Friday, April 29, 2011

Final thoughts on the Royal Wedding

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.


I think after Charles and Di, this will go down as my favorite Royal Wedding. It might even surpass it truthfully. You could feel the deep and abiding love of the newly named Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Her dress was simple, stunning and elegant.

My favorite moments were; when Prince Harry peaked as she was walking down the aisle. When she got to William he leaned over and said, " You look beautiful.". Hearing Kate's brother read Romans 1: 1,2,9-18 and when the archbishop said, "all weddings are really royal weddings since we are sons and daughters of the creator." Or something to that effect.

I had so much fun watching with Rachel and Elizabeth. Texting with my friends Andrea, Irma,Jen, my Mom and my friend Ruben's hilarious commentary. Andrea and I particulary have gone overboard and really made our families and friends think us mad.

What wonderful memories for a life time. Thanks for being patient and letting me let loose. After the last five years of hard life, it was wonderful to let loose and be carefree. I think it was a huge release and the return of my true personality.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Monday, April 25, 2011

I wasn't voted "Most Likely To Cry At The Movies" in high school for no reason.

For the last ten years, I have had a long standing arrangement with myself. Don't watch anything Princess Di related. When she died in 1997, I got so overly emotional that my mom had to tell me to calm down. I watched the Concert for Di and The Queen, cried through them both.

I thought maybe, I was over it and could watch some of the fabulous Royal Wedding montages out there. So last Friday, I started watching the episodes On Demand. Watching things on Princess Di is a odd experience. When I was younger, I owned every book written on her. I also have a photographic memory of sorts. So every picture is memorized and something engrained in my brain. So much of my child hood is wrapped up in her. She was my escape from reality when I was younger. I didn't play dolls and Barbies, I played Royal family; in fact, I always named all of my dolls Brittany Brittania if I did play dolls.

I made it through two of them and became overwrought. Elizabeth was sitting next to me and just started staring and said, "Mom maybe you shouldn't watch anymore." as I was thinking the same thing. I just cannot do it and really shouldn't.

What got me? Princess Di was only 36 when she died. Back then that seemed, so old to me. I am only two years shy of 36 now and the reality really hit me. None of us are promised tomorrow and I know we could all go at any age. It just really hit home.

So now, I am only watching current Royal Wedding montages and no more Princess Di stuff., I am excited about the Royal wedding this week and cannot wait for the festivities to begin.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

I wouldn't wear hat, I would wear a....fascinator

My Aunt Maggie called me today and was teasing me about my Royal wedding mania. She was saying she thought I would have a dress and be making Marty renew our vows on the same day. Pfft... I am wearing pajama's! She was trying to talk me into making a hat for the event. I have actually been obsessed with the royal fascinator lately. I think my big head would look better in one of those instead. What is that you say?

That is a fascinator. They are great and way better than a hat. So don't laugh if you see me wearing one someday.

This Royal Wedding business has become mania with many of my friends feeding the monster. I put a picture up on Facebook of my Princess Di doll. Then my friend Clare sent me a Royal Wedding plate and mug, then my friend Alison gave me a Di/Kate ring. Now my friend Jan has sent me a Royal wedding party in the box. I am set for the big day. 



I have been laughing and being silly with my friends over this whole thing. They obviously find it funny too since they are being so wonderfully generous to me. What a fun way to decompress after the last three stressful years.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

3 months and 3 days later

I suddenly realized today, it has been three months and three days. Life changed in the blink of an eye and for the better in our case.

Three months and four days ago, we were weary and clinging to the promise of God that things were going to change. We were doing five dialysis treatments a day and Marty still was fluid overloaded. His blood sugars were running between 250-400. His last hemoglobin A1C was 11. He wasn't sleeping and barely getting out of bed. We were spending our days crying out for mercy.

Three months later, our days are filled with joy. Every minute that he is well, is a precious gift to us. We are constantly rejoicing and thanking God. Marty is back to working full time and plus some. He says he comes home and is tired but not the same tired. He says being back to work helps him see the difference. His blood sugar is between 89-110 every day. His A1C is 5.2, non diabetic levels. He is not taking insulin anymore and hasn't for two weeks.

Hard to believe that life changed in a instant and how fast things turned around for the better. We are so thankful for the prayers and support we have received. We are thankful to God for blessing our family with a miracle.

" Someday, somehow you'll see. Would you dare, would you dare to believe that you still have a reason to sing. Cause the pain that you've been feeling can't compare to the joy thats coming." Josh Wilson

 Believe me, nothing prepared us for the joy that has come!



Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Royal wedding memories and a secret nobody knows

When I was five years old, my older sister woke me up at 3 am to watch the Royal wedding of Charles and Diana. She created a monster, I was hooked. What five year old doesn't love princesses and fairytales? it was my hobby and everyone around me fed the monster.

About 6 months later, we were at Crown Books on Whittier blvd and my parents told me to pick out a book. I went and found a huge hardcover book, Princess by Robert Lacey. It was the first of hundreds of books that I would be given or buy on Princess Di. It was more a pictorial with a bit of writing between the pictures. My favorite picture in the whole book was this


Maybe because I was the same age as the little girl in the picture? or the kindness she was showing? I just love this picture.

Flash forward 25 years and it is my own wedding day. Our flower girl Caiti didn't want to walk down the aisle the day before in rehearsal. The day of the wedding she not only walked down the aisle but sat happily on the piano throughout the service. As she came down to the end of the aisle, I was so proud of her. This wasn't planned but when I saw her coming, I knew what to do and the photographer took this picture as I greeted Caiti. My own personal memory of my wedding day, that even my husband didn't know about until he read this blog. Besides the pictures of Marty and I together, this is my most favorite picture of the whole day.


Who knew all those years later, I would have a piece of Di on my wedding day. As the wedding of William and Kate approaches, I find myself in a tizzy of excitement. I will be getting up at three am to watch live ( because watching the re-play isn't the same) and probably bawl like a baby at some point. This time, I am a mom and hope that Elizabeth will watch with me. Di may be gone, but the memories that made my childhood happy and fun remain.


Thursday, April 7, 2011

it could be worse

Marty's appointment at Stanford went well today. Dr.B is very happy with his sugars, his A1C was 5.2 which is normal, non diabetic level. He isn't taking insulin anymore either and hasn't for a week. His kidney is functioning well and things are great.

We don't have to go back for a month now! We are so happy about this development!

Here's the kicker, Marty needs to lose weight. He never had to worry about weight before and now he does. I keep telling him, "Welcome to my world!" and the life of being over 30. We are all working on the battle of the bulge in this house.

Life is good! Everyday since transplant is a good day, no matter what!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Off to work he went.

Marty went back to work on Saturday. This is a huge milestone in the journey for our family. The return to regular routine and normalcy. Something we have been waiting years to happen.

He did great on his first day, everyone was glad to see him. He didn't realize everyone knew what happened and they all had a lot of questions for him. So that kept him busy and awake.

He had to work some overtime today. Not by choice but by mandate. He came home and was telling me how different he feels. He can walk all over at work, up the stairs and not get tired or out of breath. He normally would be very tired working over, but he wasn't. This is a good marker for him, to see how much better he really is.

He hasn't taken any insulin since last week and his blood sugars are maintaining normal levels. So that is another piece of good news. We just love good news!