On The Way...

A new blog is on the way to being created. It will deal with disabilities and learning to cope with all the changes and losses, and hopefully turn them in to positives. Hopefully it will be helpful to others going through this phase of life.

Newest Adventures

It has been too long since I was last here. Spring is finally here and with that the singing robins and sunshine that always perk up my spirits. Winter wasn't the best with my two seperate foot injuries, and stomach flu three times. But all that is in the past. Now new things are happening in my life that have brought a fresh kind of fun. First it is that I got involved in buying a few things on Ebay for the first time.
Ebay--Actually with Ebay, I first went there just out of curiousity to find out if anyone might be selling an old used double French horn and at what kind of prices. Well, I did find a few I was initially interested in with low prices. That is until the time got closer to the end of the auctions and the bids jumped way higher than I could afford. So I am still looking at that possibility, but it is seeming to be a long way down the road for now. Maybe it will be something I am going to have to save my pennies for.
Well, in the continued curiousity phase I was in, I decided to check out guitars and other musical instruments. My son and I have started teaching one of my grandkids how to read music and play a few things on my keyboard. So as well as looking for a guitar for myself, I was looking to see what kinds of instruments would be available for young children to learn on. HaHa! I was hooked in no time! Before the first week was over I had bid and won auctions for a mandolin and a travel/backpack guitar. I had other instruments on my watch list. This week I received a ukulele I won bid on. It is going to have to be returned however because one of the tuning pegs is not working properly and I don't think I am able to fix it. My grandson has tried the mandolin and it is just the perfect size for his little 5 year old hands. The ukulele will be a good size too, and I think, with its nylon strings, easier for the little grandkids to learn on. So, my plans at this point are to purchase four more ukuleles between now and Christmas for the four oldest grandkids to have their own to learn on. Thankfully, the ukuleles and mandolins are not too expensive for beginner styles on Ebay. In the meantime, I am taking my time to learn how to play the mandolin for myself. I have had guitar lessons in the distant past and need refresher lessons on that as well. I get my lessons for free from YouTube.com. Isn't the internet fascinating? There are all kinds of musical instrument lessons on YouTube as well as across the web. Now the reason I picked mandolin was out of past interest in folk musical instruments as well as a lot of interest in Irish music. Well, on my first day with the mandolin, I broke two strings just tuning it. So that got put on hold while I waited on new strings to be ordered and to arrive. Since mandolin strings are not available anywhere in the town I live in, I ordered a few sets just to be prepared. I was always breaking my old guitar strings....so I wanted to be sure I had enough for the mandolin until I got used to it. So much for that adventure! Well, the new strings arrived and I got it tuned and started my lessons. That's going slowly for right now. So many other things going on at the same time.
The travel/backpack guitar is interesting to say the least. It doesn't look like a guitar at all really, but it sounds like one and plays like one. It is a lot smaller in width though and really works well in a more confined space such as my recliner. I probably should order some strings for that as well, but it is tuned and I haven't broken any strings yet. I do wish it was a classical guitar like my previous guitar was with nylon strings. They are much easier for me to play. But I will just have to get used to these rougher steel strings. Refresher lessons are also going slowly. Still more to tell...
The next items I got hooked on at Ebay were the children's books. I have wanted to restock my grandkids toy area with books and fill up one of the totes I have for the kids. It is pretty full now. I was able to find quite a few nice books and book sets for really decent prices including the shipping and handling. I also found some books from way back when this baby boomer was a child. I purchased one, but haven't been so lucky at the others. Their prices are just going out of my range. Anyone remember Uncle Wiggily? I got an old Uncle Wiggily's Adventures book from 1940--even before my time actually--in great condition. The grandkids won't get their hands on that one, but I will gladly read to them from it. But what is taking up most of my time right now is that I also found a 9 volume set of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and I just have to read them! My daughter also wants to read them so since she forgot to take them with her yesterday, I started reading them last night. Got one finished. I decided she can take one at a time and that way we can each read them simultaneously.
For now Ebay must wait. I have spent enough and have enough to keep me busy for quite awhile. Grandkids are having their spring/summer birthday parties again and I don't have the money right now to keep shopping on Ebay. It was fun while it lasted, and quite an adventure! But be sure I will be checking on the ukuleles for the kids for Christmas. They are going to love them! Their daddy plays guitar and he will be a good teacher for them. Now he will have to teach himself first.

Other adventures include finally getting to the doctor to have a good checkup. It has been awhile since I have had a really good checkup. I have some places on my skin that I need to see a dermatologist for. My doctor is referring me for that. Also, I am needing to choose a new cardiologist who is closer and in my state so my medical trips will be paid for. I hate changing doctors but that is what happens when you have to use Medicaid. Also, my family doctor has set me up for physical therapy to help me regain some of the mobility I have lost over the past few years since I got sick with the chronic a-fib. It is supposed to also help with getting rid of some of the excess weight. Blood tests, echo cardiograms, physical therapy, dermatologists, cardiologists, medications, medications, medications. Yes it is quite an adventure I am on these days!

Is That What Happened?

I think I figured it out! You know the Richard Simmons sit down wheel chair exercise DVD I have? Well I was working out with it last week. Some of the foot and leg exercises I wasn't doing because of the chair I was sitting in and not having the room to move around like he and the others were. So I just did simple heel and toe lifts. Over and over and over again throughout the maybe 15 minutes I was working out. I know I wasn't working out hard or for very long because I was starting out slow. But, as I continue to put ice on my injured foot and ankle, and as the swelling and pain ease out because of the ice, there is one major pain that continues. That is in my Achilles Tendon...my heel tendon. It hurts! It snaps! And as the ankle and foot start warming up again, or as I put my foot back into the wonderful moon boot, all kinds of muscle spasms begin. And they almost all seem to originate from the back of my heel towards the outside back of my ankle which is where the core of all the pain has been from the beginning.

So, is that what happened? Do I have a work-out injury? Over simple heel and toe lifts that did not even hurt when I was doing them? Is this the result of being that badly (and sadly) out of shape? I just cannot believe that something that easy caused this much drama and pain. I have always been so strong and active, even if I couldn't do all the same things everyone else seemed to be able to do so easily. It really stinks to feel so weak right now. But through weakness, God shows His Strength. Without Him I could not hold up or keep trying to make everything work out. This is another of those times that I am learning what I can and cannot do. And also learning to accept and deal with my limitations. With each limitation comes a way of handling it in a new and different way.

Hey, Lord? Would it be okay if for awhile life just go on without all this extra drama and the tests? Thank You for being with me all the time anyway. Wouldn't be here without You.

Baby Steps For Valentine's Day

First of all, let me say I am sorry I have not been posting very much here lately. It's still hard to think about what to say but it is getting better. It's been 8 months since life was turned upside down for my daughter, her son, and the rest of us. There is some semblance of normalcy but that is all it is....it is a new normal. Normal has changed. I did a lot of posting at mylot.com but I am not posting there anymore. It helped to post the trivial stuff there just to keep me writing even though it wasn't of anything really important or blog-worthy.

There have been some change in my life since I last posted here. In the first week of November I ended up with at least one stress fracture in my right foot not far from my ankle. It put me out of contact with the outside world for a few weeks. Along with that, my car seems to be having its own issues which include a tire that needs replaced due to constantly leaking air, and possible transmission problems. If I find out the transmission needs replaced, the car is going bye-bye from my possession. So with the foot problem and the car problem, I haven't been out of the house more than 5 times all winter....until today!

For the past 2-4 days I have been having foot and ankle pain in my left foot and ankle. More in the ankle than in the foot, but it would spread whenever I got up to walk. Not wanting to end up where I was back in November, I thought about what worked back then. I got my crutches and I wrapped up my foot and tried my best to stay off of it as much as possible. It didn't work. It just kept getting worse until today I gave up the fight and had my son drive me to the ER. My Valentine's Day night out was at the hospital, and my gift (which was not given to me free by the way) was another moon boot...those big, bulky, heavy weight foam and velcro walking fracture boots. Now I have a matched set. I thought they came in rights and lefts so I didn't even bother trying the old one I got back in November or I could have saved the cost. But, with my feet the way they have been, I might end up needing both. Oh what a sight that would be!!! Oh, and the wonderful concoction for the romantic evening....not wine....not champaign....not the old strawberry daiquiri's I used to love. Nope. A large Sprite from MacDonald's to wash down a generic vicodin.

One thing this trip to the hospital got me besides the medication to take the edge of the pain off...the doctor has decided I need to get physical therapy on my feet and ankles to strengthen them. This is something I have had to do in the past due to a sprained ankle that never healed correctly. Oh these wonderful crooked legs and all the sprained ankles I have had over the years. But never have I ever had one that didn't get caused by being twisted and falling down. Thank God for that blessing. I don't know how I could handle falling down at this age and size and physical condition. You might have to check to see if I cracked the earth!

As much as I remember physical therapy hurts, I know it is something that I need and with it being ordered by the doctor, I can get it now and get it paid for. Oh yes, and that brings me to the other big change of the winter...I am now retired! Yes! I gave up on the call center job that was stressing me out so badly. With all the other stress I have to deal with daily, I just didn't need that in my life anymore. With the recent raise of the social security, it raised me up to the level I needed to be at to be able to meet my expenses without having the extra income. However, I do not expect to not have any other income at all. I am looking into various avenues, all of which would be of benefit to me, with the ability to control my own hours and income, rather than having the number of hours being dictated to me as a company minimum. There minimum was too much and put me in an income bracket that left me out of good medical care which, as you can see, is important to me.

Other baby steps over the winter have included getting busy again with getting active even though I don't get outside much. Keeping some kind of movement going whenever it crosses my mind, which can be quite often, is something good for me. The Richard Simmons DVD for wheel chair and sit down aerobics is back in the DVD player. It lay in its case sadly awaiting for me to get back to using the exercises. I was just too physically and mentally exhausted when I was working to do the program. Thinking about it, maybe I overdid some of the foot and leg movements and thereby brought on this current injury by that. I can see it happening. Well, it looks like the physical therapy I am going to be getting soon will take care of the leg and foot exercises. I am still going to keep working on the rest of it.

The other area of my life that is currently in the baby step phase is the organization of all my craft and sewing items as well as all the other stuff I have managed to gather together over the past few years since I had to start over again. Thanks to some storage items on sale at WalMart.com I now have just what I need to get things in order. Unfortunately, I have somehow boxed myself out of the area I need to reach....LOL. Ever hear of not mopping or not painting yourself into a corner? Well I have done the opposite. I have placed the items I am sorting through and the storage containers in the wrong location so that I cannot now get back to the area where I want them to be placed once they are filled! I have some thinking and rearranging to do.

So right when I am so excited about these two areas of attention--the increase in exercise, and the organizing of my home--I end up with this injury. I get so tired of having to wait to get something accomplished I want to work on. Hopefully, in a few days, with the help of the pain meds and the lovely boot (did I say lovely?) I will feel able to work on things while keeping both my feet firmly planted on the floor. It is hard to do these things while keeping a sore foot elevated. Thank God for this recliner. I don't know what I would do without it. Although I am focusing on ways to get myself out of it more often so that I am more active.

I am looking forward to the physical therapy. I am hoping that it will indeed strengthen my feet and ankles, and maybe even my leg muscles. I have lost so much over the past few years from being sick.

Like I have said before--just because something happens that looks bad, or feels bad, doesn't mean it is bad. It might be needed to lead to something better. I don't think I could have gotten the physical therapy without a doctor's order. And how would I have gotten the doctor's order? It took the second injury for the doctor to decide there is a problem that needs addressed. Oh, but does it have to hurt so much?????

New Christmas Tradition Started

Last night I finally started a tradition that I hope continues for years and years. I have always wanted to do this one way or another but it just never panned out until now. With seven grandchildren and friends with kids the same age as my grandchildren, I thought this was a good time to do this. So, almost at the last minute, the plans were laid and the tradition born.

We had a Christmas cookie making party!

Since it was planned at the last minute, I didn't have everything planned out that I would like to do. Still, the kids got a lot done and had a good time doing it. My place is small but I had stations set up for the kids to work at with room for each of them and the mothers to assist. My station was the oven and mixing.

Altogether the kids made cutout shortbread cookies that they decorated with sugar sprinkles, white and milk chocolate covered pretzels they also decorated with sugar sprinkles, graham cracker cookies with neon colored icing filling, and I made M&M cookies just before they got there for them to take with them. Each of them got a bag of cookies to take home with them then.

Next year I hope to add some different kinds of goodies for them to make and decorate. I think this was one of the best holiday events I have been a part of in a long time.

Following are some pictures of the results. There won't be any faces in any of the pictures because our family does not want the kids' pictures on the internet.

Cookie tray getting filled up. They will be decorated once the tray is filled, then stuck in the oven. We only had one true cookie sheet, so we used what we had available. This is actually a broiler pan. Below you will see we even used a couple pie drip pans. Hey, they worked!

A quickly growing pile of baked and decorated cookies. My kitchen counter was a mess of sugar sprinkles once all the cookies were put away.



From the looks of things, it looks like they liked the big sprinkles better than the little ones.

Too Many Questions...Not Enough Answers!

Below are some interesting websites to look at before you vote. I am not saying that the things said on these sites are true. But they raise enough questions that it makes the possibility of any of it being true to be pretty frightening for America. If nothing else, why are these questions being asked in the first place? Basically, ask yourself, what do I believe about the old adage of "Where there's smoke, there's fire"? If even one of these websites is siting truthful information, it should be enough to raise further questions. Don't just skim the articles. Look at them thoughtfully. Our country has its problems, but I wouldn't want to take it down the road that it could be going if any of these articles are correct and Obama is elected President of the United States. Anyone can make pretty speeches and say what he knows the people want to hear. It's called SPIN. It's lip service. We all should know by now that campaign promises seldom are fulfilled because it isn't just up to the President to make these things happen. It takes all of Congress.

Here is another question to ask yourself. The McCain campaign has just released another interesting commercial. This one speaks of how within 6 months of Obama taking office, our enemies will be seeking to test him by creating disaster for us. Come on, people! Obama isn't even a full fledged senator. He is a JUNIOR Senator. He is a rookie! And he, as well as our country, will be a prime target for our enemies if he becomes President. That alone makes him dangerous for us.

The PA judge dismissed the lawsuit against Obama and the DNC. Berg is appealing to the US Supreme Court. Berg is a Democrat and an attorney questioning his own party's candidate. All he asks is for Obama to produce a vault copy of his birth certificate and he has raised questions about the Hawaiian birth certificate being a forgery. There are good reasons for him to be questioning it. Those reasons are mentioned in some of these websites listed. Those questions alone should be enough for us to be asking our own questions. But the websites give even more things we should be asking questions about. Affiliations with the Democratic Socialist Party--this is not our Democratic Party as most of us know it. This is a Marxist party...and his "spread the wealth around" is a Socialist ideal. Another question that, whether he is Socialist/Marxist or not...the question alone raises a lot of red flags. He says he is not and has never been a Muslim. His school records have been produced and he is listed as a Muslim in Indonesia. Former friends and family members have stated, according to these websites, that he was a very devout Muslim all through his youth. So, okay, he was Muslim. Is he now lying about it to gain our trust? Since when would lies gain trust? He may be a real Christian now. But why lie about his childhood faith? So now we are reduced to his word against apparent evidence produced by others and now posted on these as well as other websites. All anyone has to do is a general search of any of his 6 (SIX) other legal names. He has changed his name so many times that I am not sure what name is his real legal name. Apparently, neither are the owners of these websites. One such person even questions if Barack Hussein Obama is his real legal name now because this Hawaiian birth certificate does not use that name and no record has been found or produced of his legally changing his name to Barack Hussein Obama. They state that if this is not his legal name, it shouldn't even be on the ballot. His Hawaiian birth certificate lists, back in 1961, his race as "African". In 1961, this was not the terminology used on birth certificates. He would have been listed as "Negro" according to at least one of these websites. By this they are saying that it proves this birth certificate a fraudulant copy. Some say it was his sister's birth certificate and has been doctored but that this one word was overlooked by the person making the changes, probably because they didn't think of it at the time. Another question raised is about his citizenship since birth. According to his school records in Indonesia, he would have had to have been a legal citizen of Indonesia to be accepted into the schools there at that time. They also did not recognize dual citizenship so his family would have had to do whatever was legal in Indonesia to have him listed as an Indonesian citizen. Since returning to the US, nothing has been documented that has been found, about his citizenship being renewed or reinstated, or any oath of citizenship having been made to declare himself as a naturalized American citizen. But, in that regard also, there is a big question about where he was really born. His current public, and possibly forged, birth certificate states he was born in Hawaii. According to the websites: 1. Hawaii at that time registered births of children born abroad, and 2. there is question that his mother was in her last stages of pregnancy while in Kenya, and was not allowed to travel until after his birth because of the airline policies at that time, and would in fact, still have to get special medical permission to travel today if at that stage of pregnancy. So, there is the question of was he actually born in Kenya and his birth registered in Hawaii. If he was, he is NOT eligible to be President.

So, now that I have given you an overview of just some of the questions being raised about Obama, take a good look at these websites. Then do some more searching on your own if you want to. And ask yourself...am I willing to put my country, my family, and myself at risk by electing someone this controversial as the President of the United States? Is the economy the real issue here? Are jobs the real issue here?

Come on, Obama, stop talking and show us the documents. Words just don't cut it!

Too many questions...not enough answers.

http://www.obamacrimes.com

http://utube.smashits.com/video/0EUu5pS2_PA/Will-Democrats-let-Obama-spit-on-the-US-constitution-.html

http://utube.smashits.com/video/6GrCHctYyWA/EMERGENCY-Warning-to-All-U-S-A-Citizens-Obama-and-Ayers.html

http://www.americasright.com/2008/08/q-with-phillip-berg.html

http://www.americasright.com/2008/08/obama-sued-in-philadelphia-federal.html

http://www.americasright.com/2008/08/is-this-for-real-and-why-hasnt.html

http://www.americasright.com/2008/08/eligibility-goes-beyond-citizenship.html

I Don't Like Political Posts, But.....

I don't know how many of you have noticed, but there is a lot of controversy about whether or not Barack Obama is actually an American by birth, which is a requirement for becoming President of the United States. There is a lot online about this controversy. I have been trying to follow this as best I know how. Below are some interesting websites you might want to visit before you vote.

When you know about all the controversy surrounding this presidential candidate and this election, maybe take the time to ask yourself why is Obama making advertisements for people to vote early? Is he trying to push his election through before people find out the truth about him? Just where did he come from? What are his real affiliations? Just what do we really know about him? And most of all, are you willing to vote for him based on his smooth talk and lip service or do you want to know the truth?

According to these websites, which also show the legal documents of the court judgement that has just been handed down, Mr. Obama has at least 6 legal names he has gone by over his lifetime. He and the Democratic National Party have refused to produce proof of his citizenship, they have merely tried to dismiss the case or tie it up in litigation, which the Judge in the case did not allow, and they refused to give answer within the legal time frame of the case. By not giving answer within that time frame, it is legally the same as admitting to the charges. Therefore, according to the documents, Obama has been court ordered to step down as presidential candidate, and the Democratic National Party has been court ordered to stop endorsing Obama for president.

Check out the following websites. Do some searching on your own. Don't vote blind.


Obama isn't eligible

Obama Court Ordered To Step Down

Specifically, read the portion in the court document that states that the birth certificates that were posted from the state of Hawaii do not prove that Obama was a natural born citizen. Apparently Hawaii has a policy where it also will give birth certificates to those born abroad if they are registered in Hawaii. This means that the birth certificate may be registered in Hawaii, but does not mean the child is a natural born citizen. Continue reading and find that Obama apparently is or was a citizen of Indonesia through his step/adoptive father Lolo Soetoro and was a registered school student in Jakarta, Indonesia. According to the laws of Indonesia at that time, no foreigner could be a student in an Indonesian school. All students had to be Indonesian citizens.

There is a lot more to read in this document. These are just a couple of the highlights.

At this point in time, voters need to be aware that if they are voting for Obama, they may be voting for someone who is trying to pull a scam over the American people and get himself elected against the rules of our US Constitution. There may not be time to get all the facts of this case sorted out. There may not be time, if this is all true, to do anything at this point to stop Obama. But there is time to make a decision to uphold our Constitution. The real question here is, if all of this is true, and I am not saying that it is, do we want this kind of man in the office of President of the United States? If he is that underhanded enough to go to this extent to pull the wool over the American people's eyes, don't you think he is a person who is unsafe to be called our President?

Again, I don't know if all of this is true. I have not had the time to research this latest information. What I do believe is that Obama is not the person he is claiming to be. He is full of charm, wit, charisma, and a lot of well placed words. But I believe he is not only a liar, but a dangerous liar. He is dangerous to our country. He is playing on the needs of the American people to get votes. On the internet there are ads where he is trying to convince people to vote early. I think a major reason for that is that if he can get as many as possible of his current supporters to vote for him now, it will be too late for them to change their minds if any part of the negative truth comes out about him afterwards.

What is the big deal, Obama? If you are a natural born citizen, why are you refusing to show the proof of this? Why are you and the Democratic National Party, instead, choosing to allow this to be a court issue? Why are you choosing to try to tie things up in litigation, which is basically a stall tactic? If you are a natural born American...PROVE IT. I can prove it that I am. And I am proud to prove that I am. You are running for the highest office in the land, President of the United States. Prove you are a natural born American citizen. (By the way, the man who is the Plaintiff in this case is a member of the Democratic National Party himself, and an attorney. He is not a Republican trying to slam a Democratic candidate.)

So, okay...what if he does get elected? What happens then? What if we end up finding out that he really is not a natural born American citizen, or even a citizen at all? Does he get impeached? Or will Congress have to change the Constitution--add an amendment that now allows anyone to become president? Or will there be a coverup even bigger than Watergate was?

IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT FOR THE UNITED STATES?