Fibromyalgia

When I think of all the years I have had difficulty with pain, weight gain, fatigue and so on, it makes me wonder how long I have had Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is related to Arthritis. I actually starting researching symptoms of it over 2 years ago. I just went to the doctor and was diagnosed a month ago. Why did I wait so long?

Being a caregiver, I am very good at encouraging my clients to go to the doctor if they feel something is amiss. I am also good at telling my husband to get to the doctor, even if he doesn't listen! :) I had however, forgotten about myself and neglected to take the simple but necessary time to have myself checked out.

I have a huge support network of family and friends, as well as working for a company that has been great in arranging things so I can get the help and relief I need.

For so long now, I have been hidden by the pain, stiffness, fatigue and depression of FMS that it was hard to remember who exactly I was. It was almost like a mask I could not remove from myself and the symptoms were stealing me away from who and what I love.

I am so fortunate to have been referred to a doctor who is great, and his protocol of supplements and vitamins have begun to finally ease my symptoms. I can finally start to see who I am again, rather than just dealing with the day to day feelings. I am hopeful that I can be off this protocol after the second or third month and get back on if I have to. The thing I don't like is insurance does not cover the cost of this because it is a homeopathic therapy. $$$ equal OUCH! I think it will be money well spent if it works as well as I have heard this therapy works for people.

I am saying prayers for people who have this and have recently found out about people who suffer from this, only after I posted it on Facebook. What a relief that I don't go through it alone! I only hope they find the relief that I seem to be finding with this. I feel like I am coming out of the fog and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks to those who are supporting me, it means more than I can tell you!

Love to all!

Thoughts On Being a Caregiver

I was speaking to one of my clients on the phone this evening and she informed me that another (former) client of mine passed away last night. My initial thought was, wait a minute, I talked to him just last evening. Well, sure enough, she spoke the truth. I heard he was in the hospital and I wanted to call and check on him. He very weakly told me he couldn't talk. That was at 7:45pm. He passed shortly thereafter. Wow.

I am fortunate enough that some of my clients (past and present) are still in relatively good health, so I take for granted the good days I have with all of them. I feel that care giving is not only helping someone to live well, it is also enhancing their life. Being a caregiver I have lost several previous clients. I mourn them all, in some special way. Whether it be a song, saying prayers or rosaries for them, whatever the case may be. I have to keep in mind that if I get too close to any of them emotionally, it may effect my job with them as a provider of care. I like to say I stay at arms-length. If I am really being honest, it is closer than that! I love them all.

Being a caregiver, at times like this, hurts. That's to be expected. If I didn't care at all, I wouldn't be a good caregiver.

I only hope that I have given them each something special in my time with them, a blessing to take with them. It also reinforces what I will do and how to better care for my current clients.

I have been touched by each one of the people I have given care to, and will continue to do so. I carry blessings from each of them in the lessons they have taught me and special things they have shared.

For any and all of my care giving friends, you know exactly what I am talking about, nothing held back. We love them, they love us. It doesn't get any more special than that.

Now, off to say that special rosary, for my special client and friend.

Love to all...

A Girl For All Seasons

May the start of a season full of new life bring new life and hope to yours! Love to all!

Living in a climate that has four pretty distinct seasons is something I love about the Cleveland area.

In the winter I love to stay warm by the fire or curl up with a good book. I hear so many people talk about the winter blues, but I see nothing depressing about spending time with loved ones and the comfort of a throw to warm you.

I love spring because of all the flowers coming back to bloom and new green leaves to replace the ones lost in the fall.

Summer makes me think of the warm feel of the sun on my skin and picnics, baseball games (personal favorite!) and explosions of colors coming from backyard gardens in the the form of fruits, veggies and flowers. Amazing!

I adore the colors of autumn and how those play in to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.

We have so much to be thankful for in the seasons we've been given. Living in the Cleveland area, as I said allows me to feel the warm and cold of summer and winter, respectively. However, I love 50 degrees or so in both spring and autumn and how different they feel. Spring warms you and autumn cools you even if it is the same temperature! It is invigorating in the fall, cool and crisp and in the spring it is such a great change from the frigid cold we've been blasted with for the three previous months!

Always at the start of a new season, I am anxious for the change in weather. What's your favorite season and why?

Love to all!

Blessings and Prayers

As prayers go up, blessings come down.

I just love this saying. As most of you know, I am a caregiver for a home health care agency. Hands down, it is my favorite profession. I care for a few different clients at this point. One of them has a coffee mug with this expression on it. Actually, now that I think about it I am wrong. This is a refrigerator magnet. Her coffee mug has another great saying that I love. "It takes a long time to grow an old friend." Too cute!

I am a big believer in the power of prayer, and how the more you pray and have faith the more blessings you receive. It makes your life rich with good fortune. Not necessarily monetary wealth, but wealth in your heart and soul, love from family and friends and to truly be at peace with things around you.

I am not a "holy roller" in that I say and do things wrong all the time, but I know this about myself and apologize for any faults that I have or make. We all have shortcomings. We have to be at peace with those as well. I believe so strong in my faith that I do feel angels are among us and we receive blessings all the time. We just have to learn to look through and beyond the lessons we are being taught. We have to look at those around us and learn what they are teaching us, how they most assuredly are blessing us with their presence. Every friend and loved one is a blessing. Listen to them. And enhance someone else with your presence!

Love to all!

Thoughts of August

Thoughts Of August

A glimmer of hope;
Tiniest of thoughts
Darting in and out
Of your busy life.
Teasing you
Here I am.
Where are you?
As notes strung together
Riding on a midnight sky,
Something stirs, begins to come alive.
Can you feel me in your heart?
Can you hear me
In the breeze lulling you to sleep?
There it is…
The rhythm of
My heart beating stronger.
I know you hear me,
Feel my longing to find you
Before time takes you away,
Hides you away from me, again.
Dormant,
As light in our darkest hour.
Don’t forget me, I pray.
Come find me.
Hold me.
Tell me you didn’t forget
I was here in your life.
Cradle and lull me in a gentle lullaby,
I am stronger than you realize.
As are you.
The bond cannot be broken.
I am,
Found.

Things We Connect With

There are things we come across in during our lives that, somehow, we just connect with. Whether it be people, music, movies or whatever the case may be, we find things that seem to fit us.

Take, for me, the month of August. To me August used to just mean summer, my birthday and the start of school. Not that those were the only things it ever meant, but those were the big things. Over the last 6 years and some months, it has come to mean much more than that.

I started talking to my husband, Bob, in August on the phone, although we didn't meet until early September in person. We realized that we both had August birthdays, his being just one week after mine. As our relationship developed, we got engaged, on my birthday. Turns out, that was the very date that my mom and dad got engaged. How funny that exactly 9 years later, I was born! As we had dated for two years, we decided that a one year engagement would be appropriate. I originally wanted a December wedding, then April, but we finally settled, again, on August.

Needless to say, that August is a very special month for both of us. It is filled with anniversary and birthday celebrations. More often that not, we spend part of August on a special vacation that combines all our days at once! It is just Bob and I and nobody else to worry or think about. Just me and him and it's the greatest week of the year. It reminds me of the reasons I fell in love with him and we just have that chance to connect on our level. Awesome!

As I mentioned movies, Bob and I have seen a couple movies together that we have really bonded over. One of those is "Marley and Me", because of our love of our Chocolate Lab, Cody. The other being "August Rush". Not because of it being the month we got married or anything, but the music and the emotion. Good heavens. The movie is about a music prodigy, orphaned at birth and his quest to find the parents he knows are out there.

Bob saw the movie first. I admit I was a bit crabby and wasn't in the mood to watch it when he first put the DVD in. But he told me that he knew I would love it and just to relax. Well, let me tell you... I couldn't take my eyes off it. There is a symphony played at the end of the movie that has both of us welling up with tears. It is emotional and beautiful! Both of us have the soundtrack CD in our cars and we listen to those on a regular basis. We have talked about that movie and the reason we connected in the first place comes back to us in droves. Tonight, I will post a poem that I wrote specially with the thoughts of that ending symphony and what I think it says. For those of you that have heard it, I hope you agree with my interpretation!

Enjoy your day, and love to all!

Wonderful World

Status: MSNBC has a great News tab called "Wonderful World" full of feel good News stories about people who are doing great things to change their corner of the world. What a breath of fresh air! Peace and blessings to the Middle East as they slowly but surely make the change to democracy. Love to all!

Well, there is so much I can say about this. Where do I begin?

As I pointed out above, if you go to www.msnbc.com, you will see a tab for "Wonderful World". It's about people donating, doing nice things for people, all great pieces. I happened upon this when I clicked to read a very sad news piece. I needed something to make me feel good! I got it! Sad thing is, I had to wade through the bad to get to the good. I guess that is they way things go. Sometimes you have to go through bad things to where you want to be, where you can be happy. But the site is really good, check it out!

Wonderful World is also s beautiful song from Louis Armstrong, one of my personal favorites! "I see friends shaking hands, saying 'How do you do?' What they're really saying is 'I love you!' I love the line, 'The bright blessed day, The dark sacred night, And I think to myself, 'What a Wonderful World'. Oh, the whole song is just like a hug! :) How do you not love that?

I think it's also a good thing to reflect on just how small our wonderful world is! I had a Facebook friend who posted her wedding pictures, turns out,another Facebook friend performed the marriage ceremony! Wow! Two people i never imagined knew each other. Hopefully, that will be the reason for us to meet up and catch up again. I can only imagine the conversations we might have!

I hope you all take the time to think about the great things you have, the wonderful people surrounding you and take comfort in your greatest inspirations! Hope your day is a good one!

Love to all!

Turkey Burgers

I made these this morning and am taking some over for my in-laws to have for lunch. They are really good!

Here is a great recipe for Turkey Burgers, a healthy alternative to regular ground beef burgers.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, enough to coat saute pan
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 and 1/4 pound ground turkey
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 egg
1 cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs

Dice small onion, add to saute pan, coated in small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add 1 clove minced garlic, add salt and pepper, to taste. Saute until translucent. In mixing bowl, mix together ground turkey, egg and bread crumbs until well blended. Form up to 6 patties.

In an electric skillet, or frying pan, coat with just enough Extra Virgin Olive Oil to cover bottom, add burgers over medium high heat, just season with a bit of black pepper. Brown 4-5 minutes, flip burgers, ad brown for about 4 more minutes.

To serve, plate up on your favorite style bun, your favorite low fat toppings, lettuce, tomato and low fat Swiss cheese.

These really have great flavor, especially with the sauteed garlic and onion.

Enjoy!

Love to all!

A Healthy You

In trying to help both myself and a special family member in our health and weight loss endeavors, I assembled this wordy, but helpful sheet for both of us to refer to. So I will share it with you as well! I used to work as a weight loss consultant with a national weight loss chain, but alas, I was terrible in sales, so the job didn't last. The rest of it did!

Helpful Hints For a Healthy Diet

First and foremost, eat breakfast at a reasonable time every morning, even if you wind up taking a nap afterward. Breakfast is your most important meal. Remember it starts the fire for your metabolism and eating on a regular basis keeps it going! Think of your metabolism as a fireplace that needs to have a continual fire in it. Feed it to keep it going!

Drink at least 60 ounces of water every day, like the one I showed you the other day. 60 ounces of water for you is a good target!

Take all your medications or vitamins, whatever the case may be, every single day, even if it increases your urine output. It rids your body of things that aren’t good for it!

Try to think of it like this: Eat healthy 80% of the time and you will be doing great! Or, eat healthy 5-6 days per week, and what you are used to eating 1 or 2 days per week.

Aim for no more than 3 pieces of fruit per day. While it is true that fruits contain sugar, the sugar is natural and will not affect your blood sugar level in a bad way for long. They are still healthy for you! They have fiber, vitamins and antioxidants!

Switch to whole grain brown rice instead of using white rice.

Don’t forget that tomatoes are fruit! Don’t forget that peas and corn are starches!!!

Instead of frying fish, eggplant or potatoes try baking or roasting them.

For vegetables, cut broccoli, cauliflower, bite size pieces of squash, onion and any other favorite and toss with a little bit of Olive Oil, sprinkle with salt free Italian Seasoning or any other favorite and roast on a baking pan for 30 minutes at 450 degrees. So yummy and very healthy!

For fish or chicken, coat bottom of baking dish with a bit of Olive Oil. Place chicken or fish in dish, and turn so it is all coated. Sprinkle with your favorite salt free seasoning and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, depending on size. Add a side of brown rice or sweet potato and lots of vegetables!

Eat across the rainbow. In other words, eat as many foods with different colors as you can. Strawberries, sweet potatoes, bananas, dark green lettuce or spinach, blueberries and purple onions or cabbage is just an example! The more color your food contains, the more appealing and the healthier it is!

Imagine your dinner plate as a clock, and place chicken or fish from 12-3, potatoes from 3-6 and vegetables from 6-12. In other words, 50% of your meal should be vegetables, while 25% should be chicken or fish and 25% potato.

Instead of ground beef, use ground turkey or ground chicken. The reason I say this is because although you have said you use the leanest ground beef, beef is naturally higher in fat and calories than turkey or chicken. If you don’t tell, they probably wouldn’t notice the difference! Bob doesn’t! Rather than using white rice and ground beef to stuff squash or roll grape leaves, use the ground turkey or chicken and brown rice for a really healthy alternative! If you can still have what you enjoy and eat healthy at the same time, it is a double win for you!

Don’t fry your fish or potatoes, or cauliflower. I know you said you use healthy oils, and while that is a good thing, it is still frying your food in pure fat. Not such a good thing!

Increase your exercise as the weather gets warmer. Try walking just a few driveways away and turning around. The next day walk one or two more, and so on until you are getting a great walk every day! That will not only help joints feel better, you will kick your metabolism up as well!

Don’t forget we love you and we want you to be healthy and happy!

I hope this helps anyone trying to be healthier.

Love to all!

Things We Remember

January 31, 1985. A day that will stay in my head forever. That was the day I had my back surgery. I was 12 years old and had Scoliosis.

I won't go into the details of the surgery, but I will say this: Sometimes in childhood there are things which make such a huge impression on you that you will never forget the details. Unbelievably, I still remember my phone number and room number, my nurses names, and other seemingly unimportant facts about that time.

It's just like any other important event. You remember where you were and what you were doing when something occurred.

I remember what was going on when the Challenger exploded. I was in school taking an English test. It was almost a year to the day after my surgery. I remember September 11, I was at work. It was surreal sitting with all our co-workers in the conference room watching the coverage on TV. It stopped us all.

There are certain events in history that will forever be burned in our minds. I remember all those events. I remember the conversations. At the time, all I kept saying to myself was 'Take it back'. I didn't want it to be real. I wanted to rewind it and do it all over again.

Unfortunately we can't do anything about some of these difficult things, we can only move forward. We can take what we learn and apply it to other areas of our lives. We can learn to be more tolerant of others. When these things happen, it causes us to take stock of what is really important. Family and friends are first on that list.

I used to work at a bar. On September 11, we left work early from my day time job as we all just wanted to be near loved ones. That evening I went up to the bar and sat with all my friends. We just sat there, together, and watched the news, together. I remember I wanted nothing more than to be with the people I cared about. That's how we came through it and rebuilt.

Let your family and friends be the ones you go to when important things happen.

Love to all!

(((Hugs)))

I have to admit, I don't know an awful lot of internet/texting shorthand. My limited knowledge of this is along the lines of LOL (laughing out loud, laughing on line) and TTYL (talk to you later). I would rather have the one on one conversations, as they are more personal and thoughtful.

However, there are so many on line communities and chat rooms designed to assist people as they go through anything. Whether it is parenting, bereavement, addiction or mental illness, just to name a few, there are websites for whatever you may need. Some of these websites are run by legitimate organizations, while others are ones that nobody has heard of.

Case in point, I was in a chat room for an organization that is so well known, it is practically a household name. I needed some support after going through a significant life event I was having difficulty overcoming. I believe it was strong of me to get some relief while still being able to remain anonymous. It was comforting. One of the games that was played in this chat room was taking a word from each letter of the alphabet and naming something we were grateful for. A could be art, B could be beauty, and so on.

Upon entering this chat room, I noticed (((a person's screen name))) and I had to ask what that was. I had never seen it before. It turns out it means an on line hug or embrace. Well, me and my sentimental self were all for that! That's what we were all there for. We needed something to get us through times that were difficult. The on line support and hugs were just what all of us needed.

As I post (((Hugs))) on my status, my hope is that if you are having a tough day that it makes it a little brighter for you. I read the status of a friend of mine recently that said something to the effect of hugs are like boomerangs, you always get them back right away. Very true! I can't think of anything that makes a person feel better in times of need than a hug. Sometimes it is the only thing that helps, the ultimate show of support.

(((My friends))) and love to all!

You Are As Loved As You Believe You Are

Status: You are as loved as you believe you are! Self doubt is our own worst enemy. Do away with the doubt and trust that you are valued. Love to all!

To me, this status says a lot. Believe in yourself and who you are and what you stand for.

I think we all have this issue at some point in our lives. I know at times I have to fight it when I feel like nobody hears me. Or if I try to do something nice for people and it's met with a sarcastic remark. It kills me. It takes the pleasure out of it for me and I ask, 'Is it really worth it?'

Let me tell you what I found. I ignore them and keep doing what makes me feel good. Maybe I am a glutton for punishment! Seriously, I found that if I quit, then it's only them winning. I want to win. I want to be that bigger and better person. Devil be damned.

I have felt things at home, at school, work, social that want to make me give in at times. However, I feel the more times you hear positive, the easier it is to believe. So I keep repeating, 'It's all worth it and I am doing what I want for the people I love'. I just had a comment on a previous post of mine that said the world needs more people like me. Well, that was really sweet and probably one of the nicest compliments I have ever received. However, as inspirational and motivational as I want these posts to be, I get down, I get negative and sometimes I allow myself to wallow in self pity.

I think the most important thing to realize here is that I can't change the way other people feel. I can only change the way I perceive things. I can either take everything in a negative way and keep it that way or I can take criticism and make it into a positive thing. When I change things into a positive, I feel better, so I figure--- Why not? It takes more energy and you feel exhausted when it's negative. The positive makes you feel lighter and better.

So the next time you feel that you are getting a negative response, ask yourself if you are doing something you love and that makes you feel good. You are a great person so let yourself believe it. Keep doing it. Self doubt be gone!

Perfect Purpose

Status: None of us were made perfect, but we were all made for a purpose. Love to all!

Who is perfect? Only one that I can think of! None of us humans, though! We all have faults and weaknesses that we have to live with. However, we were also born with enough strengths to offset those weaknesses. We just have to focus on those strengths. As well, we have to continually work on our weaknesses to improve on them. Guess what? It makes us stronger!

More importantly, we need to focus on the strength of other people rather than putting them down for something they aren't good at. For example, how would I feel if someone was so focused on a weakness of mine they couldn't see the good ones? It has happened and I felt pretty bad. Anybody would and everybody does.

Think about this: What about people who are homeless, or have some sort of difficulty with addiction? What is one of the first things most people think when it comes to these two groups of people? They're no good, they use people, they are lazy, we want them to stay away from us. Guess what? People who are homeless are not without hearts, love and humility. People who suffer from addictions are not without the same. They have either lost their homes, jobs, self esteem, not their abilities to be good people. Ted Williams, the homeless addict in the news recently also has a phenomenal ability to use his voice. It's nice to see him getting a chance to showcase the good things! He very well may fail, but I hope the strength he has allows him to get back up and try again.

One more thing to think about: As someone who has been raised Catholic, I believe we are all God's children. Have you ever seen a baby or toddler or young child not smile, hug and kiss, sigh contentedly in their parent's arms or holding hands with friends? I can't think of one.

Every single one of us has problems, issues and weaknesses. We as a collective people need to look beyond those and find the strengths in each other. Next time you come across someone who is having trouble, ask yourself, 'What have they gone through to get to this point?' Also think about what you have gone through to get to the point you are at now. We are all strong, beautiful, imperfect and full of purpose.

Love to all!

Facebook Status

Hey folks! When I think of Facebook, I see a unique opportunity to give people a positive feeling. Social networks can be a waste of time and computer space if all you put on your walls are negative things about people, places or things. On the flip side of that, these networks can also be a vehicle to give people a reason to think in a more positive manner. When I first got on to Facebook a couple years ago, I always had fun updating my status. I started noticing how often people were updating theirs, sometimes a couple times a day. The thing was, their updates really didn't say a whole lot, neither did mine!

As 2010 came to a close, I came across an Application on Facebook called "My Year In Status". Kind of neat, really, so I set it up and picked all the statuses that I wanted on my personal sheet. I started looking at my updates as a whole, and thought, 'Some of my statuses don't say much, only what I was doing that particular day.'

For 2011 I wanted to change that. I wanted each of my Status Updates to convey a motivational or inspirational message. I wanted people to think when they read my posts. I have posted some funny clips from You Tube and some symphonies from movies that Bob and I love watching together. For those of you that know my husband, it might also be surprising that he enjoys the classical music!

In getting back into this blog that I created after we married in 2007, I decided that I will take my status updates and expand on them here on the blog. I want the blog and Facebook to be a positive and creative outlet for me. I hope you enjoy this!

So I will leave you now with a signature line that I more or less adopted over time, "Love to all!"

Seed Of Hope

Plant a seed of hope and watch it flourish. One statement can take on so many different meanings.

It could mean the beginning of the end of bullying. How great would that be? Where we- as a whole- would treat everyone the way they should be treated; with respect and dignity. It could mean the end of desperation in the economic crisis; a more stable ground on which to raise a family, get a great education, live in a safe environment. It could mean the wish for new life to join our circle, to mold into a perfect world of hope.

Whatever that seed is for you, plant it. Nurture it and watch it flourish to its greatest and strongest potential. You will get the joy and satisfaction of seeing something from beginning and following through to the end. You will change your own world, sometimes by making your own set of circumstances if you aren't happy with the ones you have. Plant the seed and watch, just as a garden flourishes, your hopes and dreams come to fruition.

Alright, everyone! I haven't been on my blog in forever, as I found facebook to be a great way to showcase my poetry. I am going to try to get better about blogging.

So fun, Bob and I have started Professional Prose, which is my poetry framed, on magnets, notepads, etc. It's going well so far, I am getting more ideas all the time, and the poetry for it is coming out great!

This post should also go right to Facebook, so we will see if all goes well! Look for more poetry coming up, as I am putting together book number 3! It will highlight my work as a caregiver and also focus on healing and memorial poetry!

Love to all!