave me 3 names...one of which is Dr. Dan Hammond.  I went to see him for a new-pt. visit Friday, December 4th.  They told me that this appt. is to be 45 minutes long and sure as the days are short, they started paging him on his pager when we hit the 55 minute mark.  After he checked his pager and grumbled they began pounding on his door every five minutes.  I watched with building anxiety as his hand shook while writing my scripts.  Appalling!  Simply appalling!  It ended up that his office called me back at 4:15pm to tell me they had forgotten a script.  SHOCKER!  How is a doc supposed to go thru 80 labs and MRIs and discuss options with a person he has never met?!  Anyway, to break it down....he is nice (squirrelly but nice)  He is in agreement with me on the facts.

Harvard and other docs say that saliva testing is crazy stuff.  I disagree.  I think that saliva is another way of collecting information without the use of blood.  Just because it has not become used widely in our country does not mean it is not accurate.  Other countries use it as their norm as we use blood.  The testing that I had done initially was all done with my saliva.  After determining my hormones were completely flatlined I was put on bio identical hormone replacement therapy and steroids since I was deemed adrenally insufficient.  After this, everyone decided they wanted to see blood work so I had to come off of the hormones for 3 months so I could have baselines done which hopefully will be accurate after all this on and off again treatment.  I went to Dr. Penny Glickman the endocrinologist and she ordered some of the labs but not all.  I am not getting caught in the on again off again game once more wasting another 3 months of my life!!!  I asked new PCP Dr. Hammond and he ordered the other half of the baseline tests.  Whew!  Thank God I know a little.  Dr. Hammond wants me back on DHEA and progesterone again.  He talked some smack about Harvard, Mass General and all the incompetent endocrinologists in Brevard county.  It makes me feel a little good to have a choice.  I don't have to buy in to something that I don't agree with.  I can hunt down and hire and fire doctors as I see fit.  This is the way it should be!!!  I need to find out A. What kind of tumor I actually have. B. What to do about it.  I have NO CLUE on who to ask this question to....maybe the Harvard neurosurgeon?  Dr. Penny Glickman is sweet and all but she doesn't care to give me any input on what is next period!  Everyone I talk to sends me on my way to consult with the next person.  It is a sure thing that I have to read more and learn more.  I cannot be caught in this pool with two different (completely) train of thoughts!  I have to learn my own train of thought and find people who match and are willing to help me.  I have watched Suzane Somers on TV and read little bits of her books.  In a way I admire her for putting things out there.  She believed in BHRT.  She was tired of suffering thru symptoms and having other women in similar situations when there are ideas out there.  The problem is the country does not all believe in HRT.    Isn't it good to have the option to try it?  If your quality of life is bad isn't it great to have something to reach out for?  Who wants to have depression, weight gain, hair loss, hot flashes, missed periods if there is a way to solve it?  HELLO!  Poor Suzanne is such an extremest tho.  She takes it all on and to the Nth degree and makes herself look like a quack.  I wish she'd back it up a little so we could all respect her ideas a little more.  Some of her underlying feelings have merit.  The USA has to come further with their research!  Well, I have to start getting ready for Jim's corporate Christmas party so I am going to post the sloppy draft....

DECISION

After much thought I decided that I am going to start posting a little more medical detail....
I have a unique story for a 32 year old woman.  I have a brain tumor that is effecting my hormones and overall well being.  So far, I have met with numerous PCPs, 2 GYNs, 2 Endocrinologists, and a Neurosurgeon.  I have consulted people in Tampa, Maitland, Boston, Melbourne and soon to be Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale.  This has budded into an experience that is shocking to me and everyone that hears it.  After trying to get answers solidly for nearly one year I have ZERO.  I say almost daily "This HAS to be illegal!"  After all, how can doctors take your money and give you nothing?  Is that not the definition of STEALING?!  Every appointment that I schedule makes me feel like THIS is THE DAY!  Today I will get answers!  Nope.  This leads me on a horrific emotional roller coaster.  I would not wish this experience on my worst enemies!  I have been mentioning things here and there in emails to friends, on Facebook etc.  I am now going to enter regular blogs here.  I want to get things off my chest.  I want to keep all my loved ones current on things.  I want to put the information out there so other people can maybe take something away from my experience and feel a little less alone in their own.  It is difficult to not blog the same complaints every day.  Hey, I am still gaining weight.  My hair is still falling out.  My middle name should be Hot Flash!  Truly, I get tired of listening to myself.  I need to put my intentions out into the universe.  I need to start reading more and educating myself.  The more I learn the better my chances are to live "normally" again. ha ha  It is not acceptable that I feel this way.  I am done trying to convince myself that exhaustion, swelling, weight gain, misery, hot flashes, missed periods, fatigue, zero libido, facial hair etc. are a part of life!  This is not OK!  These damn doctors are going to figure this out and fix me or I'm going to die trying to get them to!  I am going to hope too that maybe someone that reads this can suggest something for me to do.  Thus far, what I am doing is NOT working.  I am turning into another person.  I will post pics from a year ago vs. now.  I do not look the same.  This journey is BS!  I am fighting!  I have to fight!!  I don't deserve this!

now

1 year ago

Who knew

When you meet people and fall in love you look for many characteristics....sense of humor, trustworthiness, honesty, attraction, being considerate.....
Who ever thinks that two people's Circadian Rhythms will be a problem?
I think that if there was one single thing I could change about Jim it would be for him to be able to get up before noon.  Honest to God.  Swear on my life.  Biologically, we are destined to be apart.  After lunch time I am useless.  Granted I am trying to get tot the bottom of this.  At least one of us is.  I guess I should be appreciative that he allows me to spend our last $5 on medical care and does not go himself.  I honestly do not think we could both afford to go....

Back to normal

Everyone says the same thing...
Hopefully, when this all gets settled things will go "back to normal".
Back to normal.
What does that mean?
There has never, ever been a "normal".
My health has been bad.  My relationships have been bad.  My finances have been bad.  My decisions always seem incorrect no matter how long I ponder them.  It is just a big joke.
I wonder to myself out loud am I even in control?  At all????  I know God is THE ONE truly in control.  Do I have any say in it at all?  Day after day spins to an end.  They go so quickly it is intolerable.  I do not wish for things to go this way.......

Scars

There are many scars.  Scars on our skin.  Scars on our souls.  Scars on our hearts.  I stare at the crook of my arm and think about the morning.  They are going to jab me with a needle before the last probe mark has healed.  That is true of all of them I guess.  We have no time to heal in between the kicks in the gut.  They just keep coming.  We tell ourselves and each other little sayings..."Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger" or "God doesn't give us more than we can handle" or "When a door is closed a window opens"  Is is really ok that we keep getting kicked in the gut?  I feel angry and sad.  The waves of reality drown my spirit and make me not want to open my eyes...ever, ever again.  There is no moment sacred from the curses.  I watch my skydiving video from my 30th birthday.  What a wonderful time!  Such joy and excitement!  I try to forget I got in my car and nearly died minutes later at the hands of a teenager who did not know how to drive.  I try to forget the chiropractic appts three times a week for fourteen weeks, the xrays, the MRIs, the pain management appts, the emotional stress, losing my car, the orthopedic surgeon appts, the needles in my spine, the days that I tried SO hard to just sit at my desk at work without crying.  My marriage falls apart because of this.  The fact is the scars will never heal.  The fact is that the court deposition in Tampa come Jan. 2010 will not make one single thing better.

IF

If I were to blog every day it would just be me spewing acidic hatred....
like today....whose great idea is Thanksgiving?  stupid shit.

Warm, sunny Saturdays ---sort of

Nothing is better than my mornings.  They are the best!  Coffee-mate creamer in a piping hot cup o joe...mmm.  The levels of hormones are as good as they get.  I feel energized and blissful.  Ahh to feel rested.  The flavor of the day is Gingersnap.  It makes my tongue tingle a little.  Mmmm.  I almost feel as if I can conquer some of these tasks.  Right up until noon anyway.

I try to create my own routine even though I am by myself.  This way there is a reason to get out of bed in the morning and hobble around.  I try to stand myself upright.  My feet are SO swollen that it is hard to put pressure on them.  They feel as if they are going to explode.  It's funny I never realized this is because they were swollen until about a week ago.  I just thought they hurt.  I mean, doesn't everyone have trouble standing and walking?

I walk around the home improvement stores.  After just 30 minutes my lower back is throbbing.  I finally decided to use the little electric scooters.  I try to make the best out of it.  I had my hubby take a pic and I tried to laugh about it.  Inside, my heart is breaking as I know I am 30 and my body is done with this world.  At the mall a week ago my grandparents told me that they needed to rest for a bit.  They apologized to me.  Little do they know I have wanted to sit down for a good while.

I love my cereal in the morning...and in the afternoon....and before bed...mmmm.  It is so hard to twist the cap off the milk.  Even picking up the gallon to remove it from the fridge door stinks.  I had decided that the swelling and joint pain was arthritis.  Then, I had the whole bilateral carpal tunnel fiasco.  I thought, surely I'll be cured after this.  I'm not even sure if they did anything other than slice my wrists open.  Well, better them than me.  All the hand and wrist issues are still there.  The only thing different is my checkbook. Cheers!

What I Am Thankful For

• The fudge ribbon cake that my grandmother makes every once in a while
• Knowing great people
• Petrillo's pizza
• Acorns
• Having the most awesome Godmother
• Soft grass that you can lay on
• Woodstock Wind Chimes www.chimes.com
• Trip to Butterfly World
• Getting to see Dawn this year
• The fab house that I live in
• Having a renter that pays the rent on time
• Eggnog Coffeemate Creamer
• My iphone
• HOSF
• Sunsets and sunrises
• Having the time and ability to volunteer
• Photos
• Finding a couple capable doctors
• My grandparents being healthy
• Inspiration
• Ikea
• The Original Pancake House   http://www.ophsf.fdn.com/
• Oprah
• Finding friends via Craig's List! Ha!!!
• Odie being a Mama's boy
• Learning how to grill
• My computer (somedays)
• Florida weather
• God
• Hallmark Card software
• Florida springs
• Having a good lawyer
• Colors
• Crocs www.crocs.com
• Blogging
• Flying kites on the beach
• Golashes AKA Wellies
• Networking
• Yoga

Ahhh so long ago

May 20th 2004

Jim and I ventured to Orlando to meet my Aunt Donna and fam.  We had such a great time just being together.  Jim and I curled up on the little couch like a ying yang.  That is what were were then.  All smiles.

Oprah Winfrey : All Good Things Must Come to an End

www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/19/oprah.ends.show/index.html

Hmmm

I was on Facebook tonight looking at my best girl's profile and low and behold there was my ex-husband.  I am stunned.  I am choking back surprising tears.  Wow.  Who knew that was in there?

I have been off of all my Bio identical hormone replacement therapy for nearly 3 months.  I just got all my baselines levels drawn Nov. 17th at Dr. Glickman's office.  For about 3 days I have been having raging hot flashes again.  Maybe the ACTH cort stim test is related to the crazy hormone levels?  I haven't had a hot flash like this in months!  I'm not one to blame emotions on hormones but HELLO!

Hello to sadness.  Hello to tears.  Hello to not wanting to get out of bed..period.  How is a person to stay sane thru all of this?

I receive an email from Dr. Hunton, my PCP that started all the official hormone issue uncovering.  She is no longer able to bill insurance companies.  Granted she dropped the ball on making referrals for me...and she kinda lacks the ability to follow up on, well, anything...but she is the only doctor between Tampa and Melbourne that believes in hormone issues.  I will miss her.  She has started my ball rolling.  Without her, I would not be ANYWHERE!  I am SURE of it.

I LOVE to decorate!

Who Am I?

I'm always changing

My mind

About everything

There is nothing to be satisfied about

I try to laugh.  I try to be "that" person.  It is utterly exhausting to fight against the universe.  I've always been a huge fan of the saying: Whatever doesn't kill you makes me stronger.  Now, I think I am dying.  My mind is dying.  My body is dying.  I am sick all the time.  I spoke to Ann tonight and told her I am ready to go to heaven.  She replied there are too many things she wants to see.  I know though that I can see them all - from heaven.

Miley

Miley...thanks for the song

I hopped off the plane at LAX
with a dream and my cardigan
welcome to the land of fame excess, (woah)
am I gonna fit in?

Jumped in the cab,
Here I am for the first time
Look to the right and I see the Hollywood sign
This is all so crazy
Everybody seems so famous

My tummys turnin and I'm feelin kinda home sick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous,
That's when the taxi man turned on the radio
and a Jay Z song was on
and the Jay Z song was on
and the Jay Z song was on

CHORUS:
So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflys fly away
Noddin’ my head like yeah
Moving my hips like yeah,
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah, It's a party in the USA
Yeah, It's a party in the USA

Get to the club in my taxi cab
Everybody's lookin at me now
Like “whos that chick, thats rockin’ kicks?
She gotta be from out of town”

So hard with my girls not around me
Its definitely not a Nashville party
Cause’ all I see are stilletos
I guess I never got the memo

My tummys turnin and I'm feelin kinda home sick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
That's when the D.J. dropped my favorite tune
and a Britney song was on
and the Britney song was on
and the Britney song was on

CHORUS:
So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflys fly away
Noddin’ my head like yeah
Moving my hips like yeah,
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah, It's a party in the USA
Yeah, It's a party in the USA

Feel like hoppin' on a flight (on a flight)
Back to my hometown tonight (town tonight)
Something stops me everytime (everytime)
The DJ plays my song and I feel alright!

CHORUS:
So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflys fly away
Noddin’ my head like yeah (Oh, nodding my head)
Moving my hips like yeah, (Ooh Yeah)
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok (gonna be okay)
Yeah (huh huh), It's a party in the USA (Yeah)
Yeah, It's a party in the USA

So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflys fly away (flying away)
Noddin’ my head like yeah (nodding my head like yeah)
Moving my hips like yeah, (moving my hips like yeah)
And I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know I'm gonna be ok (I'm gonna be okay)
Yeah (Yeah), It's a party in the USA
Yeah (hahaha), It's a party in the USA (Party in the USA!)

I'm on my way in to the doctor by myself. I'm SO, SO nervous it's crazy. I thought, "I know
what to do!" I'm gonna throw my hands up! They're singing my song! The butterflies fly away! :)

I think I know, until I really don't

I woke up and climbed in the shower.  As the water is hitting my body I think of my doctor.  Is she in the shower doing the same?  Did she have a good night?  Is she in a good mood?  Will she hear me when I speak to her today?  Does she understand what a huge, huge impact she is going to have on my life?  I start to pray for her.  Please, please let her understand.  Let her have a good day until I arrive at 9am.  I reach for my annointing oil that my prayer warrier friend encouraged me to buy.  Heavenly Father please let today be the day.  Answers are a blessing.  Off to make the coffee...
So I sit down for a second (I think) at my laptop in my kitchen and I go for a glance at my hero's blog. http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/  I am captured by her words, her struggle, her success.  Tears are welling up and I want to share what she writes with everyone I have ever known as it effects me so deeply.  I just want to wrap my arms around her and pray for Him to create even more miracles in her life.  I cannot imagine being in her shoes.  Sometimes I cannot even imagine being in my own.  I know that she is a light for our world.  I thank her for that...I wish she could hear me....  Maybe someday she will.

Tic tock.... tic tock .....tic tock

Finally!  The day is here!  Dr. Penny Glickman, endocrinologist is going to help me get somewhere with this brain tumor.  I claim it.  I receive it.  Hallelujah.  Now if I could just go to sleep.....

My chest is pounding, the pain fumes from today's activities are swirling in my head, pondering the job interview in 14 hours, sad I never did get to call Dawn, wondering why my husband is losing his vision in both eyes, and hmmm how did my Cortisol levels come back at 14.0 on this Monday's lab when they were 7.4 last Monday?

Every day I tell myself: things are going to get better!  I am convinced.  I am convinced right up until I look at my bank account or answer the phone.  Oh, if I could just go to sleep.

BFF

I just got off the phone with my SissyPoo. She always makes my heart smile. It is amazing to me how friendship travels over time and tribulations to become the most glorious gift that life can possess. She even humored me and took down a pic from Facebook without heckling me. Now that's a friend!I went to Our Place http://www.covenantpalmbay.org/Articles/1000058968/Homeless_Shelter_Orientation.aspx tonight for the orientation. What a inspiration to reach out and help our brothers and sisters! Here is the scoop...when the weather is expected to drop below 45 degrees, they open a shelter for the homeless. They send out an email to their volunteers (me) requesting assistance to open the shelter and get the food cookin'. So, I signed up and I am truly elated. Ya know sometimes things just fall into place and you can just tell that it is God leading you. The older I get, the more I try to be a follower. ; ) They are in need of donations because the sleeping mats they have been using for years are beginning to disintegrate. Please, if you can, give. HisPlaceMinistries@yahoo.com (321) 674-9009

Blessings! Thank you for your help!

OK so....

I have no idea how to eloquently blog. How do you know what things are worthy of addressing? It appears that short and simple blogs are the best. I guess I will roll the dice. I love to get things off my chest. I admire the creative blogs of others. This is really what inspired me the most. I cannot stop thinking about Stephanie..."Nie Nie"...she was on Oprah not too long ago. She is a glowing, bright individual that has overcome so much. She has these beautiful children and is in love with her husband. I don't know anyone (except my grandparents) that are in love. I have many married friends and such but no one that still cares for one another. Sad isn't it? So I raise my proverbial glass to her! I pray that I can be like her when I "grow up".

Love

My grandparent's anniversary is Nov. 11th.

They will be married 64 years!