Birthday "Open House" Party

Today was my dear ol' Gram's 90th Birthday "Open House" Party : )

Holy balls, does she have enough friends? Our entire family wasn't even there (and our family is pretty small!) and about 75 people showed up to wish her a Happy Birthday! Well, you know when you have an open house, people usually come, grab some food & leave...ha. These old people did just the opposite. They came, plopped down and stayed awhile. And boy I mean AWHILE. At one point, there was absolutely no where to sit and when you turned around, you were in someone's way. 

It was so nice to see just how loved my Grandmother really is. She has so many people that care about her and I can only wish that when I grow to be her age, that I too can feel just as loved and appreciated by my peers. 

The top was some strawberry wedding cake (said to be delicious by those who consumed it!)

The cupcakes are supposed to look the "organ keys" because she goes to organ class twice a week with her girls! : )

 Happy 90th Birthday Gram. I love you ♥

What a good night for family and friends : ) 

Something to definitely be thankful for

xoxo

-erinj0

Teachers and Guns DON'T Mix

So, something rather disturbing was announced this morning and brought to my attention. In the lovely state of Nebraska, they are thinking about passing a law that allows teachers to carry guns in school. Now, think about that, really...does that sound okay to you?

(the reason this law is developing, is unfortunately at the beginning of this year, there was a school shooting at one of the high schools, killing one and leaving one severely injured.)

I understand that safety is the primary concern here, as it should be, but we really need to look at the bigger picture and take a step back to see if this will really fix the problem. 

First, it is important to remember that teachers can snap just as fast as students. They have stressful, long, crazy days and you never know what may be going on in someones mind. ( I am by no way indicating this is what teachers are like, but simply saying that anything is possible!)

Second, (when made available) this is what off duty/on duty policy officers are for. They are highly trained to carry weapons and use them when necessary. It's their profession and before they can even become accepted in the program, they undergo testing, background checks, etc...they do carry weapons, but they have a right. It is their job to protect us.

Third, when students are aware that there are guns in the school, accessability is no a problem. Although the guns will be locked away, they are still within reach & we know that students are smart and they could think of ways to get a hold of them!

How will this alter the classroom and school environment? Will it change the way the students act in the classroom? What about the teachers? How would you feel if you were teaching and you knew that teachers all around you had guns in their classroom? Would you feel safe? These are weapons are dangerous and this matter should not be taken lightly.

We all have opinions!

What do you think?

xoxo 

-erinj0

It's a Beautiful Day!

Top Five Reasons Why Today is "A Beautiful Day"

It's my Grandma's 90th birthday! A blessing that she is happy and healthy : )

I left her some cupcakes, flowers & this cute balloon on her doorstep

(she was out attending her organ class and out to eat with her girlfriends...when she got home I called and asked her how she liked her surprise. She said she really loved the flowers and the balloon was cute. When I asked how she liked the cupcakes, she said "what cupcakes??" I said, "grandma the cupcakes in the box!" her response "oh, I threw that box away, I thought it was just keeping the balloon up!" Ohhh Grandma! : )

The temperature was 57 degrees! Spring is on it's way!!

I started Chiropractic care and it's off to a great start!

 (This is some equipment that was used on my nerve scan) 

My car troubles totaling over $350 are now covered by my warranty! Whew!

...and just positivity floating in the air ♥

xoxo

-erinj0

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to my man ♥

I haven't been feeling well so I am staying in & he is sick with the flu : /

I usually don't care to much about this "holiday" but it's fun to share memories.
Gifts are overrated for Valentines but home-aid creative ones are always accepted in my book!
We've been together 6 years and  so this is a conglomeration of pictures over our time together! Hope you enjoy : )

**Love You**

xoxo

-erinj0

I Hate POTS

For warning - This post is a vent session!

I hate that POTS controls your life. I should know that I cannot try and accomplish "too much" in one day, but I'm STILL having a difficult time figuring out what is too much and how much is enough. I have that go- getter type personality and when my body starts shutting down after such minuscule things like returning a book, depositing and check and a quick trip to ONE area in the front of the grocery store - I still get frustrated. I know that the grocery store was probably the killer. 

Who am I to complain about my life when I know that other people are suffering with their diseases/symptoms/syndromes as well. My life has just completely changed. I can't make plans for the night because I'll just have to cancel. Once 4:00 or 5:00 o'clock rolls around, my body is done. Also take note that I didn't even do anything until 1:00pm today. I so badly want to do normal things that I used to. I don't want to lay on my couch all weekend doing nothing. I hate being stuck in my apartment with no energy to even attempt to clean or get anything accomplished. I just sit and look at everything I know I should be doing but physically it is just too demanding. 

I hate that I can feel pretty good one minute and the next feel utterly awful. This is a really hard concept for my friends and people around me to grasp. It's hard for an outsider to really believe that something is wrong - to the person looking in, it sometimes may appear that I may be "faking" because it came on so suddenly. How do you explain so many symptoms that people can't see and do not experience. It can lead a feeling similar to if you had to defend yourself. I hate POTS.

Right now I'm so fatigued, I feel tachy, short of breath, my chest is tight, my legs are throbbing, my head is dizzy, I'm unsteady on my feet and I feel nauseous. I'm sure I'm forgetting more. Oh yeah - my brain is foggy what else is new?

I wish there were more answers for us POTSy patients. I wish they could tell us what caused this to happen. I wished we had more doctors who are knowledgeable and who care. I wish for an answer. I wish for relief. 

I hate POTS.

-erinj0

Chunk goes to the Vet!

Ah : /
I just took Chunk (my dear old cat) to the Vet this last Friday!

He is having some issues going to the "bathroom" outside of the litter box.

He weighed in at a whopping 21.1 lbs! He is the fattest cat on the cat chart and his goal is to loose a total of 6lbs! They want him down to 15 : ) 

After a $208 dollar vet bill that included an x-ray, hair shaving, urinalysis, blood panel, antibiotic shot, new diet prescription food and a diagnoses of crystals in the urine : / We were good to go!

I got a call from our lovely Vet today calling to check in and see how Mr. Chunk is doing! What a good Vet that is! Needless to say, I think he is doing better - fingers crossed!

Just like all of us have our health problems, so do animals!

xoxo -erinj0

ONE MONTH - Here's My Challenge

Today: The temperature is 0 and the wind chill is -30 degrees! Whoa!

Most community and schools are canceled AGAIN. 

Is my college canceled? Heck no. UNO doesn't cancel classes for anything. I look back at those high school days & forget how lucky I was back then to get all those days off.

But, more importantly...

ONE MONTH FROM NOW - Do you know what that is?

::March 2nd 2011::

"Spread the Word to End the Word"

The "R" word is an over-used/misused, unethical, condescending, derogatory slang to individuals with intellectual disabilities known as (retard"ed" or 'tard')

Please, if you use that word in everyday conversation - know that it is offensive. Take a pledge to stop using that word and encourage others around you to do the same.

So - I'm challenging you! The next time you hear someone use the word "retard/retarded'" or "tard", call them on it! It may not be easy, but doing what is right in the face of peer pressure rarely is.

Will you accept my challenge?!

xoxo-erinj0