Final Blog

Keeping a blog this semester has been an experience to say the least. I really didn’t think I was going to enjoy it but I actually kind of did. At first it did seems like just busy work but the more I did the more I got used to it and before you know it you have 500 words.

I wish I would have maybe picked some different topics to talk about because I basically just rattled on about what was happening in my life at the particular moment. I guess maybe that’s what a blog is meant to be. I doubt I will keep blogging for the mere fact of time. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it but it does take time to do.

On a totally different note, we just found out my little sister is expecting her 3^rd child. I can’t wait to be an aunt again. My older sister and myself are both done so it makes it so fun when one of our 3 little sisters are expecting. We don’t have to do any of the work but get to enjoy all the perks. She is hoping for a little girl since she already has 2 boys but then again she wouldn’t know what to do with a little girl. We always say it doesn’t matter as long as the little one is healthy. Isn’t that what we all really want? There are some women that break down and cry when they are not having a baby of the right gender and I think that is so sad.

I seem to just be rattling about stupid stuff that really has no importance so I will leave you all with this final farewell….

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Week 15 Blog 2

I decided I would write this blog about kids with type 1 diabetes. My 8 year old son has a little neighborhood friend with type 1 diabetes. I never really knew the difference between type 1 and type 2. If I understand this website correctly it is basically between getting as an adult and getting it as a juvenile. If type 1 is contracted during a young age it means that the pancreas, which is the organ that secrets insulin is destroyed. Juveniles have to always have insulin, whereas adults can sometimes just control theirs with diet.

Juveniles with type 1 do not produce insulin at all. This means that every time they eat or drink anything with carbohydrates they have to have insulin. According to this website juveniles with type 1 diabetes are usually thin and frail. Not the case here, this kid is a brick house and I promise you...he can definitely eat you out of house and home. Little guy is a pudgy little teddy bear and I love him so much.

The little guy that lives in my neighborhood, and happens to be very good friends with my 8 year old, found out about his about this time last year. My house is the only house he is allowed to stay because I am the only parent that is willing to monitor his diet and inject his insulin. Therefore this little guy practically lives at my house and I am so glad he is so comfortable.

I have to admit, if I was his mom I wouldn't let just anyone do the injections and things either. That can be life threatening and someone that you trust needs to be on the other side of things when you can't be there yourself.

Week 15 Blog 1

WOW….the semester is coming to an end. I am so glad because I am in great need of a break. I am always shocked at how fast semsters really do tend to go. Right about the time you think you get the hang of how each instructor wants things it’s almost over.

Don’t you think it’s crazy how different each instructor is, even the one’s that teach the same subject. I am always on the hunt for the best teacher to fit my learning style so I tend to do a lot of asking around before I schedule classes. I haven’t been disappointed in any professor/instructor though. I have been absolutely blown away by the subject but never really the teacher UNTIL this semester. I can’t quite figure out if it’s the teacher or the subject. I mean it is history from 1400-1800. I know there are some people that love to learn about history but I’m not one of those people. I actually tend to not really care. Does that make me a bad person? I really don’t mean it that way I just don’t see why those of us that really don’t have an interest in something (such as 1400 history) need to strive so hard to make a good grade when we really don’t see where it is going to fit into my future career.

I guess maybe all these classes that I/we deem unnecessary tie in together somehow. Maybe they make us a better, well rounded individual. Maybe they make us better communicators. Maybe they make us better thinkers. Maybe, just maybe, it’s all those combined. I could see where that would make sense. For instance, I really didn’t see a need in doing these blogs every week but I think I have learned a little about myself and the things I need to do to be a better communicator, and how to express what I am feeling a little better. You know those people that can’t seem to speak their feelings but can write them? Well, I’m not one of them….I am real quick to speak (often when I shouldn’t) but I have to stop and think before I start typing. This all in itself has made me a better person.

I want to wish everyone that I have had the pleasure of getting to “know” this semester the best of luck. I hope you all reach the goals you are striving for and I hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!  Maybe I’ll run into some of you next semester.

Week 14 Blog 1

Why is it that most of us love our dog almost as much as we love our children? Notice I said almost. My husband thinks I am crazy for babying and loving on out Shih Tzu as much as I do but I also happen to know that when he thinks I’m not looking he does the very same thing.

My children are even worse than my husband and I when it comes to spoiling the cute little thing. Oliver, the Shih Tzu, has so much personality and it is so easy to love him. He has been a perfect dog since we got him as a puppy 5 years ago. Most puppies chew things up and reek havoc on a house but my little Oliver was an angel when he was a puppy. I can’t think of one thing that he chewed up and destroyed. It really has nothing to do with me being prejudice because he is my dog….really it doesn’t (wink, wink!!!). He is like all of my kids, the smartest most perfect creatures on earth, (again….wink, wink).

Isn’t it funny how everyone ALWAYS thinks their kids or their pets are the smartest most able beings on earth? You all know every one of us guilty. I will be the first to take the blame. I always think everything my kids do is wonderful but then when I go to tell this magnificent story, no one else seems to think it is as grand as I do. Except daddy, grandma and grandpa, of course. This is why I always seem to go over the top when one of my friends is telling me something they think is wonderful that their children have done.

People need to take into consideration the feelings of those around them a little more often. So, maybe you really don’t care about hearing about someone elses kids but don’t you want someone to share the joy when you have your story to tell??? I know I do!!!

Tis the season to share these wonderful feelings with one another and I hope everyone steps back and takes a good look at themselves and truly discovers that they are the kind of person they want to be. If not, take the steps needed to move yourself toward that person you want to see look back at you in the mirror.

Happy Holiday’s everyone!!!!!!

Week 13 Blog 2

As I lay awake all night long I tend to start thinking about school and what homework needs to done the next day. Last night I was trying to figure out what to write about and all of a sudden it hit me....insomnia!!! Why can't I ever sleep more than two or three hours a night. It is killing me. I try to stay awake in the evenings but because I didn't sleep the night before I am falling asleep by 8:30 or so. Since the time change it's more like 7:30. The whole thing is that I am wide awake by 11:30 or midnight and can't go back to sleep. I will drift off for a few minutes every now and then but nothing that can be qualified as good quality sleep.

I looked up insomnia on this website and found that is is really common in women my age. I have tried to talk to my doctor about it but he wants me to take Ambian and I have heard horror stories about that. My cousin and her husband were both taking it at one time and they both found strange things happening to them. Like waking up in the car, in a parking lot, at 3 am and not remembering waking up to drive there. One other time her husband took the dog for a walk down the highway by their house and didn't remember  it. She woke up and found the front door open, went to find him, and almost ran him over since he was walking down the dark highway. had she not been watching for him she would have literally ran him over.

I looked up Ambian side effects on this website and found some very disturbing things about the drug. These are the common side effects listed on that website:

Common Ambien Side Effects: Minor side effects that are fairly common include drowsiness on awakening, headache, a drugged feeling, lightheadedness and depression. The depression can be severe, see below under serious Ambien side effects. The rest of the Ambien side effects that are listed in the manufacturers list of common side effects are primarily those listed for nearly every medication and include sinusitis, dry mouth, dizziness, lethargy, back pain, influenza-like symptoms, diarrhea, constipation and sore throat.

These are the LIFE THREATENING side effects of Ambian according to the website:
Life Threatening Ambien Side Effects: The most common serious Ambien side effects are amnesia and hallucinations. It is very important to take the medication immediately prior to going to sleep. It is fairly common to become quite confused, to wander and behave erratically after taking Ambien, so it is very important to be in bed when the drug takes effect. Wandering to include driving a motor vehicle or doing other dangerous activities while under the influence of Ambien are reported not infrequently. These are much more likely if you don’t go to bed immediately after taking the medication and it begins to take effect before you go to bed. Other common Ambien side effects include worsening of or development of depression, allergic reactions that can occasionally be severe including anaphylaxis, and suicidal ideation or aggressive behavior.

I think the life threatening side effects are more common than the let on. What are the chances that 2 married people, both take the medication, and BOTH have the LIFE THREATENING side effects???? That tells me a whole lot. For any drug to have YouTube videos about its dangers has got to scare people. I often wonder why it is still getting prescribed and better yet....why are people getting the script filled??? I think I will just choose to not sleep.

Week 13 Blog 1

I am just about to finish the book “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard. I have been interested in this story since the day I heard about it. There were so many things that I found hard to believe. By hard to believe, I mean hard to wrap my head around, not that I thought Jaycee was not telling the truth by any means.

Of course we all heard about the breaking story when it was first released to the public but it wasn’t until I saw Jaycee on the Oprah show that I really got interested in reading her book. I couldn’t figure out why this 29 year old woman had not escaped when she had so many opportunities to do so. At least I saw them as opportunities but after reading her story I feel so bad for judging her actions.

She was taken when she was 11 years old and spent 18 years of her life in a shed in the back yard of Phillip and Nancy Garrido. This is a truly amazing story of an amazing woman that fought with every inch of her being to survive. She was forced to do unimaginable things that would scare an adult let alone an 11 year old little girl. She was raised with the idea that Phillip was the only one that could protect her and that she was helping other people because he could act out his sexual fantasies on her and not have to harm anyone else. He would go on “runs” for days at a time and force her to have sex with him for days. His “runs” consisted of snorting drugs so he could stay awake and perform these horrendous acts on this innocent child. There was one point that he forced her to try and have sex with his dog.

Jaycee became pregnant at the age of 14 and didn’t even know that she was pregnant until she was told by Nancy and Phillip. I assume they figured it out by the way her body was changing. She was never given any prenatal care and was never seen by a doctor. At 14 years old this little girl delivered a baby on the concrete floor of a shed. She became pregnant again, I believe, at the age of 17 but it might have been sooner than that.

When she was “found” she had not spoke her real name in over 18 years and she was scared of what life would be like without Phillip because he had always “protected” her fro the outside world.

Her book is every emotion rolled into one. I felt everything from happiness to sadness for Jaycee and her family. She was forced out of the arms of her mother and never had anyone physically by her side that truly loved her. I know her mother must have went crazy trying to find her and then to find out she wasn't very far away the whole time. It's a sad world we live in but I hope others can look at her story as I have and learn from it. Most of us complain about various things that go on in our lives but until you have lived through something like she has....I don't think we have room to complain at all!!!!!!

Week 12 Blog 2

Well, I officially finished Christmas shopping today. There are a couple of things that I still would like to pick up on Black Friday but if I don't make it that would be fine too.

It is simply amazing how much a person can spend over the Holidays. According to this article the average American spends $935 on Christmas each year. That sounds a lot less than I thought so I checked another artical and it basically said the same thing. The latter said $900 which is close enough to $935 for me. I guess I though a lot more people spent a lot more money than I did but I guess they don't.

I do always pay for my Christmas with cash and ONLY cash. There is no amount of credit card debt worth that of a Christmas present. If I can't pay for it then they don't get it. That probably sounds really harsh but it's true. This article says that Americans might be learning their lesson on credit card use over the Holidays. Most people are still paying off debt from last Christmas season. That would have me in a panic.

A lot of people have gotten away from what Christmas is really about. Most children these days think that Christmas is just for merely getting presents and lack the knowledge of the true meaning behind it. That is so sad and I hate to see that.

Although, I do love seeing my kids little (and not so little) faces light up when they just opened something they really wanted. That makes me happy and I wouldn't change it for the world. With that being said, the reason it makes me so happy is because I know what my children have been taught about Christmas and they know the true meaning of it and don't take their presents for granted.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season and makes lots of fabulous memories with many friends and family.