I don’t know who coined that phrase but “ain’t that the truth?!” It has been so long and so much has happened during my blogosphere absence!  I miss the fantasy world of the internet.

My only real focus:

As many of you know, my grandson is once again fighting the battle of and for his life!  Every time I actually say that out loud I could scream and kick and throw something.  Yeah, pretty much a tantrum.  I am certainly not beneath acting out that way but when the feeling strikes it seems I am usually not in the opportune place to display or vent my anger.  For those of you who are not familiar Drake’s journey and are interested you can start with this story.

Where to begin?

I was working two jobs for most of April.  I was trying to wrap up a few things, train the new assistant all the while I was setting up the new system at the new office.  One of my very good friends left the law firm he had been a partner in for a few years to start his own law office and asked me to come along and be a part of his adventure!  It has been very interesting to say the least.  The prior law office that I worked with dealt primarily with real estate and elder law.  The new law firm concentrates in criminal, civil, personal injury, malpractice, family law and employment law.  Never a dull moment!

And Then?

Halle Lynn Gratton made her entrance into the world on May 6, 2009!  She weighed in at 8 lbs 9.8 oz and was 21 inches long.  She is so adorable.  And such a good baby.  I hesitate to say that out loud for fear of, I don’t know, speaking too soon.  All went well for the most part.  Mommy had plenty of complications throughout her pregnancy but at the end of the day, more like the end of a few weeks, every thing seems to be fine.  Danielle wouldn’t know what to do with herself if she didn’t have extreme stress.  I would like to actually see that for myself.  I can’t remember what kind of young lady she was before this ordeal.

More good stuff – My oldest daughter decided it was time for her to get married.  Thankfully, it was very low key, very relaxing and enjoyable.  It was a real pleasure to add hope and inspiration to our routine.

Oh, yes, there’s more!

Did I mention that my brother had a heart attack?  I truly can’t remember exactly when it (they) occurred.  He had a few stints put in, took some time off, got some meds and he’s good.  Thank you very much.  He had to get better to be here for his new grandbaby.  Our family has heart disease (not cancer).  Not to be outdone, my mom made a little side trip to the hospital this week.  I lose track of days but my husband also experienced an ER trip for chest pains.  Luckily (?) he had pulled a muscle.  I can’t make this stuff up!  My friends have always told me I should write a book.

Again my only real focus:

Drake has endured 6 rounds of chemo, bi-weekly doctor visits, daily shots and continues to be an inspiration to us all.  He is clearly amazing and this is not Granny bragging.  Just a fact.   He has been battling this demon (who will NOT win) since he was 10 months old with only a short reprieve.  Doctors, hospital and medicine is a way of life for him and all he has known.

Drake is scheduled for surgery for the extraction of his tumors on Monday, June 29, 2009.  I have so many thoughts and fears that I cannot speak.  Yet, at the same time, there are so many unknowns that I don’t even know what to fear.

I have decided to believe in miracles and will maintain a positive absolute attitude.

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“The thing always happens that you really believe in;
and the belief in a thing makes it happen….”

~ Frank Lloyd Wright
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“2 Elements of Every Post”

What is one of the most important elements every post should contain?

Links:

Every post you write should have a link to one of your past posts.  In some circumstances you just have to toot your own horn!  The linked post should obviously related and pertinent to the topic discussion.

It gives you the opportunity to share some hidden posts that are still of interest and current.

If you follow this hint and tip you will be well on your way to increasing your blog traffic. Not only will you link to one of your posts but if you have added links to that post you will now be looking at sharing lots of your own posts with your readers.

What is the other most important element every post should contain?

Links:

Every post should contain a link to another blog, site, article, etc.  For a couple of reasons:

1. You are sharing your awesome discoveries with your readers.  Your readers usually appreciate that.  Most people like sharing!
2. Linking to other blogs or articles may get you noticed or at least appreciated.

I have been told, linking to other blogs or sites that have a high page rank helps with your own page rank.  Dan Scocco of DailyBlogTips wrote on post earlier this month on a google page rank update .

I enjoy linking to my past posts, rereading them and digging them out of the archives.  I also like sharing great finds I discover in the blogosphere.  So fellow bkoggers, get out there and share your stuff, share your finds.

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“Strive for excellence, not perfection…”
~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
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“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
~ Benjamin Franklin

Confession: I “stole” this quote from Happiness is better from one of  his “tweets”.

Have you ever noticed that there comes a time in your life when you turn into your parents?  You don’t see it coming.  In fact, you spend half of your young adult life trying to be completely different, the opposite.  Somehow it happens.  You don’t even see it coming.  You are in a  discussion and suddenly the conversation turns to those other people.  The “other” generation that is always messing things up.  You know the conversation (you’ve heard it before) starts out -  “when I was a kid”.  Kind of like “the good ole’ days”.

We reap what we sow

For the most part, the current generation is molded and sculpted by the immediate past generation.  The generation that is always complaining about the current generation.  In other words, we reap what we sow.  I remember being told that we had to be careful how we raised our children.  Everything we did or said would affect the outcome of this little persons life.  I was afraid to speak to my child.  What if I said the wrong thing?  What if they thought badly of themselves. Their whole life would be ruined!

We couldn’t scold them because we would squash their self esteem.  Competition wasn’t really that popular because there was always a winner and a loser and we wanted everyone to be a winner.  Yeah, don’t we all?  Welcome to reality.

Then there was the “encouragement” talk.  When something went wrong or didn’t go their way, it wasn’t their fault.  If it was their fault, they would feel bad and have low self esteem so it always had to be someone or something else to blame.

It’s time to be accountable

In any event, regardless of who is responsible for the molding and sculpting, there comes a time in every individuals life that personal responsibility becomes important.  Eventually, (hopefully) you will be accountable for your actions or inactions.  Most people want to be accountable for their success right?  Well the good comes with the bad, it’s that whole equal and opposite action and reaction theory thing going on.  You can’t have one without the other.  Either you are or you aren’t.

Some people spend more time and energy figuring out who or what to blame when things go wrong then time or energy figuring out how to correct or change something.   For the most part, what difference does it make?  Yeah, you need to evaluate what went wrong, take note and change direction.  The important part here is to “change” not complain.   I have always thought that if people spent as much time and energy on fixing or changing things as they did on making excuses they wouldn’t have time to notice the “poor me” attitude.  Please, just do something.

It just drives me crazy when people spend good time on nonsense. At the end of the day, is it really important who, what, when or why? Or is it really important that something was accomplished or successful or you even moved forward!

Toodles – Blog Happy!

As many of you know, my grandson Drake was diagnosed with cancer when he was just 10 months old.  He had been in remission for about 10 months this past January (2009) when the ugly, nasty, “c” word came back.  I previously tried to explain his story as best I could but sometimes I don’t know where to begin!

To add more challenge to the family, my daughter is expecting a new baby the first week of May. Finally, she can be excited about the anticipation of a new baby girl!

So much is going on I haven’t had 5 continuous minutes to put together.  I have had computer/internet/network problems all over the place – work, home, friends, family.  I used to like working on computers!  Well, it’s back to business.
Toodles – Blog Happy!

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” Once you choose hope,
anything’s possible…”

~  Christopher Reeve

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“Whoever is happy will make others happy too…”

~ Anne Frank

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to make yourself happy? Why?

Because..You know exactly

What you want

How much you want

When you want it

Why you want it

I love flowers.  All kinds, all colors, all fragrances, just flowers.  They are so bright and cheery and they make me bright and cheery.  They just make me feel good, all warm and fuzzy.  Where and how I get them doesn’t matter, only that I get them.  On the happiness scale of 1-10, I am at a full 10!

If my husband or my children or even my grandchildren get me flowers, I absolutely love it.  On a happiness scale of 1-10,  I bust the scale with an 11.  Still, the point is flowers.  And the point is, I don’t sit around wishing someone would make me happy by getting me flowers.  I get them myself because it makes me happy.  How easy it that?

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to make yourself happy?

Yet, it is so difficult to make someone else happy (for any length of time anyway).

There is a great discussion at Ian’s blog about the affect of each person involved in trying to make someone else happy.  In the end, I don’t think either is happy.   That adds insult to injury as they say.

If it is important to you that others are happy and if what Anne Frank said is true, “Whoever is happy will make others happy too…” then we all know what to do.

Concentrate on yourself first.

Everyone says that.  You see that everywhere, you hear that everywhere.  Why do people feel the need to keep repeating it?  Because sometimes it is hard to comprehend.  At least for some people.  I have had discussions with others, usually women, who feel it is selfish to think of themselves first.

It is time to change your thoughts in that regard. You cannot save someone else if you don’t first save yourself. If you change your thoughts, you change your world.

I, for one, have to remind myself frequently that I am important too.

Do you find yourself struggling to make someone else happy?  Do you find that if you are happy it is contagious to those around you?

Toodles – Blog Happy!