Time Machine Tuesday: Things about Me

From 11/16/09 from the post : http://www.julesmpg.com/2009/11/some-things-about-me-di-did-this-and-i.html

I don't eat baked fruit pies. How un-American is that. ( I really don't eat baked fruit at all. I don't like it)

I don't drink milk.

I have only ever had three jobs.

I was voted "Most likely to cry at the movies" my senior year in high school.

I once rode on the Goodyear blimp.

My parents divorced when I was 13

I have small feet used to wear a five. Since I've had kids now its six and a half.

I am pigeon toed. My mom and sister are also.

I once got blood in my eye and mouth while labor coaching.

When I meet people, the first thing I notice is teeth.

I love old movies

From 11/27/07 ( please note, this was a very dark time in my life and I was super grumpy. I am usually not that ranty but I do believe these things) from the post: http://www.julesmpg.com/2007/11/i-can-pretend-i-dont-have-work-to-do.html

Things that bug me:

When people treat other people poorly. When someone thinks more highly of themselves than others. Whatever happened to living by the Golden Rule? I always want to Do Unto Others and it is hard when people are mean,ugly, rude, disingenuous, and down right hurtful. It's hard to always be kind, to put others ahead of yourself. Nobody is perfect and we cannot think we are either.

Being late, you want to see me twitch? Make me late and I will shutdown and start twitching.

Lying. The truth may hurt but lies hurt more and do more damage than good.

Spammers, they make my life difficult most days and I wonder why they all come from Russia?

( I really am a people person.....really people I am.)

When I ruin perfectly good new clothes doing housework or cooking. I am so messy and never can keep stain free even if my life depended on it. My childhood nickname was Messy Moose for crying out loud.

Parents who let their children behave badly and feed into it. Do you really thinking giving in will help in the long run? I understand kids being kids and behaving badly. Just allowing it is another thing.

People who take credit for things others have done.

My biggest pet peeve is : People who judge books by their cover. I do not care who you are, what you have done, how much money you have, I only care if you are a good person. I also never judge somebody with someone's else's opinion of them because I want to take the time to see who you are.

My likes:

My faith is my number one important thing to me. MPG stands for Mom Pursuing God.

My husband who still makes me weak in knees after 13 yrs. and is such a strong person. I have learned so much about myself through him and he is really a person I look up to.( now 17 years, through the valley and back and I still feel the same)

My kids who make me laugh everyday and encourage me to be a better person.

Family means a lot to me even if I do not see them everyday.

Women who encourage other women in life. I am so thankful for the many wonderful women I am surrounded by in life and online. They encourage me to be a better person, mother, wife, friend and family member. They teach me things, share their struggles, pain, and joy. This started with my grandmother's and has trickled down to the many wonderful people I call my friend.

Being true to myself and not trying to fit in any mold laid before me. I do not want to live someone else's life I want to live my own life with my own path.

I think that sums things up and I feel better having said it. I just have been holding a lot in lately trying to be strong and I am sure some of this is stress induced. I feel a lot of peace but I am human, and stress gets to all of us at one time or another. I think that about eats up my venting quota for the next month or so.

P.S. I just spoke with the financial coordinator at Stanford and she said the insurance is trying to completely re-direct us somewhere else grrrrr! They are working with the insurance to resolve the problem and they are hopeful for resolution.

As I grow weary from doing NaBloPoMo, these old posts remind me of where I have come from and remind me of why I do this. Remembering while moving forward is my favorite part in life.

Goodbye 36, Hello 37

I usually write this on September 10, but some events this morning have lead me to write this today.

Every year, I fight the birthday blues. Since 9/11/01 I have struggled with this battle of depression and funk from August to September. Two years, I have done really well and learned some coping tools to help me fight the funk. It is the sole reason I write ''Music that Takes Me Back'' series on this blog, it is a way of keeping my focus.

My new goal in striving to be vulnerable on this blog and transparent, I will honestly share that this year I have struggled fighting that funk. I have been in introspective mode for over a month and let a lot of really minor things eat at me. There have been a couple of major things as well that led me to my usual, '' I hate my birthday and EVERY year something bad happens.'' That isn't true but in my mind that is where I go. Thankfully with the help of my friend's Joel and Kay, I was on a great track of positive thinking until last Friday. We got some news about our new insurance payments and Marty's pay that really just threw me into a pit of wallow, worry and sadness.

My true calling in life is serving others and loving others. This year my service of others has called me into a difficult friendship that has challenged me. I committed to praying for a friend and recently that friend was injured severely and that has left me pretty devastated. I really haven't been able to share that due to respect for privacy and anonymity. It has been a burdened carried in silence. I have also seen other friends struggling with parents falling ill, family struggles, health issues and many other issues. I have been bearing a lot of burdens, I am strong and can handle it, I just sometimes need to share that I need lifting up too.

This year saw us accomplish a major goal of almost twenty years, we moved out of California and started a new adventure. Things have gone very well with virtually no setbacks. Really the only setback has been Elizabeth's struggle to make friends and this recent financial blow. Other than that, it has gone amazingly well for us.

Here is what I learned from my self assessment of the last several months:

I have learned that I over react, sometimes in a really ugly way and really am trying to work on that. I am a bit like Steve Martin in Father of the Bride. I think Marty was about ready to throw me out of the truck on the way to work this morning.

I worry far to much about the little things, I already knew this but it has been maginified recently and I am working on not sweating the small stuff. I remember in the not so distant future thinking Marty was going to die and living in such a dark place. Life is good everyday we are alive! Our lives have been so much worse and I have always overcome. I have overcome more in my life than some overcome in an entire lifetime, I am a testimony to resilience and need to show that to others.

Being independent is a good thing but sometimes you need to lean on others. I have become so used to vaulting others secrets and burdens that I started not sharing my own. So many have heavy weight to carry, that I don't want to burden anyone else. So I just clammed up and that isn't good. I recently have started confiding in more and being completely transparent with a few friends.

I have let others opinions and thoughts about my move eat away at me. Instead of not worrying, I have taken those negative thoughts on as my own burden. I cannot fix it for them or make it better, I just have to know they will deal with it in their own time

This morning, I started the day crying. I just was deep in the funk and dreading this week. I let the little things add up and just contributed it to my annual birthday ''curse'' and Marty was done with it. He and Andrea bear the brunt of this every year and they both try their best to snap me out of it and I pretty much let them down.

I heard this song in the car this morning, reminding me I am an ''Overcomer'' and have overcome so many huge obstacles in life.





I was working on positive thinking when I opened my Twitter and saw this:

A young boy Conner's age named Luke did that for me. It was such a sweet gesture from not only Luke but my all time favorite cyclist Jens.  It made me smile, forget and let go, because if Jens Voigt says then it is so. He is one of the most inspiring forty year old's I know and truly someone who buries himself for others expecting nothing in return for himself. He is a happy go lucky guy and truly someone I look up to. It was an instant reminder of who I want to be and who I really am. Two men doing something nice for me for no reason at all. It was one of those moments that I reaped and was blessed.

Forty is starting to loom closer and I have set some big goals for myself to achieve. It is a few years off but I am telling you to keep myself accountable:

Stop worrying about what others think about me. Just be myself and if someone doesn't like it, then move on and forward. If someone doesn't like what I say or do, that is their problem not my problem.

Stop living in introspection and putting life into action

Get these last 70lbs off for good.

Go back to school. I think that I have finally decided that I want to be a nurse midwife and go back to working in labor and delivery at the very least. This is a long term goal that will take several years to accomplish but next year, I am going to start the foundations.

I have two books to write and I need to write them. Instead of putting it off, I am just going to start doing it. I have stories that need to be told and shared with many people. This blog is a great start but I want to put it in print. We can all see God doing something with the crazy things that happen to me in life and I want to share that with the world...well I already do that don't I?

So here is to making 37 the working year, working for these goals, working with Marty and the kids toward building our future in Tennessee. Focusing on the positive and eliminating the negative.

Thanks to everyone who has been helping me through the past month and letting me lean on them while I have been working it out. We all fall down sometimes and with the help of our friends we get up again! Here is to a great year.

One reason I write the birthday blog series is because I believe in the power of building others up and lifting others up. I love my friends and family, I want the world to know the wonderful people in my life and share them. Making people feel good and important is huge, there is so much power in kindness and treating others as you want to be treated yourself. That came back to me this morning, always so good to have it come back and remind me to keep going forward with that mission in life. My outlook is: ''This life is not about me, it is about self sacrifice and serving God through loving others''

"You're So Weird''

  When I named this blog, I named it Just Jules for a reason; I am just Julie being Julie, I've never been one to conform to the norm. Over and over the same phrase is repeated to me, so much so its become my catch phrase, '' Julie, you're so weird!''

For a long time, I struggled to understand why I was so different? I didn't realize that all little girls didn't read books about Princess Di over books about Super Fudge. Or when most girls my age(9) were listening to Madonna and I was listening to Tears for Fears, I had no clue I was different? My after school reading material was ''The Fitzgerald's and the Kennedy's'' before I was reading Bop.

What do you mean its weird to not like baked fruit? my cousin Sarah agrees with me, baked fruit is so gross! Who wants to eat a hot, cooked apple? Not me.

To me this is all really normal, nothing out of the norm. I tend to forget that other girls who liked New Kids on the Block really and truly liked pop music. I never really was a fan of pop music outside of this one act, I was more in it for the boys per say.

Other girls in high school were shopping at Charlotte Russe, The Limited and Gap. Instead, I was out searching thrift stores for vintage clothes and wearing plaid skirts while dyeing my hair bright red. To me it was normal and fun to be different.

I always have preferred to watch old movies, read historical books over new works. I have always been told by my Dad that I was born in the wrong time. I am an old soul in so many ways.  Singers and standards, musicals, punk, and the Cure make me happy

Who knew I had a weird memory skill that most others don't?

My sense of humor is warped ( some may say non existent), I have a nervous laugh, take life way to seriously and have a huge, tenderheart. I've had a strong faith ever since I was a very young girl, its something that has always been there as long as I can remember. One of my best friends calls my strong gut feelings, sixth sense my ''spidey sense'', I always listen to my gut feelings and sometimes have to share some of those with friends about things in their lives. I prefer to call it a ''the gift of discernment''

I prefer to watch pro cycling ( there is a story and reason behind that), I have a weird view on celebrity thanks to living on the other side with friends, I don't have many people on pedestals to me we are all going through this crazy life and are equals.

I homeschooled my kids for many reasons, I moved across country to help a friend, I would rather stay home with my family than go out. I think being a wife, mom, daughter, cousin and friend is the world's most important job.

To me all of those things are normal. I am so not cool and totally okay with that! Truthfully, I don't want to conform or be normal. I like being different, its is what makes me...me. I have absolutely no desire to be anyone different than me. I always am striving to be better, change and grow but not to conform to the patterns of the world.

So the next time you call me weird? Just know to me, its a badge of honor.

The Story of The Just Jules Icon

December 29, 2005, I took the kids across the street from our house to the park to play. I called my Grandpa on the phone. It was a cold grey day that matched my cold, grey,sad mood until I looked up to see the image above and was mesmerized. Marty had bought me a point and shoot camera for Christmas, I lifted it and snapped the picture. Little did I know, that picture would come to mean so much to me.

December 25,2005 a day that I often would much rather forget except for the part when God spoke to me. It was Christmas day, we went to church and I had a lot heavy on my heart that day as did a dear friend of mine. I remember praying for my Dad's health that morning. As I sat in the sanctuary watching a friend play the piano I heard God say, very clearly, "You have a long rough road ahead of you. Don't worry, I will be with you." he said a bit more but I won't share that part.

As we drove home from church, I hit the intersection before my house and made a phone call to my Dad. I went to wish him "Merry Christmas" but only heard this instead, "Your grandma has fallen and is pretty bad. We are going to take her to the hospital later. She won't go until after Christmas is over." That night she was on a ventilator in ICU.

It was a terrible day spent crying and worrying. I was far away and couldn't just leave. Grandma had taught me well that my kids always come first and to make Christmas nice. So I did Christmas for them that day and honored her the best I could.

Three days later, I was planning to leave town and go be with my family. I called Grandpa on the phone at the park that morning. I told him that I was praying for Grandma and how very sorry I was that she was so sick. It was the first in a series of life changing conversations with him, conversations that will live in my heart forever.

The kids and friends playing at the park that day

I was talking to Gramps when I got this picture and realized that I needed to get higher

There is a lyric in a song by Jack Johnson that says, " Now I remember watching that old tree burn down, I took a picture, I don't like to look at"

For the longest time, that is how I felt about this next picture. 

No filter or editing. The view of the Sierra Nevada's from the St.John's river

It takes me back to that cold grey day and reminds me that life changes in a instant. Now, I love this picture and what it has come to mean to me. God wasn't lying when he said it was a long rough road ahead. 2006 is not fondly remembered at all. My life became a giant country song that year Grandma died, Grandpa died, Mom got really sick, my car broke down, it was really bad. I chronicled it here, warning you will see that my writing has vastly improved and it is not well written.

The next five years entailed a very long, hard,dark time in my life that most others wouldn't survive without being destroyed. Now this picture reminds me that God moves mountains, brings peace like a river and that I can survive it all. 

I actually really love this picture because of the simple beauty of it. It has come to be my signature picture and stand for me. Most people probably wonder why I've stuck with it all these years and it was high time the story be put to paper. 

Sometimes a pretty picture isn't just a pretty picture.

Solo Road Trip Weekend

I rarely leave my family and venture off on my own. This weekend I hopped in the car and made a six hundred mile round trip drive by myself. I was headed down to San Diego for a memorial service for my friend ALE originally. I made plans to meet with some friends along the way, it turned into a wonderful weekend of the unexpected.

My friend Janet had been asking to get together and was right in the direction of where I was headed. We met for a girls day of shopping and fun. I loved meeting her mom and kids for the first time. We had fun shopping and spending time together. She is truly one of a kind and to know her is to love her even more. Her kids are so sweet and really touched my heart when they started calling me " aunt Julie" on their own. I was sad to leave them at the end of the day.

I planned to stay with my dear friends the Fitz's, they live near San Diego and were a good stopping point on the first day of driving. I hadn't seen them since 2006 when my grandparents passed away. Jim has been a family friend for thirty years, since I was six years old. He is like a brother, second dad, crazy uncle, friend all rolled into one. When he married he gave our family his dear wife Jen, who has been like a big sister and mentor to me throughout the years.

When I was in high school, I babysat their kids Kevin and Caiti until I was married. They were like my first children and I love them as my own. Kevin remembered me while Caiti knows that I am special but really doesn't remember our times together. We had a fun night of reminiscing through stories and pictures. I had a girls night with Jen. Spent time with Kevin and Caiti separately before I headed home

What a wonderful experience to stay in their home and spend time with them again. It was really wonderful and I am so glad that I did. .

Jen and I

I spent a lot of time on this fire phone in High school

Jim and I

Kevin and I

beautiful Caiti and I

Then I made my way to San Diego to have breakfast with two other women who were friends of ALE. None of us had ever met except on Twitter, one I had spoken to on the phone previously and had become friends with about a year ago. The other I met the week that ALE passed away, she has been very kind and helpful during this hard time.

 We had a lovely breakfast remembering our friend together. The memorial was rescheduled to a time that I cannot attend. So this would be my one time to meet together with other friends of ALE. It was truly wonderful and I walked away feeling peace,love and joy.

ALE loved tweeting food pics, we tweeted pics of our food in her memory

Then I started the long drive home. I decided to stop in my hometown to see my Mom's new car and visit my Dad. He just happened to be at my cousin Rissa's house which meant that I got to see Baby Drew. Oh who I am kidding? I just went to see Drew, I am a sucker for babies.

Gerber baby cuteness!

I then quickly drove home to my family that I missed. It was fun to see so many people in a short time and find closure on the loss of a dear person who I knew for far to short a time. I am thankful to have had the opportunity.

Jules the Tenderhearted

Tenderhearted, sensitive, thin skinned, sappy, emo, soft hearted, cry baby, overly emotional. Words that I have heard over and over my entire life. I am a sensitive person with a big heart, I wear my heart on my sleeve for all to see. For years and years, I have worked hard to change, adapt and assimilate to this character trait. In the end, I've found it is a gift and I am thankful for it.

When I was a little girl, my parents took me to see the new Benji movie in theaters. It ended up they had to take me from the theater screaming and crying, "Help him, help him find his family." I remember being carried up the aisle by my Dad. I was only about three years old and already showing my heart for the hurting and the lost.

In my school days, it was rough being a sensitive girl. Often a harsh personality, a confrontation or even a joke could make me cry. My poor friend Rico and I had some doozy of battles but he was the first person to really tell me to get a thicker skin aside from my family.

I often drove my family crazy,taking everything to heart and personally. I often got in trouble for my crying episodes some of which were wrong at times.

As a married woman, it would often cause issues in fights. I always ended up crying and my husband didn't really know how to handle that. For years, I prayed for God to change me and make me a thicker skinned person.

I didn't want to cry over everything. I didn't want to be overly emotional, why couldn't I just be like everyone else and not care?

Eventually a series of events led me to go to counseling and learn to control my emotions. I learned my emotions are a wonderful gift, if kept in check and used for the right purposes. I learned how to work on dealing with tough situations and take every thought capitive.

I eventually learned that my sensitivity is a gift. It helps me be sensitive to the hurting, people who just need a kind ear and a hug. It isn't a burden when you are using it for the right purposes.

As the years have come and gone, I have met many wonderful people. I have learned to care less about what others think, to blow off things that don't matter and not cry over everything. I used to cry everyday, now I don't.

This sensitivity comes with another gift of being able to have a "spidey sense" as one friend puts it about others emotions and feelings. I am often dead on the money when someone is hurting or needs prayer. They are often thankful for my tenderheart in their time of need.

My good friend Joyce once told me, "if you didn't cry, your head would burst. Let the tears flow"

Sometimes I cry when I am happy, when I am laughing really hard, I cry when someone truimphs, I cry at the agony of defeat in sports, I cry at sappy movies and commercials.  I cry when someone else is hurting and it is something that I wouldn't change for the world.

When a friend is sad, I am the first to give a hug and a listening ear. I often am the first person people come to when they need a shoulder to cry on, when they need prayer and a safe place to share.

I've never struggled with depression or low self esteem. My sensitivity has nothing to do with either of those things. I just have a marshmallow for a heart and I wear that heart where everyone can see it.

I work on it everyday, making sure I learn to keep my emotions in check and using them for the right purpose. As the years go by, I get thicker and thicker skin. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me, now I realize that and immediately start to put them in check.

 I learned when Marty was sick that life is short and for so many years, I let small things rob me of my daily joy.

This can be a process at times, It can take a while for me to let things go but I eventually do.

Life is good, life is really good. I have learned to let the small things go, enjoy each day and not to sweat the small stuff.  I know what is important in life and what isn't, I learned that the hard way. Recently the death of my friend has put many of these things in perspective again. It was her motto and I promised to live that everyday.

As my title states, I am Just Jules and I am happy with who I am. If you don't like it, then I am sorry to hear that I am not going to worry about that. Not everyone has to like me and I am finally okay with that. Life is really good and I am happy with that.

A/N But if you hurt one of my friends or family, I do have a harder time letting that go. Make fun of me all you want but you better not make fun of them. Then I get mad.

Also thanks to my friend Tiy for the blog idea.

Time Machine Tuesday

As many of you know, it is my practice to go through old posts every Tuesday during NaBloPoMo. I love reading about things from the past and seeing the changes life has brought. I think that I will do five posts each Tuesday, one from each year that I've been doing NaBloPoMo.

11/4/2007
Who doesn't love a funny Conner story. How one of my favorite bloggers Dooce saved Conner from a whole heap of trouble. http://www.julesmpg.com/2007/11/how-dooce-saved-conners-life.html

11/2/2008
Waiting. We were waiting for transplant news, any news and nothing had come. In the beginning of the post I  ask several questions. It was Tuesday 1/11/11, we got the call at 4:34 pm, we had just gotten home from the doctor. I was making baked potato bar for dinner. The call dropped in the middle of the call. We didn't have plans and we were ready. You can read how life was three years before that. We lived our life on hold for the next three years. Every day,week,month after this blog was only harder.  Here is a look back then: http://www.julesmpg.com/2008/11/waiting-insert-jeopardy-theme-song-here.html

11/6/2009
Two year anniversary of waiting. I wanted prayers for the family of our donor. The post is very short, I was in a very dark place at that time and it was a sad day for us. Today I think of our donor mom Debbie and pray for her. I actually didn't remember the date until I went digging. http://www.julesmpg.com/2009/11/today-marks-two-years-of-waiting.html

11/5/2010
Marty came home for time off work. He held out a long time but was forced into this by Stanford. It was a dark time even darker than three years before. I look back on it now and realize it was a very special time and I am so thankful for that. http://www.julesmpg.com/2010/11/daddys-home-not-my-dad-kids-dad-and-my.html

11/6/2011
I was just really thankful for a lot of things. Life is and was so good and my heart is overflowing. I had just been in Southern California caring for my Dad who was sick. So glad he is still doing really well a year later!
http://www.julesmpg.com/2011/11/theres-no-place-like-home-and-other.html

MTTMB Series: I Remember When

Last August in celebration of my 35th birthday I wrote the wildly popular Music That Takes Me Back Series. It was a great trip down memory lane and I nowhere near completed the trip. I had already decided to bring it back and then something happened....NKOTB came crashing back into my life.

You may remember I wrote this blog about New Kids on the Block a few days before my birthday. I had no clue that 35 would turn out to be one of the greatest years of my life. Also one of the greatest years of my New Kids fan life.

I recently had the opportunity to meet them thanks to my new found "sisters" Blockhead sisters to be exact. Thanks to Lori, Lindsey, Trish, and A2 also known as Andrea. My dear friend, SOH and I got to meet the New Kids together. You can read about that here.

September 14,1990, three days after I turned 14, I saw New Kids on the Block for the second time at Dodgers Stadium with my friend Jackie. It was truly a Magic Summer Tour and little did I know the last time I would see them live for twenty two years.

This year Andrea and I are celebrating our 36th birthday's together in Hershey,PA by seeing NKOTB live together for the first time. I am thrilled beyond words for this trip.

Getting to go away with one of my best friends, getting to see New Kids, going to Hershey for the first time. I get to meet back up with my friends Lindsey and Andrea, plus meet many of the BH sistas that are my tweeps. I could wax poetic for hours about this.

Going to save that for the after trip blog which will be a part of the series. Until then, I leave you with two videos. One a old New Kids song that fits the bill and the second is a great promo video done for the event by my friend Andrea.


This song takes me right back to being twelve. I always knew that New Kids would be a huge part of my life story.



Here is Andrea's promo video to share more about the festival. Warning there is language in this video, so please don't watch if that will upset you

Whatcha Been Up to Jules??

That's a question that has been posed to me quite often lately. I've been extremely busy with little down time and that has caused lots of things to suffer. Not as much time to meet with friends, blog or keep up with phone calls.

First of all, after seven years of not working outside the house, I got a job and went back to work. My swim coach was looking for someone to work in his restaurant and I took him up on it. It's been fun learning a new skill and working again. I love being around people and especially working our special events. Lots of baby showers,bridal showers, wedding rehearsals and birthday parties. Really fun to help decorate, serve and make someone's day special. You can check out there website here

The kids have been busy playing water polo, Marty has been working and we had company from France for  11 days. Fanette, Vincent and David came to visit us and see California. We had a great time showing them around our town and state. We made four trips to LA and back by the time we were through. We went to Universal, Sea World, Disneyland and the Sequoias.

We loved seeing Fanette and her boys in person, showing them the state and just being together. I even skipped watching the first ten days of my beloved Tour de France to spend time with them. Between working and site seeing, I had no time to do little else. It was worth it and I caught up after they left.

Now I am back to work and tour watching. I've got some great updates on my weight loss journey to share but that is another blog and another day. Just lots of busyness and stuff going on. I am looking forward to settling into a routine soon. 

The Kindness of the Twitter Blockheads

Tomorrow, I will do something I haven't done in 23 years. At the same time, a 25 year old dream of mine will come true all because of the kindness of a complete stranger. If you haven't learned the power of pay it forward on this blog, you hopefully will after reading this. Also, if you haven't learned the power of Twitter by reading this blog, maybe you will once again see and learn the amazing nature of that site.

I have been a New Kids on the Block fan for almost 25 years as well documented on this blog. The last time I saw them live was in September of 1990 at Dodgers Stadium with my friend Jackie. Of course, as a young girl I could only dream of meeting the band. When they reunited in 2007, I was beyond giddy ( there's a blog on that) at that time Andrea and I had become friends and discovered our common affection for Joey Mac. Sadly, Marty had just been diagnosed with Renal failure and our life was in turmoil. Andrea bought extra tickets for my cousin Rissa and I to go see the first reunion show with her and I had to turn her down. There was no way I could even travel 200 miles and leave Marty. He promised us that once he was well, we could have a zany adventure.

Last summer, Andrea once again had a opportunity to get tickets with a friend. Unfortunately, she missed out on getting me a ticket by hours. These tickets came with backstage passes too! We were heart broken. Then the day of the concert, the person who got "my" ticket backed out. Unfortunately it was only four hours before the show, I was a sweaty hot mess, had plans with Marty and couldn't make it in July 4th traffic. I sadly had to say no. We were heartbroken but determined to make it happen someday.

Last weekend, Andrea and I had another shot at meeting Joe together at the marathon. Unfortunately, he was just too sneaky and fast and we missed him. It doesn't even matter, given meeting Joe or just cheering on Andrea, I would pick Andrea time and time again. We met a wonderful blockhead Trish outside the Hard Rock Cafe. She kept telling us about this "Town Hall" the next weekend, Andrea and I were stumped as to what she was talking about. Step in Lori aka Blanco Diddy on Twitter yesterday, she is a huge source of NKOTB info and asked Andrea if she was going to the Town Hall and did she want to go? Very sweetly my SotH said, " I can't go without Julie, sorry ladies" and we highly doubted my husband would be up for this after following me to LA last weekend. Within twenty minutes, two sweet girls Andrea and Lindsey had offered to take both of us with them!

I asked Marty and he very kindly agreed to let us have this zany adventure! I was so emotional. Blown away by the kindness of these strangers. Within minutes I was flooded by replies from Blockheads all over the country. Just thinking about how far we had come? When Marty was sick and we had to say no to thing, people would tell us "Someday, you will be able to do those things. Someday it will happen." in the darkness sometimes it was hard to believe that. They were right, thanks to Debbie our donor mom and Jerry our donor, I can leave and do this. Thanks to Andrea and Lindsey, we can go. All strangers with big hearts and giving spirits. This is the second time, via the power of Twitter I have been able to do something extraordinary. That also doesn't count my Fit Tweeps who are helping me lose weight and encouraged me to do my first triathlon.

So tomorrow, not only my dream but Andrea and I's dream together will come true. This is a Q and A that New Kids are hosting for their fans. It's very intimate with around a thousand people. We are told they walk around and this is like a huge meet and greet. I just can't believe this is happening! Dreams really do come true.

I will update you with the outcome on Sunday!

Nectar of the Clouds

I asked Joel from reasons2ride to write a guest post about our new daily habit. Before I started my fitness journey I drank virtually no water daily. I just thought I was never thirsty. I didn't drink soda, tea, juice, I just didn't drink anything aside from two cups of coffee a day. I would occasionally sip water here and there. Since this started, I am up to over 80 ozs of water a day now and feeling better.

Social Media has been a wonderful addition to my daily life. I like the interaction with people from all walks and all parts of the globe. I’ve made some wonderful friends and feel it has really enriched my life. I started blogging almost a year ago to hold myself accountable for my actions, and invited others to join the ride.

The feedback has been nothing short of life changing and I’ve been able to find personal strength and motivation never before realized. To be asked to guest blog however, that is special and when Jules asked me to guest blog I was deeply moved. So I would like to give Jules a heart felt thank you for providing me with this wonderful experience.

                                                                            

This all came about nearly 3 weeks ago when I tweeted about being sick, to the point I felt I should see a doctor. I do not like going to the doctor’s office for many reasons, none being I dislike doctors. Something was wrong, vomiting; diarrhea and I could not keep fluids down. I went to an urgent care facility and was placed on IV fluids within 25 minutes of my arrival. The problem, I was severely dehydrated.

How?  I’d been drinking close to 90oz every day. That wasn’t enough to maintain hydration based on my activity.

How could that be?  I increased the amount I’ve been drinking as my activity increased…the problem, I wasn’t compensating for all the toxins being dumped into my system as my metabolism finally began firing on all cylinders.

It was put to me quite simply, “our bodies are literally nuclear reactors and the hotter the fuel rods become (burning calories), the more water we need to cool and maintain normal operation”. I wanted to know more about dehydration so I naturally I took to the web. The information was overwhelming, like asking for a glass of water and being offered a fire hose. Filtering through these blogs, case studies and clinical research I was amazed at what I discovered. Here is an illustration from the Global Healing Center’s website showing how vital water is to our personal wellbeing:

Symptoms of dehydration are fairly universal, but I found the information presented on the Mayo Clinic’s website most useful:

Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:

• Dry, sticky mouth

• Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual

• Thirst

• Decreased urine output — no wet diapers for three hours for infants and eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens

• Few or no tears when crying

• Dry skin

• Headache

• Constipation

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause:

Extreme thirst

Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults

Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes

Lack of sweating

Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber

Sunken eyes

Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold

In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby's head

Low blood pressure

Rapid heartbeat

Rapid breathing

No tears when crying

Fever

In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness

During my quest for thirst quenching information I came across a neat site, Dumb Little Man Tips for Life, which does an excellent job summarizing the key benefits of water (other than it is absolutely necessary for life).

1.     Weight loss: Water is one of the best tools for weight loss, first of all because it often replaces high calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. But it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, and no sugar. Drink plenty to help your weight-loss regimen.

2.     Heart healthy: Drinking a good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart-attack; A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.

3.     Energy: Being dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired -- even mild dehydration of as little as 1 or 2 percent of your body weight. If you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated -- and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.

4.     Headache cure: Another symptom of dehydration is headaches. In fact, often when we have headaches it's simply a matter of not drinking enough water. There are lots of other causes of headaches of course, but dehydration is a common one.

5.     Healthy skin: Drinking water can clear up your skin and people often report a healthy glow after drinking water. It won't happen overnight, of course, but just a week of drinking a healthy amount of water can have good effects on your skin.

6.     Digestive problems: Our digestive systems need a good amount of water to digest food properly. Often water can help cure stomach acid problems, and water along with fiber can cure constipation (often a result of dehydration).

7.     Cleansing: To help flush toxins and waste products out of the system the body uses Water.

8.     Cancer risk: Related to the digestive system item above, drinking a healthy amount of water has also been found to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%. Drinking lots of water can also reduce the risk of bladder cancer by 50% and potentially reduce the risk of breast cancer.

9.     Better exercise: Being dehydrated can severely hamper your athletic activities, slowing you down and making it harder to lift weights. Exercise requires additional water, so be sure to hydrate before, during and after exercise.

Now that I am armed with the whys, I need to know how much. Oh my goodness! Congress will agree on a universal healthcare plan before the experts will come to a consensus agreement as to how much water we drink. Again, I really like what Dumb Little Man Tips for Life has to say about how much water we need:

“This is a debatable question. What's clear is that the old recommendation of "eight 8-ounce glasses a day" isn't right, for several reasons: that amount includes all dietary water intake, including food and non-water beverages; it also ignores a person's body weight, which is an important factor in figuring the amount; it also varies if you are sick or exercise. It's also not good to just with each meal, a glass in between meals, and be sure to drink before, during and after exercise. Try to generally keep yourself from getting thirsty”.

All of this information is wonderful and probably review for the majority, but as I watch twitter conversations and read blogs, it seems taking in enough water every day is a problem not unique to me. Enter Jules…her caring nature had her concerned as she learned I had to see a doctor. Once I told her what was what, she told me she also struggles getting enough water daily. I suggested we use twitter to remind each other throughout the day to drink some water. I like to use hash tags (#) on twitter and since water is already bland enough, I thought I’d liven up the name, thus the birth of #NectaroftheClouds. It’s funny because

We’ve both been asked, “What’s Nectar of the Clouds"? “Is it a new energy drink”? Once we mention it is just water, you can almost hear the duh’s…but then something cool happens, people say thanks, I like that, it reminds me to drink water.

How about you?

Do you get enough water in a day?

What are your tips or tricks to keep you hydrated?

Cheers….

Newsflash: Man Flu puts Training to a Stop

Last Friday, I came down with the worst case of flu that I have had in years. I got up to do my morning workout and did one plank only to crawl back in bed. I stayed on the couch or in bed for four days leaving my husband and kids to fend for themselves.

I've heard my British friends call the flu " The Man Flu" I am not sure why they call it that. I was told it was because when you get it, you are like a sick man whining and dying. Well then, I am saying that this was the man flu. I had aches, fever, chills, nausea and extreme fatigue over the last seven days. I've been told that its going around and everyone is being hit hard. I was hit hard and knocked flat.

Unfortunately this means I haven't worked out in a week or swam in 10 days. I am missing my routine and hoping to get back to it slowly. We got our bikes back from tune ups yesterday so today I think we will take a ride today.

I started feeling much better yesterday. Today even better, just feeling a little weak and tired still. No fever finally and the aches are gone.  I hope all of you stay well and that the flu passes your house by this year, it is no fun at all.

Things You Didn't Care to Know About Me

On my Twitter journey I  recently met Eric @Trimon who introduced me to his wife Pamela's blog. Pamela is a real writer with real talent and she is hysterically funny. She is brutally honest and transparent, shares her life warts and all. I love reading her adventures and sometimes misadventures. I really hope you check out her blog, especially if you love good grammar, a great story teller and a funny story.

Sweet Eric tweeted Pam's blog today and this post was hysterical. At the very bottom I noticed she challenged me to repost it.
http://pamelahutchins.com/2012/02/09/like-a-virgin

So here I am, sharing 11 things You Don't Care to Know About Me

Pam asked:

1. Who was your favorite teacher and why?

Mr.Roswell a great English teacher who put up with some of my shenanigans. Also, Mr.Fawley whose love of history inspired me.

2. What were your sports of choice when you were younger? I just wanted to be a gymnast like Nadia or a ice skater like Dorothy Hamill.

3. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A history teacher like Mr.Fawley

4. What profession did you ultimately end up in and why?

I still haven't figured that out. I am currently teaching history,math, science and other things to my children. I am currently thinking about my future career.

5. What is the single most important thing you think parents should teach their children?

To love others as they love themselves. To be polite, honest, respectful and contributing members of society.

6. When you run, what is the one thing your mind turns to the most often?

I end up praying. " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and then I pray for other people. Because if I think of myself, I end up saying " God please don't let me die running."

7. What is your favorite book and how many times have you read it?

I tend to have a photographic memory when it comes to books. It's almost as if I memorize them in chunks. So its really boring for me to re-read them. I recently decided to force my children to listen to me read them my favorite book of all time, Anne of Green Gables. I highly identify with Anne.

8. If you could only pick one movie to watch for the rest of your life what would it be?

This question has me in a panic. One? I have to pick one? Anne of Green Gables for the win. It was a toss up between that and the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. I better quit now....Grease would be next!

9. Are you more comfortable in the city or the country?

I'm a bit of both so I say the suburbs

10. If you had the option of spending three months of the year in another place, where would you choose?

England

11. What is your all time favorite museum to visit?

National Museum of American History. I could live in that place.

There are apparently rules to this randomness, so I hereby tag 11 other blogger writers to join the fun, and I recommend you, dear readers, check them out, after you go read Pam:

Darci at Busy but Precious Moments

Bethany at Striving to Be Bold

Di because she needs to blog! Baja Bound

Stacy at Finding Purpose in The Pain She's also hosting a great giveaway today.

Lei at Southern Maine Living

Jenn at Misadventures in Motherhood she is just plain funny and her tweets are hysterical

Christina at Spilled Milkshake I hooked up to a blog hop of her's a long time ago and still get hits from her site.

Felicia at Felcia's Legend one of my best commenters

Trish at Everyday Trish another great commenter

2006, My Annus Horribilis

I once heard Queen Elizabeth say that about the year 199. I  never thought there would be a year horrible enough in my life. This year, 2006 is my annus horribilis, I have volumes to say on this year much of it not good in my mind. So because I use this blog for my venting purposes and as a record, I will speak my mind frankly and one last time for posterity.

January- before it was here it was bad. My Grandma got sick Christmas day and was hanging on to life in a hospital. My  friend Robin had a heart attack two days later on her birthday and I was torn between staying here and helping or going to be with my family. I needed to be there and wanted to be there but needed to be here too. " I took a picture I don't like to look at" ( that picture graces the top of this blog) on December 27th that reminds me of all those feelings being torn. I ended up going on Dec 29th and spent New Years with my family in So.Cal. I will never forget the time I spent with Grandpa and how God blessed me with the most precious time in my life with Grandpa. He told me things and shared things and gave me his blessing to go on in life. I stayed to help care for him so everyone could be with Grandma.

 I took him to the doctor and the doctor told him to come back in March and he told him, " I wont be here in March my days are numbered." I kinda had a inkling to believe him then but I made him that appointment. Grandma came home,we visited and Conner got to go spend time with her. She called him "Moon-face" without even speaking. It was precious! We said goodbye knowing it would be final. We left and came home and tried to re-group and get life moving again. Sunday January 26th I awoke to my dad calling to tell me Grandma was gone.

February- We went to So.Cal to say goodbye to Grandma and it was hard for many reasons. God was good and gave me the strength to deal with many difficult situations. I left Grandpa crying on the side of his bed and told him I would be back soon. The next week he went into the hospital and they couldn't really figure out what was wrong with him. You cant see a broken heart on a x-ray. Tried to get life on track and be normal again. Spent most days calling my dad to check on Grandpa. My mom found a lump in her face and found out it was a tumor and needed surgery. Marty turned 30 and he says he is still 29! We had a nice birthday for him.

March- packed my kids,our traveling school house up again, and went to So.Cal to care for my mom after much drama of which daughter would do that. We got there and went straight to see Gramps at the rehab hospital. I said to him " I said I would come see you at home not here" I said " it has only been a couple of weeks and look where you are" he had been in and out of reality.I wasn't sure he even knew what I was talking about,he looked at me and said" It has been six weeks" and I almost fell over because he was right! My mom had the surgery , things looked good and the kids got to have some fun with cousins. Grandpa ended up in ICU mid-week. I went and talked with him and told him if he wanted to go be with Grandma it was okay.He said that is what he wanted and I told him to ask God to take him, the next day he called for his priest to come to him. He told my aunt, " I cant do this without my girl."

 My mom was recovering,I needed to go home to be with Marty for our 10th anniversary and bring normal to my kids in some way. I went to the hospital to say "Goodbye Gramps" I rubbed his hair and told him I loved him and he told me he loved me. I said "Thank you for everything" He said "Your Welcome".

 I came home and the next day he went home to his house. Marty and I celebrated 10 wonderful years of marriage on the 23rd and he bought me a beautiful new ring that I love. We went out to dinner and had a really great time and also celebrated that it was our nephews 1st birthday. That Sunday March 26th, eight weeks to the day that grandma died during my after church nap I got the call from my dad that Grandpa had gone to be with his girl.

April- We drove down to So.Cal to say goodbye to Gramps and had a huge family party that will live on in  my  memory forever. Jen Fitz came to play and sing for our family. We had a huge sing-along in my grandparents back yard. We took family photos and it was a really sad, sad, gray day. But we honored Grandpa in the way he would have wanted it. We came home and celebrated Elizabeths birthday and my mom came up for the party then my mom was hospitalized for Staph infection and I wasnt sure if she would live through it. I couldnt go be with her though as the kids and I needed a mental break and to be at home.

May- My cousins Caiti and Jillie came to visit marking the first time anyone in my family since I have moved here have come to see me and I really liked that. Life settled into a normal routine.

June- Peace and quiet! But another trip to So.Cal this time to see Marty's family for guess what? a funeral for Marty's uncle. But it was good for us to see them after almost 10yrs. I made three really great new friends this month and our friendships have become really important to me.

July- We went to Big Sur on a wonderful family vacation and had a good time. Conner survived a near catastrophe while swimming in the Big Sur river after being sucked into a drainage pipe while a friend of ours was watching him. God is good and allowed him to escape with only a scrape and a healthy dose of fear. We had a majorly hot weekend that came with a 12 hr power outage. Marty ended up with a ambulance ride to the hospital because it was so hot and he was so tired his blood sugar got to low. It was a terrifying experience but I am glad I knew what to do and was able to stay calm during the whole thing.

August- I am laughing because my life has turned into a Country song and unless you knew me and knew all this happened you wouldn't believe it. We went to So.Cal to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpas house of 51 years. The center of my childhood and the place I called home because it was the only home I ever had to go to. My dad and aunts gave me a nice gift, they  took my kids for a week and gave me my grandma and grandpa's bedroom set. It was a huge blessing and such a comfort to me. It helped my grief tremendously. Our Van which is 4 years old decided to no longer run, it would cost us over 6k to fix it and it wouldn't be guaranteed to stay that way. So we had to buy another car and still pay on the van for one more year. What a nightmare spent trying to figure out what was wrong and how to fix it? ( that car sat in my garage for another year and a half. The day it left was a 3 ton weight off my chest)

Sept- I turned 30 and went to Chonda Pierce. We got our new car and started another school year. Things were good!


Oct- The house sold and my dad was devastated, he bought his first home on his own. Our long time friend Gabriel from El Patio died and that was quite bad for my dad. I wanted to run down there again but couldn't. I had to learn to bloom where I am planted.

Nov- Conner turned 9! Big drama with Kim ( my older sister) and her family and even though we don't speak she dragged me in and got people mad at me. That made things bad. We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home and we thankful for many things( read my blog Thankful)

December- much excitement because after 10 years I got to finally meet Candace she was so nice and kind and it is so cool to minister along side of her. It was a amazing blessing to get to go and meet her! We stayed at my dad's new house and went to Knotts. It was great! We had a party at our house for the homeschool kids and I faked it till I made it on Christmas and managed to not spend the whole day crying about Grandma even though everything reminded me of her.

So here I sit reflecting on this terrible year but I see so much good in all these things. My marriage only got better and stronger through all of this. My amazing husband was a rock through it all. My kids and I bonded so much in grief and it has been a hard thing to share but something that made us closer. They did really good in school and Elizabeth reads like crazy and Conner made progress with his school work. My husband has a good job that gave me the resource to go and be with my family when I needed to and I didn't have to worry about money. I was blessed with many good friends who listened and were patient with me during this time. People did so much for me I can never repay but only hope to.

I feel I am a better person and know worrying will get me nowhere fast but that to trust in the Lord and his will for my life. I wont even venture to guess what 2007 will be like because I did that last year and every plan I made got changed and thrown out the window. Instead I am trying to take one day at a time and go with the flow.

Goodbye Annus Horribilis you wont be missed.

To my faithful blog readers- I am going to try to refrain from talking about this stuff anymore so bear with me on this one and look forward to more positive posts in the new year.

A/N Little did I know that my life would get infinitely harder within the next year. This was all before Marty was diagnosed with Renal failure. God had told me Christmas day 2005 that I had a long rough road ahead of me and boy did he ever mean it. Just a few months later, Marty was diagnosed with End Stage Renal failure and we would have the darkest years of our lives until January 2011.