Paralyzed with JOY!

Single Ladies, It's Our Year!

2012-02-01T13:50:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness, can it really be February already?! It seems like it was just Christmas! I've said it before, but I'll say it again, time flies, especially when you're having fun (which I am!).

Here's a little-known fact about me: I always flip my calendar a few days early. My mom and sister always give me a hard time over it, but it's just what I do; I can't help it! So yesterday I asked my mom to flip my calendar to February, and when she did she reminded me that it's a leap year. (This is February's picture on my Mary Engelbreit calendar. Isn't it sweet?!)

She went on to tell me that in a leap year women can ask men to marry them. Well, well, well, is that right?! Who knew?! This isn't something I've ever heard before, but I kind of like the sound of it! Of course I'm only half serious since I definitely think it's the man's place to propose to a woman, but sometimes you need to take the proverbial bull by the horns, especially if said bull is stubborn!

I probably won't be asking anyone to marry me this leap year, but maybe in 2016 if I'm still on the market. After all, I'll be turning 32 that year and won't be getting any younger! ;)

So if there are any single ladies out there and you'd like to get married, go ahead, be bold and ask. It just might work out for you!

"How I Got This Way"

2012-01-31T13:37:00.002-06:00

As most people know, Regis Philbin stepped down as host of Live his long-running morning talk show a few months ago after hosting the show for the past 25 years. It was sad to see Regis leave the show since Regis Philbin seems like an institution on morning television. I've had plenty of time to watch my fair share of morning television since my accident and I've enjoyed watching Regis in action nearly every morning for the past eight years.

Regis recently released a memoir that he wrote about his life called How I Got This Way. I decided to buy the audio book from iTunes and I'm so glad I did because it was really good. The audio book was narrated by Regis himself, so that was really neat to hear the book read from his own voice. I couldn't have imagined listening to the book if it had been read by anyone else. His book shed more light into his life and his more than 50 years in show business.

Regis graduated from Notre Dame University in 1953 with a degree in sociology, however, his true desire since the time he was a young child was always to be a singer like his idol, Bing Crosby. On the day of his college graduation Regis told his parents about his lifelong dream of becoming a singer, and he even sang Crosby's hit Pennies from Heaven to parents. When he finished singing he noticed that his mother's eyes were filled with tears – tears of disappointment. When I heard this part in the book I thought it was SO sad! I can't imagine how Regis must've felt in that moment.

After that discouraging experience Regis decided to part with his dream of being a singer and instead decided to go into television. Regis' early television career had lots of ups and downs and disappointments and Regis went into detail about his feelings of inadequacy and failure. He said that for years he wondered if he had any talent at all, and if he did, what was it? I had no idea that Regis struggled so much in his early years since he's always seemed so successful to me, but I guess that's just because I've only ever known him as the older famous and accomplished Regis Philbin instead of the Regis Philbin of younger days. It just goes to show that fame and success doesn't always come naturally and just takes time/work, even for the "rich and famous."

Regis talked about a lot of famous, well-known people that he's crossed paths with over the years who have influenced him in some way or another like Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Cary Grant, Johnny Carson and Jack Parr. He also talked about other people that he's interacted with over the years; people who have amazed and/or inspired him in some way that he's learned valuable lessons from like Jack Nicholson, Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, George Clooney, Donald Trump, Steven Spielberg and David Letterman. There were even entire chapters in the book devoted to the most special people in his life like Kathy Lee Gifford, Kelly Ripa and Joy, his wife of more than 40 years.

Regis ended each chapter in the book with "what I took away from it all" where he recapped whatever situation/person he referenced in that chapter. I really enjoyed hearing what Regis had learned from the different experiences/people in his life. It made him seem more likable to find out that Regis has experienced so many "normal" emotions and had many average or less than desirable experiences.

Kenny G

2012-01-28T12:32:00.000-06:00

I love music and instruments and I'm always envious of people who are musically inclined since I am not. However, there's one instrument I really don't like the sound of. Saxophones. Whenever I hear the sound of a sax it inevitably makes me think of Kenny G. And when I think of Kenny G, I think of shopping malls. And elevators.

For me, music has a nostalgic quality that can take you right back to a certain place/time, even if you haven't thought of that particular place/time in quite a while. Hearing Kenny G music does this for me. It takes me back to when I was a little girl and it makes me think about going on loooong shopping trips to places like department stores in the mall (like Famous Barr or JCPenney). Lots of men don't enjoy shopping, but my dad was the opposite. He would take his sweet time as he vacillated over this and that as he tried to narrow down what he wanted to purchase. I can understand weighing out your options, but there comes a time when enough is enough and you just need to decide! I just remember being bored out of my mind and playing in the different clothing racks with my younger sisters who were always along for the ride. Ugh… those were the days!

The Q-bomb

2012-01-25T12:52:00.000-06:00

Before my accident I used to love Quiznos. Don't get me wrong, I still do, but I haven't had a toasty sub from Quiznos in at least two or three years. A long hiatus like this would've been unimaginable torture eight years ago when I was a frequent patron of Quiznos, but now I guess I've weaned myself from Quiznos' addictive powers. I'm actually almost embarrassed to admit how often I used to eat there at the risk of making myself sound like a glutton, but that just lets you know how much I adored it! (For the record, I used to eat there at least twice a week, but sometimes even three or four times!) A toasty sub could always cheer me up or make a good day even better!

My top three favorite sandwiches of all time at Quiznos were the turkey, ranch and Swiss, the honey bacon club and the roasted turkey on Rosemary Parmesan bread with red bell pepper sauce. Mmm… my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

I was ecstatic when a Quiznos opened 5 minutes away from my house in 2004, but it only stayed open about 18 months. It was truly a sad day when it closed! It wasn't that I was still eating there several times a week, but it was just nice to know that when the inevitable Quiznos hankerings came I could send my mom, sister or one of my friends on a Quiznos run.

Is it just me, or does Quiznos not seem as popular anymore? Maybe it's because I never see TV commercials for it anymore, or that a few of the Quiznos restaurants in my area have closed, or maybe because I don't eat out very often anymore, but I just haven't heard anything about Quiznos in quite some time. Sad!

One of my friends that I went to Quiznos with most often nicknamed Quiznos "the Q-bomb," so that's what we affectionately referred to it as. I still think it's a fitting name. Unfortunately for me (or maybe fortunately for my waistline) the nearest Quiznos is a good 20 minutes away. Maybe I'll have to remedy my long absence from Quiznos some time soon, because it's been way too long!

My Interest with Pinterest

2012-01-24T23:51:00.009-06:00

Pinterest was something that I hadn't even heard of one year ago, but now it's all the rage. I signed up for Pinterest last summer, but then I never really went back to learn how the website worked. Months later I decided to go back and take another look. I found it a little confusing at first, but after playing around for a few hours I was a pro. And I was hooked. Since then I've found so many great ideas. I can't personally carry any of the ideas out on my own, but fortunately my mom or sister Laura have been good about helping me experiment by trying new things (mostly desserts!).

I have to admit that Pinterest can be a little addicting since it's so fun to find new ideas, but I'm really good about only spending a few minutes on it here and there when I need a break from what I'm doing. If you want to follow my pins, click here.

I've found so many fun and useful things. One of the most useful things I've found is a recipe for homemade laundry detergent. My mom has been making a homemade liquid laundry soap for the past few years that she really likes, so when I found the recipe for this dry laundry detergent I decided to send it to my mom to see if she might like it even better. My mom whipped up a batch and has been using it for over a month. She likes it even better than the liquid laundry detergent she'd been using, so I was very pleased to find something that impressed my mom. This laundry detergent is relatively easy to make and extremely cost-efficient. (Who knew that laundry soap/detergent is so expensive? Not me, since I've never bought any before. Actually, I think I've only done two or three loads of laundry my whole life since my mom always did my laundry prior to my accident. It wasn't that I wasn't capable of doing it, it's just that my mom always did it since she enjoys doing laundry so well. You heard it right, my mom LOVES doing laundry!)

Anyway, I can't remember the blog where I originally found this homemade detergent recipe (I should've pinned it to one of my Pinterest boards, but I didn't), but the woman writing the blog said that she made a batch of the detergent and it lasted about eight months (she did four loads of laundry a week). You only use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (yes, only 1 tablespoon!). It only cost my mom $15 to get all of the supplies that she needed to make it. As I said, my mom loves it and she's going to keep making it.

Homemade Laundry Detergent:
1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg were 76 oz) found in the detergent aisle

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking aisle
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent aisle
3 bars of Fels-naptha soap, found in the detergent aisle
2 small containers of oxyclean or store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg))
*You can also use pink Zote soap instead of Fels-naptha.

Start out by grating your Fels-naptha soap just like cheese. **Don't worry the Fels-naptha will dissolve in your washer even if you only use cold water.

Toss all ingredients in a 5 gallon bucket lined with a garbage bag. This part makes your whole house smell great. Once everything is thoroughly mixed store soap however you like. I chose a jar that I keep above my washing machine, I also got a little scoop to keep inside. Wasn't that easy? Sure was! Enjoy your soap. Use 1 tablespoon per load.

Anyway, I encourage everyone to try it since it's extremely inexpensive and takes minimal time/effort to make. Who knows, you might find that you really like it! (If you do try it, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know how you like it.) If you have any questions, just e-mail me or leave a comment.

Sushi

2012-01-21T19:28:00.026-06:00

I've been wanting to try sushi for some time since the only time I've ever had it was years ago when we made it with my sister Sharon. I didn't like it at the time (the sushi we made didn't have raw fish in it, just vegetables) so I wanted to try it again to see if I would like it made with raw fish. I asked my sister Laura to bring some over. I was a bit skeptical, but I went into it with an open mind. I didn't like it. It wasn't horrible or anything, but it wasn't that good, either. My sister Laura urged me to not completely give up on sushi since there are lots of different kinds. I look forward to trying more kinds of sushi in the future and hopefully I'll find some that I like.

Dream Big!

2012-01-20T18:57:00.001-06:00

I find myself daydreaming a lot because it's fun to think about where I'd be and what I'd be doing if I weren't paralyzed. What kind of nurse would I have been? Would I be married by now and what would my husband be like? Would we have children yet? If so, how many and what gender? Where would we live and what would our lives be like? Would I be a good wife and mother? My answer to so many of those questions is "I hope so." I know it's no use speculating on the "what ifs" but it's hard not to.

When I think about my life, I have a long list of small dreams and a short list of big dreams. Of course the things that matter most are health and prosperity for myself and my family. But if you asked me what my ultimate dreams are, they would be these:

1. To get married: After my accident I felt like this dream was suddenly off the table and something I'd never be able to experience in this life. That was a devastating blow since being married has always been (and still is) my number one dream in life. I know the chance of a man falling in love with me is much more slimnow that I'm paralyzed, but I'm not completely counting it out like I did right after my accident. The fact is, I'm really amazing and I know I could offer someone a life of joy. Granted, our life wouldn't be "normal" or traditional, but I know we would be happy. I've actually already picked out the man I want to marry, but now it's just a matter of getting HIM to fall in love with ME! (But that's a story for another day.)

This is the St. Louis, Missouri Temple, and it's where I will get married if/when I ever get asked. And this is the kind of wedding ring I want. (No engagement ring needed – just a nice, sparkly diamond wedding band!

2. To have my dream house: Since my accident it's been my dream to have my own the handicapped accessible house. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to live in my mom's house where I have my own room, but I would LOVE a house of my own to share with my mom (and husband) where we both have our own space, but we still live in the same house.

I love, love, love built-in furniture. Although I love dark, cherry wood best, I think I would opt for white shelves, like the ones in the pictures below so that the dust wouldn't show quite as much. I just want a nice, bright house with high ceilings and white built-in furniture to give it a clean and open feel.

3. This is a silly dream, but I'm determined to make it happen! I want to meet Anderson Cooper; or rather, have HIM come to meet ME since it would be really difficult for me to get to NYC! My desire's so strong that I even wrote AC a letter and submitted it on his talk show's website. If you know me at all, then you know that this is SO not my style since I'm shy and I don't like to draw attention to myself. However, I'm finding my desire to meet Anderson so strong that it's trumping all else and I'm deviating from my normally shy and withdrawn ways!

I'd like to be able to see my family more often, but flying in a commercial airplane is really out of the question since I'd have to get out of my wheelchair. I think a private jet would be the way to go so that I can stay in my wheelchair. It would also be nice to have lots of money so that I could live a comfortable life and not have to worry about where the money to cover my needs is going to come from. (Being disabled can be quite expensive! Fortunately, I have wonderful medical insurance so I really can't complain.)

Well, that about does it for my small list of big dreams. I'm not asking for too much, am I?! ;)

Modern Day Titanic

2012-01-18T13:06:00.001-06:00

[I know this is no longer "breaking news" but I wanted to make a blog post about it since part of the purpose of my blog is to keep a record of current events.]

I've thought a lot about the Titanic over the years, and I didn't think there'd ever be another catastrophe that could even come close to rivaling "Titanic" proportions since technology has come such a long way in the past 100 years and things like that just don't seem to happen anymore. I guess this is just another reason why you should "never say never."

I'm not one for superstitions, but last Friday (Friday the 13th) was a doozy for the 4200 passengers aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship. At 9:30 (just 2½ hours after leaving the port of Civitavecchia) the Costa Concordia hit submerged rocks that tore through the hull as it sailed past the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany. As the ship took on water the captain tried to turn it towards the island's port, but the ship started to sink and list to the side. Apparently the Captain made an "unapproved and unauthorized" deviation in course, sailing too close to the island to show off the ship to locals. (At least this is what I've gathered from the reading I've done about online about the sinking of the Costa Concordia.)

"Somehow" Francesco Schettino, the Captain of the Costa Concordia ended up safely in a lifeboat, instead of going down with his ship. Schettino said he had no intention of escaping. He said, "I was helping some passengers put the lifeboat to sea. At a certain point the mechanism for lowering it, blocked. We had to force it. Suddenly the system unblocked itself and I tripped and I found myself inside the lifeboat with a number of other passengers." I don't know about you, but something sure sounds fishy!

Fortunately there's a transcript of the exchange that took place between the Coast Guard official and Schettino, and he sure sounds like a real piece of work! The Coast Guard official repeatedly told Schettino to get back on the ship to oversee the rescue efforts, but Schettino kept making excuses. This was my favorite line, "Schettino, you may have saved yourself from the sea, but I'm going to make you pay, I'm going to make your life miserable. Get the (bleep) on board!" Schettino has since been arrested on charges of manslaughter. (Not to mention the half billion dollar cost of the cruise ship that he's culpable for!)

Fortunately, most of the 4200 passengers survived the ordeal, but as of right now the death toll stands at 11 (with 24 people still missing, including a retired couple from Minnesota). All things considered, there could've been a much higher loss of life, so I'm glad that the majority of the passengers survived. Still, it's extremely sad for those 11 people (and the 24 missing passengers who are likely dead).

A picture says 1000 words, so I'll illustrate this post with these pictures since they show just what a mess things were. They really put things into context, and it's amazing to see just how big a ship the Costa Concordia was.

Here's a picture of the giant hole in the ship's hull, as well as Captian Francisco Schettino getting arrested.

Disney Princesses As Role Models

2012-01-17T14:20:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I came across a fun article on Moviefone's website called "Disney Princesses: 'Beauty and the Beast' to 'Sleeping Beauty,' Ranking Them As Role Models." I liked it so much that I wanted to write about it on my blog, but it was so well written, and I knew I would never be able to do it justice since I'm not a very talented, clever writer when it comes to things like this, so I decided to copy the article as is. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I did.

Virtues: She's the "fairest one of all," but she's quite the humble young princess. She loves forest animals, cleans and tends for the cottage she thinks belongs to children, and then befriends and cares for the misfit dwarves. She's a vision of loveliness inside and out, always trusting and helping others.

Flaws: There's a line between trusting and gullible, and poor Snow crosses it when she bites into that Old Hag's poisoned apple. She's not the brightest of the Princesses, and her naivete hasn't aged well with time.

Virtues: Like Snow White, Cinderella is a friend to animals -- even rodents! The mice and birds adore their Cinderelly so much they even make her original, albeit doomed, ball gown. She's gorgeous and self-sacrificing and never complains, even under unthinkable circumstances.

Flaws: In the face of her step-mother and step-sisters' cruelty, she never once resists -- humbly accepting her lowly place in their lives until she's visited by her Fairy Godmother. If it weren't for Prince Charming's persistence, she'd still be wearing rags and scrubbing floors.

Virtues: Having been blessed by fairies with beauty and song, Aurora (brought up as Briar Rose) is not only gorgeous but talented as well. Like all of the old-school princesses, she's sweet and gentle. She dreams of falling in love and having a life outside of her humble home with her elderly guardians.

Flaws: There's not much to Aurora. She's kindhearted and lovely and instantly falls in love with Philip, although at the time neither of them knows she's the hidden princess. And let's face it, she showed no restraint when it came to that spinning wheel!

Virtues: The flame-haired mermaid is courageous and curious and talented. Her voice is renowned for its beauty, and she's quite the adventurer -- wreaking all sorts of havoc for straying too far from her underwater home to search for treasures from above the sea.

Flaws: She renders herself literally voiceless and abandons her home for a guy. That's not exactly a good message to send young girls. Of course, everything ends with a happily ever after, but she makes a rather unwise decision to barter with Ursula.

Virtues: Belle is smart. The "peculiar girl" of her village, she loves books and prizes intelligence and character above popularity and good looks. She turns down a proposal from Gaston, her town's most desirable bachelor who's nonetheless a dim bulb, and winds up falling in love with the Beast despite his frightening appearance ... and the fact he's imprisoned her.

Flaws: Her only major flaw is believing Gaston and the townsfolk would listen to her when she explains the Beast isn't a threat to them.

Virtues: Unhappy and bored with her sequestered life in the castle, Jasmine -- the Sultan's daughter -- longs for adventure and flees to visit the marketplace, where she stumbles upon Aladdin. She and Aladdin realize they have a lot in common, even though he's a "street rat" and she's a princess. Jasmine falls in love with Aladdin, even though he's a commoner.

Flaws: OK, so she's a bit of a diva, but in the context of this humble and sometimes docile lot, that's not a flaw at all!

Virtues: The 17th Century daughter of the Chief Powhatan is Disney's first historically based Princess. She's brave and adventurous, and despite how corny that 'Colors of the Wind' song is, Pocahontas follows her heart to aid and then love Captain John Smith.

Flaws: We'd love to rank Pocahontas higher, but the movie is controversial and riddled with inaccuracies, so we suggest supplementing the movie with books about the Native American princess or waiting until the kids are old enough to see Terrence Malick's "The New World."

Virtues: She fearlessly disguises herself as a boy in order to take her father's place in the army. As a conscript, she trains as fiercely as her male cohorts and proves herself without revealing her true identity. Since at one point she's deemed unfit for marriage, she finds her worth in helping her family and country. Of course, eventually Mulan does find love -- with a commanding officer who understands her abilities as a warrior.

Flaws: It's a shame Mulan is one of the underrated princesses, because she rocks. Her only flaw is that she had to deceive those around her about who she really was to serve in the Imperial army.

Virtues: Now here's a princess with ambition. She's hard working and is determined to earn enough money to start her own restaurant -- a dream of hers passed down from her late father. She's intelligent and self-possessed, and even when she agrees to kiss the frog -- and subsequently becomes one -- never loses sight of herself.

Flaws: She might be the only princess who waits a beat too long to admit that she's fallen in love. But again, it's fine with us, because she gets her man AND her dream restaurant!

Virtues: She's fiercely protective, powerful and loyal. When Eugene needs to be saved, she doesn't hesitate to rescue him with a toss of her long and magical hair. She's willing to sacrifice her happiness to ensure her dangerous "Mother" doesn't harm Eugene. Rapunzel also falls in love based on character and not status, since Eugene is a reformed thief, not a prince. She sees the best in people, even those who are labeled outcasts or misfits.

Flaws: Having been imprisoned in a tree for her entire life, Rapunzel is understandably naïve, but that's not her fault.

Brett's Birthday and Baby David

2012-01-16T20:57:00.001-06:00

Today was my brother-in-law Brett's birthday, so Laura, Brett and their kids came over for a late lunch/early dinner. We ate Papa John's pizza and Laura made "heaven and hell" cake for Brett's birthday cake. This was a recipe that Laura had recently found on Pinterest's website that she'd been wanting to try. It had four layers of cake – two layers of devil's food cake and two layers of angel food cake (hence the heaven and hell), along with peanut butter mousse between each layer of cake with a chocolate ganache coating that covered the outside of the cake. (Doesn't sound like there are any calories in the cake, right?!) The cake definitely had an interesting texture since angel food cake is a soft/spongy cake, but it was really good (especially with the peanut butter mousse).

Pictures of Amy and the birthday boy, Brett, along with the sinfully delicious cake:

Here are some pictures of baby David who will be four weeks old on Wednesday. It's hard for me to visibly notice David's changes since I see him so often, but I know he's grown and filled out. So much has happened in the past month and it seems like David's been here a lot longer than just four weeks! I love kissing his velvet soft cheeks and breathing in his wonderful "baby scent"! All I can say is that my little Davey Jones (that's what I call him) is a definite keeper!

Secret Crush ;)

2012-01-14T12:30:00.001-06:00

At the risk of making myself sound really dumb, I'll let you in on a little secret… I have a huge crush in a non-romantic way on a certain silver haired, blue-eyed journalist with the initials AC! If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know how much I adore Anderson Cooper! He and I go way back. I first became acquainted with Anderson in 2001 when he was the host of a TV show I liked called The Mole. (Anyone remember that show?!) Anderson only hosted The Mole for the first two seasons and then he left the show. (I can only assume it was to do something a little more important, like cover breaking news for CNN.)

After my accident I started watching lots of TV since my days were now free since I was no longer working or going college. One of my favorite shows to watch in the morning was (and still is) Live with Regis and Kelly (now just Live with Kelly, as Regis has since retired). When Regis would have a day off, different celebrities or other TV personalities would fill in for the day as a guest cohost. Anderson filled in for Regis many times over the years, and I always loved it when he would cohost the show with Kelly. (They have a great chemistry and it was always so fun to watch them interact.)

Over the years I've been getting progressively more and more interested in world news because I enjoy being well-informed and up on current events. I love getting my news from Anderson and I spend a lot of evenings watching Anderson's CNN show, AC 360°. If there's breaking news to be had, I want to get it from Anderson. He must have his own opinions about things since it's a natural thing for a person to have opinions, but you never know where Anderson stands on the issues because he's always so wonderfully unbiased and just reports the facts.

Anderson has many different sides to him. On one hand he's the serious journalist that you see on the front lines covering wars and disasters for CNN. Then there's his caring side where he shows his heart, compassion and empathy for others as he helps people tell their stories. I love it when he's interviewing someone and they're being unfair or less than truthful. Anderson's not afraid to ask tough questions and he doesn't back down. But what you might not guess about Anderson is that he's incredibly funny. Anderson almost always ends his serious AC 360° with a segment called "the RidicuList" which pokes fun at something or someone that's made it into the news (usually for a funny or unflattering reason). Anderson's delivery of the RidicuList is always so well done and so hilarious that I just can't help but crack up.

Here are my two favorite RidicuLists from the past few months. Take a look and see firsthand what I'm talking about!

I wonder what I have to do to get Anderson to come meet me?!! I don't have any desire to be on TV (although I do think I'm pretty interesting and would make a fascinating story), but if that's what I have to do to meet Anderson, then so be it!

Be So Happy

2012-01-11T23:58:00.003-06:00

After my life-changing car accident I decided that I was going to be happy, no matter what. Even though my life had taken a drastic turn that most people would find hard to live with without getting discouraged or depressed, I made it my resolve to be happy even though my nice, normal life was over. I can't say that everyday's been a breeze, but overall, I think I've been really successful at maintaining a positive attitude and happy outlook.

I recently saw this quote on 'Pinterest' and I loved it because it sums up to a T what I've been trying to do these past eight years since my accident. I've just never been eloquent enough to phrase it in such a wonderful, concise way.

Have you ever been around someone that's a "downer?" If you have, then you know how emotionally exhausting it can be to be around someone that's constantly complaining about life. I definitely think a person's disposition can be contagious for better or worse and have an effect on the way others feel. That's why I always try to have a positive energy about me so that people don't come away from interacting with me a gloomy feeling. I want to have an effect on people, "the Heather effect," if you will, where I make people feel happy. (And if possible, maybe even just a little bit brighter than they were before we interacted.)

2011 Year in Review

2012-01-10T13:37:00.000-06:00

Here's my annual family slideshow. I started working on it back in September and if I added up all the time I spent working on putting it together it would amount to days…maybe even a week or two. All I know is that it was TONS of work, but well worth it in the end because I think it turned out really well. This is the third year that I've put together an end of the year "Year in Review," but the first year that I've used ProShow Producer (the new slideshow software that I bought last summer). It was expensive – about $350 with the extras that I bought to go with it, but worth it because I really love the effects available in this program.

The slideshow ended up being 27 minutes long and I could've easily made it longer, but I tried to keep it under 30 minutes. I come from a family of seven, and five my sisters are married with relatively large families of their own, so I had lots of material to work with. I'm not sure how many photos ended up making the cut into the slideshow, but there were a lot; I'm guessing between 600 and 800. I had tons of pictures to work with and there's no way I could include even half of them since I wanted to keep my slideshow under 30 minutes. The weeding out process was harder than you might think because I wanted to include ALL of the pictures since each one means so much to me!

I decided to upload my slideshow to YouTube because it's an easy way to share it with family and friends so that I wouldn't have to go to the hassle of burning the slideshow to a DVD and mailing it out. I split the slideshow into two parts to make uploading easier, and then I put each part on YouTube. (It took more than three hours to upload the entire thing!) Take a look if you like, and if you do, let me know what you think!

I hope that one day my nieces and nephews will look back on these slideshows with fondness and may even enjoy watching them with their own children.

What's in a Name?

2012-01-09T19:42:00.005-06:00

Beyoncé and her husband, Jay-Z, had a baby this past Saturday. What did they name the baby? Blue Ivy. Weird! That poor baby! (It's a girl, by the way, not that you could really tell by the name.) I guess it probably won't matter that the name is quite unusual since the baby is basically music "royalty" considering who her parents are. But still, Blue Ivy? It sounds like the name of an exotic plant, not the name of a baby, no matter how famous her parents are! She IS famous, though, which is fortunate for her since weird celebrity baby names seem to be more accepted/expected nowadays since these celebrities are in a league of their own. All I have to say is, "Good luck, baby Blue!"

Other notable celebrity baby name flops:

Gwyneth Paltrow's kids, Apple and Moses
Nicolas Cage's son, Kal-el and

David Duchovny's son, Kyd
Jessica Alba's daughters, Honor and Haven
Julia Roberts' twins, Phinnaeus and Hazel
Jason Lee's son, Pilot Inspektor
Mariah Carey's twins, Monroe and Moroccan

I'm definitely a traditionalist when it comes to names. I like names that sound like actual "people" names, instead of names of colors, foods, places or objects. I'm always left scratching my head when I hear of someone that's had a baby and they've saddled them with a horribly bizarre name that's going to set them apart for the rest of their life. I can understand wanting something kind of unique so that there aren't five other kids in the same kindergarten class with the same first name, but I think some parents take the name thing to an extreme, especially when they combine two relatively normal names to make one weird name, or they spoil a normal name with an odd spelling (where the child will constantly have to be spelling their name).

I'm so glad I had sensible parents who gave me a nice, normal name!

Sherlock Holmes

2012-01-09T13:12:00.000-06:00

This past Saturday I went to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. It's been two long months since I've been to a movie, which is a long time for me, but life gets busy towards the end of the year with the holidays.

I really loved the first Sherlock Holmes that came out two years ago, so I was excited to see the sequel. It didn't disappoint, and I think it was just as good as the first movie. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law do an amazing job portraying Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. They seriously have a great on-screen chemistry! Sherlock Holmes was very well made and didn't disappoint, so I highly recommend it. Heather's rating: 9.5/10 stars

Moo!

2012-01-06T14:01:00.001-06:00

When I was a little girl I expressed interest in learning how to sew, so when I was in fifth grade one of the presents I got for Christmas that year was some fabric to make a jumper. My mom helped me cut out the pieces and instructed me every step of the way. I was only 10 years old at the time, but I think I did a really good job since I did almost all of the work myself (except for the buttonholes, which can be kind of tricky).

I'd forgotten all about that cow jumper until early in December when my friend Kellie was telling me that her eight-year-old daughter wanted a sewing machine for Christmas. I thought my cow jumper was long gone, but my mom said she still had it and promptly went upstairs to get it out of her dresser where she'd put it for safekeeping. (I asked her why she'd kept it and she said she just couldn't part with it.) It looked so tiny when I saw it! I'm quite the sentimentalist, so I was thrilled to find out that it's still around.

Here are pictures of the jumper. (It looks a lot smaller in person than it does in the pictures). It's missing a button, but except for that it's still in pretty good condition.

My Little Bonsai

2012-01-06T13:09:00.000-06:00

I think my favorite present that I received for Christmas this past year was the little bonsai tree my sister Chandra gave me because it was something unique that I wasn't expecting. I love it and think it's so cute! I just hope it doesn't die because that would be sad. Fortunately, my mom's thumb is pretty green, so I hope it thrives under her watchful care. (I love the little man that sitting on a rock fishing.)

Southern Germs

2012-01-06T12:14:00.000-06:00

I don't know what it is about my sister Sharon's kids, but they always make me sick! It seems like so often I get a cold after they've visited which is interesting since I've never gotten sick from any of my other nieces and nephews. Sharon and I have jokingly chalked it up to her family's "southern germs" (they live in Mississippi).

Getting a cold is especially dangerous for me since I have an open airway (meaning, I have a trach, which is a direct opening to the airway/lungs) and I'm more susceptible to developing pneumonia, which is actually the leading cause of death for quadriplegics. But since I've been through this (getting a cold) a time or two before I knew I needed to call my doctor and have her call in a prescription for me. She did and I started feeling better a few days after starting the antibiotics she prescribed. I didn't get as sick this time as they have in the past, but that's probably because I knew where things were headed so I "nipped things in the bud" by starting antibiotics sooner than later.

[Here's a funny and ironic story. I'd just been to my doctor on December 20 for a med check, and I told her that my sister and her kids (the ones that always make me sick) were coming for Christmas. I half jokingly told my doctor that I'd be calling her soon to get a prescription for an antibiotic, and sure enough exactly one week later I'd developed a chest cold, just as I predicted I would, and I asked my mom to call my doctor. Did I call that correctly or what?!]

I'm glad to be feeling better again and breathing easier!

Christmas, Hawkins style!

2012-01-05T00:33:00.000-06:00

Time passes so quickly and it's usually hard to believe an event happened so long ago since the passage of time flies by making the past seem like "just yesterday." Although this is usually the case with me, my sister Kristin's move to California last January is definitely one thing that seems like every bit of the 365+ days that have passed since then.

Until last summer it had been four long years since I'd seen Kristin and her family. Having Kristin's family live with my mom and me for five fun-filled months while Kristin's husband searched for a job was wonderful. Now they live 30+ hours away, so who knows when we will see each other again. (Airfare for Kristin's family of six would cost an arm and a leg, but somehow at the same I love Kristin and her family too much to subject them to six long days in the car that it would take them to drive to Missouri and then back home again.

I know Kristin and her family only lived with us for five months, but I was immediately hooked and was devastated when they left. Needless to say, they are never far from my mind and I miss them all so much!

Kristin definitely knows how to make the holidays fun for her family and I love hearing about their traditions and the way Kristin goes above and beyond to make sure her boys will have fond memories when they are grown.

Here are some pictures from the Hawkinses Christmas. First are pictures of the gingerbread boy and girl ornaments that Kristin made for her boys. (I told you she's crafty!)

Next are pictures of the snowflakes made by Kristin, Scott, Kaleb and Ethan, as well as candy cane ornaments, reindeer cupcakes and a gingerbread house.

These are pictures of Kristin and her family from Christmas Eve.

This is a picture of the boys with the Christmas present that my mom and I went in on together for Kristin's boys – a Harry Potter Lego Hogwarts Castle. I wish I could see it in person because I know pictures can never capture all of the details in the castle.

Ethan with his new Ev-e (Wall-E's mate from the movie), as well as Kristin and Scott on Christmas day. Don't they look great?! Scott's wearing the new purple tie and sweater that Kristin got him for Christmas and Kristin looks so pretty in her red sweater. (She's nearly 7 months pregnant, but you'd never know from the pictures!)

"Auld Lang Syne" and 2011

2012-01-02T12:55:00.000-06:00

I fully intended to write this post and have it ready to post on my blog on New Year's Eve, but sometimes life just gets busy and I don't have enough time in the day. So, please excuse it for being a little bit late! The song Auld Lang Syne (as well as Hark! The Herald Angels Sing) always makes me think of the movie It's a Wonderful Life since those two songs are both near the end of the movie. LOVE that movie, so I just had to mention it in relation to the song Auld Lang Syne!

I love this version of the song, so take a listen while you read this post:

To be perfectly honest, I don't know the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne, and I have a hard time even remembering what the words "Auld Lang Syne" mean. Fortunately, my trusty friend "Google" can always shed a little light on obscure subjects such as this. Auld Lang Syne has many translations – "old long since," "long long ago," "time gone by" "old times, etc." I think my favorite translation, though, is "days gone by." I'm not sure why I prefer that translation over the others since they all mean the same thing, but I just like the way it sounds.

Here are a few of my thoughts about the days that've gone by in 2011:

Staying hospital-free is always my number one goal, and at the risk of jinxing myself, I'm happy to report that I made it all year without being hospitalized or having any major health problems. (Actually, it's been almost 2 years since I was last in the hospital.) May the trend continue for 2012!
I continue to blog and I wrote 257 posts in 2011. I enjoy writing about a wide variety of topics: what my family and I are up to, current events, my thoughts about living a nontraditional life, how I cope with trials, how I manage to stay positive when it would be easy to get discouraged, etc.
I saw lots of movies this past year – 23 to be exact, thanks to many double features and even two triple features. (When some people hear about me spending hours at the movies just in one day they wonder how I do it hour after hour, but I just love, love, love movies so much, so it was lots of fun!) I was fully intending on seeing more movies this year since there were many movies I wanted to see that I didn't get around to, but when life gets busy there's unfortunately not always a convenient time to head off to the movies.
I read 44 books this past year. Actually, let me clarify – I listened to 44 books. I listened to 26 audio books and my mom read 18 books to me.

Family News:

My younger sister Chandra got engaged this past January.
My Aunt Cathie passed away on February 17, and my paternal grandmother passed away just over a month later on March 21. Cathie's death was unexpected as one day she was fine and the next day she was gone, but my grandmother's death was not at all unexpected since she'd been in poor health for many years.
Two of my sisters had babies back-to-back in December of 2011. My younger sister Laura had a baby boy (David Alexander) on December 21, and my oldest sister Miriam had a baby girl (Victoria Marie) on December 22. This brings my niece/nephew count to 18 (11 nieces and eight nephews). I'm looking forward to spring of 2012 when I will have another niece and nephew!

World News:

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head on January 8. Six other people were killed.
"The Royal Wedding" Prince William married Kate Middleton on April 29. My mom and I actually got up at 5 AM to watch the wedding. (It was fun and something I'm sure we'll remember for years to come.)
Osama Bin Laden was found and killed on May 1. This was a huge deal since the search for Bin Laden had been on for years.
Major unrest in the Middle East in places like Egypt and Libya. Lots of political unrest, protesting and rioting.

Weather News: There were so many bad natural disasters in 2011. I know these weren't the only disasters this year, but they are the ones that I recorded in my journal.

2011 was the sixth snowiest winter on record for St. Louis, Missouri, with 36.8 inches of snow. (This isn't a lot for some areas of the country/world, but it was a lot for St. Louis.)
6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, on February 22
8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan on March 11 which resulted in hundreds of aftershocks, many of them high magnitude aftershocks, as well as devastating tsunamis. This earthquake was the fifth most powerful on record since 1900.
EF-5 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, on May 22. This was one of the deadliest tornados in the past 100 years as nearly 160 people killed.
5.8 magnitude earthquake in Virginia on August 23. Four days later Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast. (This was just two days before the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.)
7.1 magnitude earthquake in Fox Islands, Alaska on September 2
7.2 magnitude earthquake in Turkey on October 23

I wish everyone a safe, productive and happy 2012!

Elizabeth's Birthday

2012-01-01T17:11:00.002-06:00

My niece Elizabeth turned 11 last Tuesday. It's nice that her birthday is just two days after Christmas because that means we usually get to celebrate her birthday together since our families usually spend the Christmas holiday together. It sure has been fun to watch Elizabeth grow up over the years; she's becoming quite the young lady! We were all suffering from colds, so the birthday celebration was a little subdued this year, but we still had a really fun day hanging out. I think living far away from each other really makes us appreciate the time that we are able to spend with each other. (Especially on special occasions like holidays and birthdays.)

Elizabeth's birthday cake request was for a "blue velvet" cake. I'm not sure why she wanted blue, but we made it happen by making a traditional red velvet cake and we substituted blue food coloring for red. It tasted just like red velvet and if you closed your eyes you wouldn't have even known the difference. (Until you opened your eyes and saw everyone's blue tongues!

It was fun watching Elizabeth opened her presents. She was so excited about everything she got and it was "just what she wanted." I just love celebrating birthdays!

Christmas

2011-12-31T15:53:00.003-06:00

I really enjoyed having my sister Sharon's family here this past week to celebrate Christmas. They left this morning and I'm always sad to see them go since we have so much fun together, but it is nice to get back to my regular routine again because when we have company visiting with us blogging takes the back burner! Now that the house is empty again I'm playing catch up on my blog. Here's how we spent Christmas day:

On Christmas morning my mom and my younger sister Chandra had to snap around so that I could be up in my wheelchair early since we had a house full of young kids who were eager to open their presents to see what Santa had brought. Even though my mom and sister are quite efficient at my morning routine, it still takes quite a bit of time to get me ready for the day since I can't just hop out of bed and quickly get dressed like a normal person can. All in all, I think we made good time as I was dressed and up in my wheelchair with my hair and makeup done by 8 AM.

[The girls patiently waiting waiting for me to get ready for the day and a picture of me in my new sequined Christmas sweater. I would've loved a beautiful bright red or pink one, but it only came in the white/gray color.]

After I was up, I went out into the other room and the kids opened their stockings while we waited for breakfast to come out of the oven. When I was growing up we would always have some sort of sweet rolls for Christmas breakfast (like cinnamon rolls) with grapefruit on the side. This year we had orange rolls and caramel pecan rolls made by my sister Sharon. They were sooo good, especially the caramel pecan ones!

After we ate breakfast we gathered in the living room and started opening our presents. We got through about half of them before we took a break to go to church. [When I was a little kid I always thought it was disappointing when Christmas fell on a Sunday since that meant we had to go to church on Christmas morning. Like most kids, I just wanted to open my presents and play with my new toys and I didn't want to have to bother with going to church. As horrible and ungrateful as it makes me sound to admit this, even though I'm an adult, I still kind of get a little disappointed when Christmas falls on a Sunday. However, I realize that even though going to church on Christmas morning might inconveniently interrupt the unwrapping of Christmas presents, going to church and worshiping the Lord is absolutely the most important way I can celebrate Christmas.]

Elizabeth, Kate and Sarah got American Girl Doll "bitty babies." I loved watching the girls' reactions as they opened their gifts!

Rachel got a Calico Critters bunny family and a house for them, as well as an umbrella – which is just what she wanted!

Chandra gave me a Mary Engelbreit calendar which wasn't so surprising since she knows I love Mary Engelbreit's bright, colorful artwork. Chandra also gave me a little bonsai tree which was surprising! I love pretty things, so these gifts were perfect for me!

Matt loved this present from his older sisters – an empty water bottle with colorful little plastic pieces in it. It was loud, just like Matt!

I was glad Laura and her family could spend Christmas with us. As Christmas approached, I was starting to get worried that Laura might be in the hospital having her baby (or recovering from having her baby), but David cooperated and arrived just in time for Christmas! It was so much fun watching Amy open her presents!

Laura and her own four day old "bitty baby."

Christmas is over for another year which is hard to believe since it seems like the Christmas season get shorter and shorter each year. We sure had fun, though!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T13:19:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year. It was especially fun this year since my sister Sharon and her family were in town. I love seeing the kids' excitement as they anticipate all of the exciting things that go along with Christmas – it's really contagious! We ate our traditional Christmas Eve dinner (clam chowder, different cheeses, sausages and crackers, fruit and veggie tray, Christmas goodies, etc. (That's what we've eaten for Christmas Eve as long as I can remember.

After dinner we had a little Christmas program where we read the Christmas story out of the Bible, sang songs, read 'Twas the Night before Christmas and played different Christmas songs on the handbell set that my mom got for Christmas this year.

After the kids were in bed "Santa" came and the adults finished getting everything ready for Christmas morning which included making the dough for the sweet rolls for Christmas morning breakfast, wrapping last-minute gifts and situating them under the tree, filling/hanging stockings (we don't have a fireplace, so the curtain rod above the back door worked nicely) and helping Santa eat the cookies left out for him. After all that was done the only thing left to do was go to bed!

When I was growing up we always went out the day after Thanksgiving and cut down a real Christmas tree, but now that my dad's gone and all of my sisters are out of the house (except my youngest sister) we don't do a real Christmas tree anymore. My mom has several fiber optic Christmas trees, but the biggest one is only 4 feet tall. Personally, I think every house needs to have a big Christmas tree or it just doesn't feel Christmas-y enough! So when I saw that Target was selling their Christmas trees for 50% off the week before Christmas I decided to take advantage of the situation and get on. I got a really good deal and I think it looks pretty nice.

David's First Christmas

2011-12-29T11:42:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe that Christmas is over already! It always seems to come and go so quickly. My older sister Sharon and her family are visiting this week and we've been having lots of fun, so I haven't had as much time for blogging, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to make a post since everyone else is occupied at the moment.

In my last post I wrote about my sister Laura and how she had a baby last Wednesday. She's been tired as she recoverers from childbirth, but it's been nice to have her family over at the house more the past few days for Christmas so that we can spend time with baby David. I love newborn babies since they sleep a lot and I can hold them on my lap and snuggle. This phase doesn't last long, though, and I know in just a few weeks David will be more awake and alert and too wiggly to sit with me.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of him from his first Christmas.

Labor of Love

2011-12-22T23:04:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was a very special day. My sister Laura had a baby and I was able to be in the delivery room and witness the birth of her son, David. This is Laura's second baby and she wanted to go into labor naturally, but at her doctor's appointment Tuesday her doctor wanted her to have the baby right away since there was lots of protein in her urine, which is indicative of preeclampsia. SO, Laura headed to the hospital Tuesday evening to get the ball rolling!

On Wednesday Laura called my mom mid-morning and said that she was having lots of contractions and labor was progressing nicely and that it was time for us to head to the hospital. We dropped everything and headed up to the hospital and arrived around 12:30 PM. My mom and I hung out in the delivery room with Laura and her husband Brett all afternoon and Laura finally delivered her baby at 5:28 PM.

This was my 17^thtime becoming an aunt, as I already have 16 nieces/nephews, however this was the first time that I was actually able to not only be at the hospital, but to also be in the delivery room. What a special experience it was to be there with my sister! She was indeed a champ as she labored hour after hour. I'm so proud of her, especially considering the fact that she had her baby naturally. Most women opt for some sort of medical intervention these days to help manage the pain that labor and delivery inevitably brings, but not Laura. She wanted to try going all natural, and she succeeded! I have to admit as happy as I was to be in the delivery room, it was hard for me to hear Laura crying out in pain. I know she was in excruciating pain and I don't like to see anyone in pain, especially someone I love.

After what seemed like an incredibly long time, David Alexander was finally born at 5:28 PM. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs. 3 oz. and had a full head of dark hair, just like his older sister Amy had when she was born! Although my mom and I left the house in a rush, I remembered to have her grab my camera on the way out the door. My mom got some great shots of the delivery!

Here I am providing Laura with some support/encouragement!

I love Laura's facial expression in this next picture. They say a picture says 1000 words, and I certainly think that's true in this picture! The next picture shows the time that David was born… 5:28 PM.

This Is Laura's OB/GYN, Dr. Whalen, and Laura's labor and delivery nurse, Keri They were a wonderful team! Dr. Whalen was so relaxed and experienced, as well as Keri who did a great job coaching/encouraging Laura as she labored for hours with NO epidural or pain meds of any kind. Laura wanted to try having her baby naturally, and she was a "real trooper" as my dad would've said!

Dr. Whalen predicted that Laura's baby would be somewhere in the 7 pound range, but he was a little off as David weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs. 3 oz.! (This makes Laura's natural childbirth seem like even more of accomplishment!)

Proud parents, proud Grammy holding her newest grandson, and then a few shots of me with my newest nephew!

This is a picture of the stake dinner Laura ordered after the delivery – she earned every bite! Also pictured are David's "first impression" footprints and then two pictures of his first bath. Check out all that dark hair!

Approximately 14 hours later my oldest sister Miriam who lives in Texas had a new baby delivered via C-section. Victoria Marie was born this morning and weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz. My new niece and nephew are definitely a Christmas gift from God and I feel so incredibly blessed to now be an aunt to 10 nieces and eight nephews!