Sad Day

Yesterday was a pretty sad day in my family. We lost one of our most beloved pets. You've seen her before, I've talked about her before. It was Abby. She was probably nearing 15 years of age and I'm sure that we were lucky to keep her longer than she was intended to stay. Although I'm upset, I'm not as upset as I planned on being. I think that's probably because I knew that she had stayed longer than most like her. I'm grateful that she waited until we got back from South Dakota and didn't die in the kennel. That would have been much harder to deal with.

Just a little note to say goodbye to my sweet puppy of 14 years. She filled a void that other pets left behind and she will always be my sweet, loving puppy.

Birthday News!

So, yesterday was my birthday. Which most of you probably already know, but in case you forgot, yesterday was the big day.

Anyway, the day was pretty amazing, and at the end of the day, I felt truly blessed to have the friends I have. So, here's a recap of the good news and the not so good news:

Wednesday I went to the Orthopedic Surgeon/Foot and Ankle Specialist (OSFAS) to talk about my ankle. It's been 8 weeks since the "incident" in Boston, and it still hasn't gotten much better. So, OSFAS examines my MRI and my ankle and says "there's definitely significant strain on your ligaments and some fluid in your ankle. We're going to switch you from the boot to a lace up brace and send you to physical therapy. If you're ankle isn't significantly better when you come back in 4 weeks, we're going to have to discuss more drastic measures like your surgical options". I. Almost. Fell. Out. Of. My. Chair. BUT I'm keeping my fingers crossed extra tight that 4 weeks will heal me and we don't have to have any drastic conversations!

On to the birthday celebrations!!

At first, I wasn't very excited about my birthday. I had been excited about it a few weeks ago, but the feeling just kind of dwindled as the actual day got closer. My parents call every year to sing happy birthday to me, and I guess I sounded terrible becasue my mom followed up by sending me a really sweet email to try and cheer me up. You know it's bad when your mom starts talking about the day you were born!!! So, that cheered me up a little and I tried to be excited about my birthday again. About mid morning I got a letter in the mail that said that my bffs Hilary and Danny had made a donation to the North Texas Food Bank in celebration of my birthday!! How awesome is that? Pretty freaking awesome if you ask me! Then, mid afternoon, I got a call from the receptionist asking me to come down to the lobby to sign for something....When I get down there, there was a huge cookie bouquet with my name on it! Also from the bffs Hilary and Danny. At this point, I'm really feeling the love. Also because I got about 1 billion messages from facebook, or text messages of people wishing me a happy birthday! And there were a few phone calls too! It was a pretty good day. In the afternoon, my co-workers threw me a cake party and we celebrated my birthday by eating "Create Your Own Strawberry Shortcake" it was delicious and again, I felt loved!

Onto the evening's festivities: Hubs wouldn't tell me where we were going or what he was getting me. I had thrown out about a bazillion places and gift ideas, so I truly had no idea what was in store for me. The evening started with me opening my present. If you're read my previous blogs, then you know what I asked for: a camera and a bicycle. Welp, low and behold there was a Nikon box in the bag!!! I asked for the Nikon D60, but a few months ago, we went to Boston and borrowed a friend of our sister in law's camera...a Nikon D40. Shortly after we got back, the friend told us that he would be selling the camera. I asked Hubs if I could buy it, but of course he said no. So, I was totally shocked when I opened the box and found the exact camera in the bag! It was truly exciting! For dinner we went to The Melting Pot, which sadly, I didn't really care for. The cheese and the chocolate were amazing, but the middle part of the meal was kind of lacking. I didn't feel like it was worth the money we paid for it!

Today, I finally decided to check the mail and there was gift card in the mail from my friend Janet! Janet is a strong believer in donating to different causes and actually donates to all of the charities I listed in my previous birthday blogs. So, instead of donating more, she decided to surprise me with a gift card that would help me towards my camera purchase!!! Again, I was totally shocked and excited!! I really do have some of the most amazing people in my life!

Tonight is dinner with the fam, and I'm really hoping for a bike...but we'll have to see!!!

I'll keep you posted!

Expansion on Birthday! Birthday! Birthday!

Okay, so now that I have some time, I thought I'd expand my thoughts on why I'm recommending that you donate to the various charities listed below.

1. Doctors Without Borders: Sheri Kirshenbaum wrote a blogpost about sexual assault around the world. She also spoke about an initiative that she is starting (with the help of other bloggers) called Silence is the Enemy. This initiative is designed to bring light to the situation in Liberia and other countries that have been torn apart by war. Although the war is over, many men still feel entitled to sex and are sexually abusing children 12 and under in drastically high numbers. You can read this article as published in the NY Times for a better understanding of the problems facing our world. Doctors Without Borders provides medical attention to the children and women that are affected by these gross and violent sexual assaults. We like to assume that because it's not affecting us, then things aren't really that bad. But the fact of the matter is that there are bigger problems in the world than the ones we run into every day in our home towns. Sexual assault is very real and the numbers are shocking.
   
2. North Texas Food Bank is the largest food bank in Texas (based on distributed pounds) and strives to create a hunger free community. They work with various food networks through out 13 different Texas counties to provide food to those who are hungry, and in need. According to their numbers, $1 can provide 4 meals worth of food to someone in need. Another impressive statistic is that about .97 cents of every $1 donated goes to hunger relief. That's some pretty good management, if you ask me.
   
3. Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® was founded on a promise. A promise made between sisters. Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® has now grown to be the world's largest grass roots network of breast cancer survivors and activits. Although no one in my family has been diagnosed with breast cancer, I am very aware of the effect it can have on women, and the effect it can have on families who lose someone to breast cancer. It is a long fought battle, and through donations and research, we have been able to learn a lot about breast cancer, but that doesn't mean that we've found a cure. I know this one gets a lot of publicity, but they're doing amazing work, so they deserve the help!
4. Fistula Foundation- A fistula is a hole. An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in many developing countries is a hole between a woman's birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. This hole develops over many days of obstructed labor, when the pressure of the baby's head against the mother's pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues in the region. This hole can result in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their inability to have children and their foul smell. Traumatic fistula is the result of sexual violence. The injury can occur through rape or women being butchered from the inside with bayonets, wood or even rifles. The aim is to destroy the women and the community within which the sufferer lives. Once committed the survivor, her husband, children and extended family become traumatized and humiliated. The Panzi Hospital in Congo is a pioneer in treating victims of traumatic fistula. The kicker about fistula is that it's a highly curable problem. It pretty much disappeared from the US and Europe by the late 19th and early 20th century because those countries were able to afford the kind of treatment and most women in those countries give birth with highly trained professionals in the room. It costs US$450 to provide one woman with a fistula repair operation, high-quality postoperative care, a new dress, and bus fare home. That's it. $450 to save a woman's life. Why would you not want to help?
5. The Hunger Project In Africa, Asia and Latin America, The Hunger Project seeks to end hunger and poverty by empowering people to lead lives of self-reliance, meet their own basic needs and build better futures for their children. Hunger Project strategies seek to build people's capacities, leadership and confidence. We train women and men, equipping them with the skills, methods and knowledge needed to take self-reliant actions to improve their lives and conditions in their communities. Our aim is to overcome the deep resignation people in the developing world often find themselves in as a result of failed development initiatives. The Hunger Project urges people not to wait to be rescued, but to take action now to meet their basic needs.

I think the things that we sometime take for granted are the things that are killing our brothers and sisters around the world. We are blessed to live in a country where health care is important, and where the majority of people can afford to buy food for their families. I've never had to miss a meal because my parents or I couldn't afford to buy dinner. I've never had to worry about whether or not I'd be able to have this surgery or this procedure done. I've never had to worry about anything that I didn't want to, really. My life has been lucky. I was born to parents who gave everything they had to take care of me, and I married a man who believes in saving for rainy days. My life has been blessed.

Not everyone's lives are blessed in the same ways our's are. Not everyone can afford food for their family every day, and not everyone can deliver a baby at their local hospital with highly trained professionals in the room. There are people out there who need our help. There's a saying about money. The saying goes that you can't take it with you when you die. How true that is. I understand that we are getting to the age where we have to start planning for our children. We need money to do that. We need money to maintain our houses and our lifestyles. But sometimes, it's worth it to not buy that extra pair of shoes so that you can help someone else who hasn't been as lucky as you.

My friend Janet has started an effort to donate to a new charity every month. I'm not saying you should do that, but if you ever wanted some ideas of different charities that you can donate to, she usually has a pretty good list.

"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."

Maya Angelou

Birthday Birthday Birthday!!!

Okay, so my birthday is coming up (in case you didn't read the previous post, or pay attention to the title of this post, I'm reminding you)...

So in case anyone was wondering, here are a few things that I would LOVE for my birthday.

• World Peace (Ha!)

• Charitable donations to any of these fine charities:

1. Doctors Without Borders
2. North Texas Food Bank
3. Susan G. Komen for the Cure
4. The Fistula Foundation
5. The Hunger Project

Most of these charities are able to do a lot with very small amounts of donations..... If nothing else, it'd be cool if someone at least went to the website in honor of my birthday!

Okay, now on to the materialistic things that I want.

• A cruiser bike.... We have this great creek by our house, and I love to feed the ducks. I just hate walking all the way down there. I would love to have a bike so that I can cruise around my neighborhood! :)
  
• Nikon D60 with which to take super cool pics.
  

Ahh daydreaming is fun isn't it?

Anyway, to all my blog readers (the 4 of you) enjoy your weekends!!!

My blog is lacking lately.....

So, I'm not doing a very good job of providing thought provoking posts but I just haven't had anything to say......

However, just because MY blog hasn't been very great, doesn't mean that my friend's blogs are lacking.

Recently my friend wrote a blog post that was very personal, and probably very difficult to write. I admire her strength, her courage and most of all her bravey in writing this post. There are certain aspects of my life that I choose not to address. Not in my blog, not in my conversations with other people, not even with myself. Sexual assault is one of those topics.

I like having a blog, but in case you haven't noticed, I tend to keep it pretty light and hardly ever talk about anything too serious. I think it's heartfelt, courageous and needs to be discussed. I think she's dead on when she says that silence is acceptance. There are far too many girls out there who get raped or who are sexually assaulted and refuse to say anything because they're too scared or ashamed of themselves or for whatever reason, they'd rather keep it inside and to themselves than to tell anyone that something has happened. The sad truth is that girls often turn it on themselves and think that what has happened is their fault and that they're to blame. And to top it all off, it's not exactly an easy topic to bring up in every day conversation. I think that someday, the brutal truth of sexual assault will come out and people will realize how dire the situation really is, and that the time for action is now.

I am not asking you to donate to any cause or to any charity on my behalf. I am however asking you to look it up for yourself....read more about what is going on outside of our borders and in our world. Someone you know might be battling the memory of their sexual abuse and just might be someone who has been affected by the type of violence that can often surround sexual assault.

If nothing else, maybe you'll learn something you didn't know. Maybe it will inspire you to write your own blog post or to reveal some secrets you've been keeping. I for one hope that some day my secrets will be ones that I'm willing to share on my blog. At this point in my life, I don't have the courage to address the things that my friend does. I admire her and respect her for being courageous.


...if you wanted to donate, my birthday IS next week.....:)

"there are times when silence has the loudest voice"
-Leroy Brownlow

Bad Drivers Abound

Have you ever noticed that the guy who cuts you off is always the guy with the Ichthys on his car? And have you ever noticed that the lady who drives like a maniac is always the one with the little little stick figure kids all plastered on her back window?

I am seriously not joking here, folks. It's like the guy with the Ichthys on his car thinks he can cut you off because Jesus is with him or something. Like Jesus is going to save him from the collision he's about to cause. And the lady with the stick figure kids...well my guess is that she assumes that you're not going to hit her because you would feel bad running into a lady with 4 kids (2 boys, 2 girls) and 3 dogs.

The thing is though, it's totally out of hand. They literally have no shame when it comes to who they'll cut off or who to blow their horn at. They are the world's worst drivers! And the worst part about it is that they put those stupid things on their cars! Like we're all going to just excuse their driving habits because they're a Christian or a mom! Yeah right!

I for one will start honking my horn louder and maybe even throwing up the occasional "bird" if the timing is right! I encourage you to jump on this bandwagon and we can all teach these drivers that just because you have 4 kids (2 boys, 2 girls) and 3 dogs or because you love Jesus, it doesn't mean that we're going to roll over and let you drive all over us!