Friends and Family

Friends and family

Today October 25 would have been my Mom’s 69th birthday. I am starting this blog off with this to explain my rather melancholy mood.

I have been thinking a lot about family this week- my actually family has dwindled significant in the last decade or 2- My Mom, Dad, Husband, both my Mom’s Parents, My Dad’s father, my Mother in law, one of my Grandmother in laws, my step mother in law, and many Great Aunts and Uncles are all deceased.

I do have a fabulous Brother, his wife, 2 Nephews, My Dad’s Mother, a Father in law, Grand Mother in law , Sister in law, 2 Nephew in laws – 1 of which just got married, My Mom’s brother and a bunch of her relatives that all live in and around Ludlow Massachusetts.

We do not choice our families- they come to us from God, he selects them for us. However there are the “collected family”, as my Mom used to call them. I have many of these family members. Some have been part of my “collected family” since I was 8 or 9 years old, others since Jr. High school ( I Graduated High School in 1982 and college in 1986) High School, College, Jaycees ( 1984-1996), Landmark education, and life in general. Many of those family members live all over the place- New Hampshire, Georgia, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Delaware, and others are just up the street.

They work in all kinds of jobs and careers from, stay at home Moms, to Teachers, Chiropractors, Hotel sales director, IT folks, office/practice Managers, bar owners, Physicians, Retired military personal, Etc. We get to exchange ideas in our diversity.

I love my “collected family” for I have chosen them, I have invited into my life and my heart, they are frequently on my mind, and never ever out of my heart. As I sit here to write this there are some of them doing amazing things and other having struggles. One of “collected family” ran the Marine Corp Marathon today, and I am anxiously awaiting his blog to find out all about it, another is on his way home from Las Vegas where he delivered a speech this weekend about this incredible plan he has come up with that helps Patients get out of pain, and be able to strengthen their weak core muscles, a plan I know and thanks to him, has given me my life back. Yet another is preparing her special needs son for Tonsil surgery this week, one is dealing with caring for his aging Mother who is in the beginning stages of dementia, one has a daughter about to graduate high school this year and a teenage son to deal with, one is coping with the recent death of her beloved Mother in law, one just got her 1 yr clearance from a Liver transplant, and others are dealing with the day to day joys and struggles of living life.

Of all the Collections I have had in my life, the collection of “Collected Family” is my most cherished and beloved. They are blessing in this amazing life I live and I am truly blessed to have them be a part of my life- to each and every one of you I say THANK YOU, I love you and even though we don’t talk often, you are never out of my thoughts and always in my heart. God bless each and every one of you.

This week I finally broke down and purchased some winter clothing. I ordered on line several pairs of slacks, some tops, a couple of fleece jackets, a few sweaters, 2 pair of shoes, a pair of boots, and 2 sweat suits – yep I am COLD already. I have always disliked shopping and I am not enjoying it all now either. I did however order a fabulous Dress to wear for New Years Eve, I will be celebrating New Years in Jamaica this year and am very excited about this dress, and it’s awesome.

I saw my PCP this week; I have lost 168lbs – HOLY COW--- I am blown away by that. My injected insulin has been reduced drastically in the last year- from 220 units a day to my now 20. WOW. My blood pressure meds have been reduced equally as drastically. My goal is to be off all by my Thyroid replacement hormone within the next year. It’s all about being HEALTHY.

Thanks for being a part of this incredible journey with me.

Unusually Cold

Unusually Cold

That is what I have to say about this week… it’s been usually cold. This morning I awoke at 7:30 to find the ground covered in white stuff. I thought for a moment I was dreaming but – no dream it has snowed well a lite dusting over night. WHAT ???? Its October right? It’s been cold enough that Ariel, the cat, has been sleeping under the blankets with me lately.

I’m still fighting with a cough that doesn’t seem to want to go away. But I am feeling good- and have had a good week. Our new front desk/marketing director is doing a great job, and so far I am very happy with his performance.

My weight loss continues, and I really need to buy some warm clothes as the cold has snuck up on my faster than I had anticipated and have almost no warm stuff left in my closet. Of course what I do have the girls are going to get rid of anyway the next time they are here.

I really did enjoy my trip to Florida 2 weeks ago, and I am looking forward to Jamaica in December. I just read an article that made me scratch my head- apparently one of the news sandwiches sweeping the nation is a bacon cheeseburger that is served on a toasted buttered krispy kreme glazed donut- this sandwich weights in at a whopping 1500 calories- WHAT?? Seriously why?
Things here are good. My nephews are growing and thriving one is playing football for his high school team, they have a new Puppy named Molly. I hope my brother enjoyed his Guys weekend in OC.
My incredible coach leaves for a speaking engagement in Vegas this week; I know he will have an amazing time. Vegas is one of the most amazing cities – there is so much energy there. Good Luck Dr. Wood have a ball.

As always your love and support means to the world to me- THANKS
The journey keeps getting better and better.

I've had the time of my life

I’ve had the time of my life…

I have just returned from my first trip to Florida and an incredible visit with my friends Naomi and Dr. Steve. I truly did have the time of my life and I really want to Thank Naomi and Dr. Steve from the bottom of my heart for the fabulous time.

I decide to make this blog entry a chronically of my trip.

Day #1- Thursday October 1st
My alarm went off at 3 AM although I was wide awake, too excited to sleep. I showered dressed and drove to my friend’s house for him to take me the BWI airport. I arrived at BWI right around 4:30 AM. Thru the ticket counter, and security the first leg of the flight was Baltimore to Atlanta- was only in Atlanta for less than an hour then off to Fort Myers Florida.
I had a window seat and was watching the beautiful landscape and sky as we landed. WOW
Once I had my bag and was outside waiting for Naomi to arrive to pick me up I was enjoying the warm sun and calm breeze. What a lovely place.
Naomi was as excited to see me as I was to see her. First stop was Dr. Steve’s office in Fort Myers- Dr. Steve has been a chiropractor for more than 30 years, he practice AK which means Applied Kinesiology, it’s really interesting and something I would like to learn more about. Dr. Steve gave me a great adjustment. While at the office I got to meet their daughter Marianne. We were off again this time to their home on Sanibel island- over something they call a causeway- it looks like a very very long bridge to me. It was beautiful. Naomi and Dr. Steve have a lovely home. We dropped my stuff as Naomi was anxious to show me as much of Florida as possible. She showed me Sanibel and then Captiva island- WOW what a beautiful place. We stopped for lunch at a place called the Bubble Room- WOW what a great place- this little restaurant has 3 floors, with all kinds of memorabilia around- the tables are all glass topped boxes with sand and toys in them. The meal was awesome and their “Award winning” cakes were even more amazing- I had something called Orange Crunch- OMG what a cake- I could only finish about 1/3 of it.
After lunch we went to the “Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge” where we toured the refuge and saw some beautiful birds and a live Crocodile. This was amazing to me.
Back at their house I got to meet their Son Chet and just hang out, helped a very little in cooking dinner. After dinner Naomi took me for a golf cart ride around the neighborhood, showed me the beach, and the golf course, Chet joined us on his bike and led the way. What an incredible place to live.
By 10 PM I was barely able to keep my eyes open and excused myself to bed.

Day #2- Friday October 2nd
It was off to Orlando for Naomi and I- a quick visit to Dr. Steve’s office and the off for the 3 hour drive to Orlando Florida. It was a lovely drive, the sky was so blue and the big white fluffy clouds. Once we had checked into the Embassy hotel. The pool was just too inviting so we spent the next couple of hours in the water and enjoying the warm sunshine.
After our swim and a quick shower Naomi wanted to show me International Drive this is one of the most well known roads in Orlando- it has so many many unusual buildings, hotels and the huge convention center. Then it was off to Downtown Disney- OH my goodness what a place… it was packed with people, music, lights and about a billion things to do. We had dinner at planet Hollywood- ( I had a turkey club) this restaurant is packed with really neat things like the Dorothy’s dress from the wizard of Oz and a Jeep from Mash, there is a constant stream of videos playing very loud and a DJ .
Since we knew Saturday would be a long day we were off to bed early.

Day #3- Saturday October 3rd

Naomi’s birthday- and The MAGIC KINGDOM DAY!!!!
Up at 5:30 showered, dressed and sun screened. A quick breakfast which Dr. Steve, who was attending a nutrition seminar in Orlando, joined us for. We headed to the magic Kingdom- as we pulled up and saw the huge arching sign the says Magic Kingdom- it took all the restraint I had to not un do my seat belt and start jumping up and down like a 5 year old. We had to pick up our tickets at “will call” and then off to the Monorail that took us into the Magic Kingdom….
We waited impatiently at the Gate- then the MC came out and introduced himself- his first name was George, and he announced the train the carried Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip and Dale, etc into the Park. We then entered the Park….. Cinderella’s Castle loomed in front of me- this was a site I had longed to see, Naomi lead the way- first to the “It’s a small world “ ride- awesome, then to Peter Pan’s first flight, then to the Hunted Mansion…. OH My - I have issues with movements due to the Chiari One Malformation, which is a condition were my brain stem sits outside the spinal column. We then went to the hall of Presidents – this is amazing how each President from George Washington to Barack Obama, then we were off to the Country Bear’s Jamboree, then to Mickey’s Philharmonic, then I had wanted to see the new Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it street party, so we went back to the front of the Castle to watch that, well watching wasn’t all we did- Naomi has photos of me dancing in the street with Chip and Dale. A quick bite of lunch and it was off to meet the Princesses, well worth the nearly hour wait, I had my photo taken with all 3 Princesses, a ride on the Walt Disney Train, then more waiting to meet Mickey and Minnie. In to Tomorrowland for the new “Monsters Inc”. Laugh Floor, then Walt’s carousal of Progress. Believe it or not it was time for us to make our way back to Adventure land for our dinner reservations and the Liberty Tree tavern. What a dinner- OH WOW- salad, roast beef, turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans, rolls and butter, apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream for dessert. YUMMY. After dinner we secured our places in front of the restaurant for the Parade. The Parade was amazing everything had lights on it. Then off to Main Street to what the fire workers and Tinkerbelle fly out of the castle and sprinkle Pixie dust on the crowd. We ended our Day with some shopping on Main Street. It’s hard to believe the day went by so fast. It was an Amazing and incredible day.
We got back to the hotel right around midnight- a quick shower and off to bed.

Day #4- Sunday October 4th
Neither of us could believe that we slept past 9:30; both Naomi and I are usually early raisers. We each showered, packed up our stuff, loaded the car and headed to International drive again. Naomi wanted me to try a restaurant called TU TU Tango- this is a Tapas restaurant – the food was very very good- we had bang bang shrimp, Grilled crispy pears, Stuffed lobster rolls, and Flaming cheese.
We were off then for the drive back to Fort Myers. The sky was once again so blue and the clouds so white and fluffy- just beautiful. Sunday night I got to meet Naomi’s Mom and spent some time just hanging out with their family.

Day #5- Monday October 5th
I slept in, visited Dr. Steve’s office and then Naomi took me to see the Sanibel Light house, the gulf of Mexico which I walked into to my mid calf, then to the shell museum, some shopping at She sells sea shells, dinner at the Lazy Flamingo, then to dairy queen. Back at their house we relaxed and chatted a bit more. Sadly it was time for me to pack and get ready for bed.

Day # 6 Tuesday October 6th
I woke up at 5:30 to the sound of Croc’s and the birds in the back yard. After I showered I got the rest of my stuff packed and relaxed a bit. Soon we were off, a quick stop at Dr. Steve’s office then off to breakfast with Naomi at a little place called the last watch- I had something called Floridian French toast which is a wheat germ break with strawberries, bananas, and kiwi on top of it.
Then off to the airport- I had a direct flight from Fort Myers to Baltimore it took about 2 hours and 20 minutes. My friend Dawn picked me up BWI airport for the 25 minute drive to home.


I really did have the time of my life. Florida was amazing the magic Kingdom is just that totally MAGIC-
A few weeks ago a friend of mine had told me that I was going to love the Magic Kingdom as entering there was like entering a different dimension. Rick you were so right- it truly is.
As for the diet well let’s just say it was on vacation too. I did eat wrong, but still managed to keep my blood sugar levels under 100.
I cannot put words to the feeling it felt standing on the beach Monday while the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico washed over my legs. It was just incredible.

Ariel my adorable kitty was so happy to see me when I got home- she did not leave my side all night.

The stuffy nose I woke up with yesterday morning turned into a fever and cough this morning- I am sure it is just my body’s reaction to the claimat change and in a few days I will be fine.

I cannot find the words to express my gratitude to Naomi and Dr. Steve for their incredible hospitality and for giving me this amazing chance to enjoy my new life. THANK YOU BOTH so much.

Months ago my Coach the amazing Dr. Joe Wood told me that life was going to get so good that I could not imagine it, I kind of shrugged that off but NOW I know what me means. OH WOW…

This journey is amazing and so much fun.