FORGETFUL PINK

Hi #SweetTweets,
Spring has sprung in South Eastern Virginia. Isn't the Cardinal beautiful. When I go outside, the birds are everywhere. Actually, it is hard to sleep in around here, they are pretty loud in the morning. I just love birds. It is a shame that the  mail bird gets all the attention because of his beautiful feathers. In  bird land, the females aren't dressed up at all. I love it when the robins start chasing their little chicks around. And the mockingbird mocks all the other birds and people too if he gets the chance.

I just love Spring, it gives such hope for the future when you see the trees budding out into beautiful flowers. The Japanese Cherry Trees on Canon Boulevard were absolutely gorgeous.

My friend, Benita, is staying with me during the day now. She has the early stages of Alzheimer's. She can still take care of her personal needs and she is so sweet. We enjoy having her here with us. She comes in the morning and has breakfast with me. We watch TV most of the morning, eat lunch, and she takes a nap. Then we watch TV until her daughter comes to pick her up. I am reading up on this condition so I can get some incite as to how to keep her from agitated. I have read that an agitated state could actually make the condition worse. She has been my friend for over 10 years. We were both in the Women's club together. She used to save me a place at her table at the annual style show and luncheon at the James River Country Club. She is a member of our church and she sang in the choir for years with her husband, Norman. They were a dynamic couple here in this area, always volunteering. Benita was on the City of NN Boards and Commissions for a long time. She helped with fund-raisers to help the seamen staying at the shipyard and so many other things. I think their fortune was decimated during the stock market downturn. There is not much left and Norman passed away last November. Since then, her daughter has moved in with her and is taking care of her. I found out from her daughter and others from our church that her daytime care-giver was frightening her. Anyway, the daughter fired the woman before Spring Break. I prayed about it and spoke to Ray about it. I called her daughter and told her I would like to take care of her mother during the day while she was at work. So here we are. So far, so good.

Ray and I DJ'ed the District 24D Governor's Ball last night at the Crown Plaza in Williamsburg. It was a very nice dinner, There was a magician, there who was very good. He has been doing this for 30 years. He plays parties, receptions, on stage, you name it. I cannot find his business card but I will be getting the information and posting it on this blog. He kept people going during the time before dinner by going around with a little table and doing card tricks. Then, after we ate, he did a show. I have always loved magicians, so I had a good time.

After that, Ray played music and sang. One of our former District Governor's, Debbie Ivey, sang some selected Patsy Cline songs. Then, one of our future DGs, Lion Donnie Johnson came up and sang some Elvis selections. We had a good time. The only bad part is I helped to get the equipment to the car and paid for it in pain this morning. I had a difficult time sleeping also. I think I even tweeted from the Hotel. There was a really bad thunderstorm and considerable damage in the surrounding area last night. I even tweeted out, "It's raining cats and dogs out there, no wonder the gutters keep getting stopped up." I got some pretty awesome tweets about that one. One lady said she told her children and ended up in a giggle fest for the whole family. That is great. I really like to hear things like that. If I can make someone smile, or laugh out loud, that is the best.
I am going to try to write more about what is going on with my illness and with Benita's. I pray that you all are having a wonderful Sunday. God is good, All the time!

Cancer Update from Johns-Hopkins

Bottled  water in your car is very  dangerous!    On the Ellen show, Sheryl Crow said this is what caused her breast  cancer.  It has been identified as the most common cause  of the high levels of dioxin in breast cancer tissue.  Sheryl Crow's oncologist told her:  women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car. The heat reacts with the chemicals in the plastic of the  bottle which releases dioxin into the water.   Dioxin is a toxin increasingly found in breast cancer tissue.  So please be careful and do not drink bottled water  that has been left in a car.   Pass this on to all the women in your life.       This information is the kind we need to know that just might save us!  Use a stainless steel canteen or a glass bottle  instead of plastic! LET EVERYONE WHO HAS A WIFE / GIRLFRIEND /  DAUGHTER KNOW PLEASE! This  information is also being circulated at Walter Reed  Army Medical Center   No plastic  containers in  microwave.  No  water  bottles in freezer  No  plastic wrap  in microwave.  A dioxin chemical causes cancer,  especially breast cancer.   Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.  Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them  as this releases dioxins from the plastic.   Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health  hazard.   He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.   He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using  plastic  containers... This  especially applies to foods that contain  fat. He said that the  combination of fat, high heat,=2 0and plastic releases  dioxin into the food  and ultimately into the cells of the body...  Instead, he recommends using  glass, such as   Corning   Ware, Pyrex  or ceramic containers  for heating food.. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and  soups, etc.,   should be removed from the container  and heated in something  else.    Paper isn't bad but  you don't know what is in the paper.  It's just safer to use tempered  glass,    Corning    Ware, etc.. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food  restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper.  The dioxin problem is one of the reasons...    Also, he pointed out  that plastic wrap, such as Saran wrap,  is just as dangerous when placed  over foods to be cooked in the microwave.  As the food is nuked, the high heat  causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and  drip into the food   Cover  food with a paper towel  instead. This is an  article that should be read by anyone important in Your life!

 

Wednesday PINK

Hands of God?

I started a Bible study last week on Wednesday called "Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed - A Study of David". It is a video study with Pricilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. It really is intense. I am having a nice time with it. I get up at 5 am, get my book and Bible out and get to work. I feel like I am coming to myself again for the first time in a long time.

Breast Cancer is awful. Just the words instill anxiety in my heart, even though the doctor has told me that I shouldn't worry anymore because it is gone. So why do I have to take a little pill every day to ensure that it doesn't come back? Now, one of the ladies that is on my deacon list has found out that she has breast cancer. They will be doing a mastectomy soon. I don't know what to say to her. I know what she is going through, but it is so intense at this point, I am not sure she would even hear me now. I am praying for her and will be there whenever she needs me. 

We had our business meeting at church and it went very well. I was the Clerk tonight and took the minutes. I also crocheted a dishcloth and gave it to Mary Susan, the pastor's wife. I find that crocheting helps my hands and helps take my mind off of things.

Just Remember, as always, God is Good, All the Time!

Saturday PINK

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. My friend that has Alzheimer's was beginning to be frightened of her caregiver. The lady was not being nice to her and spoke harshly to her a lot. Anyway, the daughter asked me to stop by and spend some time with her mother on Monday. I did and I was there for over 45 minutes and the caregiver didn't even know that I was there. She was on the phone almost the whole time I was there. I reported my findings to the daughter, Tuesday was impossible for my friend and her daughter brought her over to stay with me while she did her taxes. Some other friends went by and picked her up Wednesday afternoon, spent some time with her and then took her to church for dinner.
One of our friends, who just happens to be a man,  volunteered to stay with her on Thursday. The caregiver went by there and when she found out a man was keeping B, she called the police and told them there was a man molesting her. Which was an absolute lie. The man who was watching her just happens to be someone I have known for over 10 years. He is out of work and thought he could help. Be even brought his laptop so he could search for jobs. The daughter had to come home and assure the police that her mother was fine. The caregiver had been washing her clothes there and had even ordered the newspaper. She was staying on the phone all day.
The upshot is that the daughter brought her mother to my house Friday and she stayed with me. I took her to Swingin' Singers and to a covered dish luncheon at one of the ladies homes. We got back to our house, she had a headache and I gave her one of her headache pills and she took a nap until her daughter picked her up after work. Her daughter is off next week and it going to look for someone else to be the caregiver.

The devastation in Japan continues. My heart goes out to these lovely people. I lived in Okinawa for 2 years and they are so kind. I was truly amazed by them. I just cannot imagine living through such a disaster. I remember Typhoons. They were terrible. I don't ever remember hearing about Tsunami's like the one in Indonesia and now in Japan. The even more horrible scenario is the Nuclear Power Plants melting down. Japan will never be the same. It will take a minimum of at least 50 years to recover from all this, maybe longer from the nuclear mess. I wish there was something I could do other than send money.
I don't know what is going on with my RA. I have been hurting all week. The only thing I can think of is that I ran out of shots of Enbrill. By the time they got the prescription, I had to use samples from the doctor and I am still waiting on the drug. I am so cold all the time and everything hurts. Hurts to sit up, hurts to lay down. We went to Costco last night and I couldn't walk around and had to go sit in the car. I had even take two Vicadin yesterday. It is so difficult to experience these things. I wish I could get people to understand just how difficult it is. I have a whole new outlook on handicapped people now that I am becoming one. I took some extra prednisone this morning but it is not helping yet. I am so tired. At least, I still have my laptop.
I love Twitter. I get the most positive affirmations from everyone. Last count, 43,448 people following me on Twitter. I remember when I was sick, I could get up in the middle of the night and there were people in Australia on and they had been reading this blog and had me on their prayer lists. How can anyone ask for more than that. I have brothers and sisters all over the world. It is so wonderful. GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

Rheumatoid Arthritis PINK

If you clink on the title above, it will take you to a blog by a friend, Sandy Guerriere, who also has Rheumatoid Arthritis. She lives in NC near the beach. Her story is a blessing for me and others suffering from autoimmune diseases.
She has had Rheumatoid Arthritis for over 12 years. Please take a look at her heart warming story. 

This week we lost a icon: Dame Elizabeth Taylor. I remember her so well. She was one of the most amazing women. She was beautiful, inside and out. She had a heart full of wonderful care. She stood up for her friends and was so loved. She was who I always wanted to be, who most little girls of my age wanted to be. She was smart, pretty, so popular, but she was not spoiled, she was just Liz. She really didn't like the name Liz. She told Barbara Walters that she wanted  "She Lived" on her tombstone. She is missed by her family and all her friends and all of her fans. She was one of the first people who acknowledged HIV Aids as a serious medical issue that needed a champion, and she was the Champion. She was responsible for raising over $250M for AIDS. Thank you, Dame Elizabeth, your crown will be filled with Diamonds. 
I have been busy making dishcloths for my daughter to sell for Relay for Life. As of now, I have 45 dishcloths done. It helps to keep my hands flexible so I can type. Still, that is a lot of hours of work. I hope they get lots of donations for them. 
I fell the other evening and my legs and especially my knees are hurting, We went to a XanGo overview. I am still a XanGo Independent Distributor and have been since 2007. I love XanGo and feel like it is helping me again. I couldn't take it so long as I was under care for cancer because the doctor was afraid it was so full of anti-oxidents that it might interfere with the cancer drugs. I am back on it again and loving it so I thought I would go and see what has progressed in the past 2 years. They have all sorts of wonderful things. They have lotion, cleansers, toners, moisturizers, serums, vitamins. I am impressed. XanGo has done over $3B in business over the past 7 years when it entered the market. Can you believe that one of the biggest volume of distributors making the most is in Mexico? This is a place where the National income is less than $500 a month. Ray even saw the sense of it. He was impressed with the presentation. I am starting to drink the juice again. It really tastes good, not like some of those healthy fruit drinks. I will let you know how I am doing from time to time. 


Time for bed. Love to all
Remember, God is Good, All the Time

March Pink

The earthquake in Japan was horrifying. So many people have died from the Tsunami that hit Japan as a result of the earthquake. There were many aftershocks and now there is the danger of the nuclear power plants having a meltdown. The poor Japanese people, I pray for them each day. They survived the bombing during World War II and were just getting relieved of that horror. I know what they did in WWII but I am not sure that anyone deserves what happened to them. Sometimes it is difficult to think that we bombed them. The only good thing that came from it was the war ended. One of my mother's uncles was on the Arizona when it was bombed in Pearl Harbor, so it is not like I don't understand. As a Christian, I just cannot imagine the horror of what happened and all the suffering it caused. The Japanese were wrong about the war, but we were wrong too. Who knows what was the true "right" thing to do was.

I did get to see Dr Boyd and my colonoscopy will be in May. They will also be doing a endoscopy at the same time. He seemed to be more concerned about my throat and stomach than he did about the other end. I am sure it is nothing, but better safe than sorry.

I have been busy crocheting dishcloths for Relay for Life. My daughter is on a team and is going to sell them to raise money for breast cancer. I am cancer free, so I have this need to give back. A lady at church is giving me $20 for four of them. They are really pretty and some people even use them for washcloths because they are good for getting rid of dead skin.

It has been a busy day. We went to church and stopped by Sam's Club on the way home. When we got home, I warmed up the pork w/potatoes & onions, and I cooked a dish composed of chopped onions, cabbage, and yellow squash. It was wonderful. I sauteed in a Wok with olive oil. You can cook it as done as you want.

Just Pink

I have a new grand niece, Tabitha Mae. Her mother is my sister Cindy's daughter, Heather. I think Jason took the picture and sent it directly to Facebook. We were all anxiously awaiting her arrival. She is just precious and I cannot wait to see her in person. She has an older brother, Karch. Heather says he isn't too interested at this point. I got to see him last summer and he is a cutie. I think they went home from the hospital yesterday.

I found out last night that my friend, Jonnie, starts her chemotherapy on Monday. She has bought her wig and will be having her head shaved this weekend. She found out that she can retire in April and has decided to do so.  Her sister passed away last week. She went to the doctor and found out she had Stage IV colon cancer. She passed before they could even start chemotherapy. I feel so much for Jonnie. She has custody of her granddaughter and has fought for years just to keep things together. I told her if she needed help to give me a call. I know how difficult it is to go through chemo and having someone to take you and sit with you could help her. I just took my computer, sent Ray home, and tweeted. It can make you feel extremely tired.

I have the appointment with the gastric doctor. He will determine whether I need a colonoscopy or not. I am not looking forward to it. I think I saw him before. I have seen so many doctors I cannot remember most of them.

Our PediaVision efforts came to a lot of good. We screened so many people and had a lot of referrals to eye care professionals. We will be doing the screening in Patrick Henry Mall in Newport News again in August. It was a lot of fun. At the Region Meeting the other night, District 24D Governor, Lion Donna Weiler gave me a plaque for my environmental blog for the Region. If you would like to see it, you can go to: http://lionsgreenroom.blogspot.com . It is called the Lions Green Room. Our club, the Newport News Host Lions Club's blog is http://nnlions.blogspot.com.


I read some distressing news this morning on FaceBook. Someone who I thought of as a friend has been labeled a con artist. I don't know it for sure so I won't mention the name. I am so sorry. It is difficult to think of someone who you have corresponded with for over a year is a scam artist and is bilking people out of money. I am such a trusting person, it really hurts to think that someone would even be that way. It takes a lot of intelligence to be a con/scam artist. Why couldn't that intelligence be used to do things the correct way and help others instead of hurting them. You can make more money honestly and still feel good about yourself.
At the end of the day, it is much more important for me to know that I helped at least one person that day.

Yesterday was Dot's birthday. Dot is one of the ladies that I take to church on Wednesday nights and she turned 90 years old. She still gets around but I think her memory is going some. Her daughter is having her moved from Independent Living to Assisted Living as soon as something comes open. She will be so much better off. Her birthday party is Saturday night and Ray and I have been invited. I took Dot and Kitty to the DMV yesterday to turn in their driver's licences and get pictured IDs. Kitty will be turning 90 on March 19th. We were there almost 2 hours. The cool thing was we talked about Newport News over the years and found so much to laugh about that the time went fairly fast. We were giggling and laughing out loud and everybody kept turning around and looking at us strangely. We didn't care, we just had fun. We sang Happy Birthday to Dot last night at church. She is so sweet. I just love my ladies.

I have to put together a presentation for Saturday. Our Parliamentarian Unit is putting on a Workshop at the Newport News Library and I have to teach on the subject of Committees. Someone once said "A committee is best composed of three people, with one who is always sick, and another who is always absent." Hopefully my explanation of committees improves that equation.

One of my pen art pictures. 

There was a earthquake in Japan early this morning. It was huge and there is a Tsunami destroying what was not harmed by the earthquake. A friend at church has a son and daughter-in-law in Okinawa Japan. I also have a friend visiting her family in the Philippines. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. There have been so many wars, earthquakes, fires, Tsunamis lately that sometimes I wonder if the end times mentioned in Revelation is coming soon. At least I know if the Rapture occurs, I will be transported to glory. I would hate to have to go through what the world is going to go through when the end does come.