Read this if you question the afterlife…

Today started out like any other regular day. I was listening to a mixture of Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, and ’80s tunes while working my way through some stuff that I needed to get caught up on. No big deal. Nothing spectacular. Little did I know that I was about to have one of the most awe-inspiring experiences I’ve ever had.

A little background for those of you that may not know….I’m a sensitive. This just means that when human spirits are visiting I can tell that they’re with me, whether they are male or female, and usually what they’re feeling, possibly at times a little of their story. This will come into play a little later in my story.

Another little background snippet…I live in a security building. There is the main outer door, a foyer where the mailboxes are, and then a 2nd inner door that you have to pass through before you get to where the apartments are. Someone that wants to gain access to the apartments, and doesn’t have a building key, must buzz a specific apartment and then the tenant in that apartment buzzes back releasing the locks on the doors. This will come into play at the beginning of my story.

So I’ve got my tunes on keeping me motivated to get some things accomplished. I’m working slow and steady and getting things done. That’s when I heard someone buzz my apartment to get into the building. Being a smart & safety-conscious woman, I looked out my window to see who it was before I let them in. Because of the way the building is shaped all I could see was the shoulder and sleeve of a coat. My upstairs neighbor, whom I’m friendly with, has a coat that same color. Naturally I thought it was her. She knows I’m home a lot of times. She’s in her 70s and sometimes buzzes me if she doesn’t have enough free hands to juggle her keys around. No problem. I know her. It’s fine. I thought it was her and buzz her in. It wasn’t her. What happened next floored me. For my friends and family reading this, I’m fine. I was never in any danger whatsoever. Just wanted to put that out there to end all worry/panic that may have started.

Shortly after buzzing in who I thought was my neighbor, I hear a knock on my door. I am probably one of the few people that still use the peep hole that’s in my door which I’m often grateful for. This is when I realized it wasn’t my neighbor that I had just let into the building. Right away though I knew it wasn’t a sales person, political campaign volunteer, Jehovah’s Witness, etc. I didn’t know this woman and yet I knew I had to open the door. I didn’t know what was compelling me to find out what she wanted, something was though and I listened. Yes, I know. Hard to believe my stubbornness didn’t win out this time.

After exchanging the customary “hello” greetings, the first thing she asks me is, “Is there a Bob that lives here?” I of course say no because it’s just me and last time I checked I wasn’t Bob and didn’t even have a bob haircut. I figured she just had the wrong building and was ready to be done with the situation. Then she starts explaining her situation to me. Her nephew lives in another building in my complex. He has some health issues and she checks on him twice a week. She’s been calling him since last night and hasn’t gotten any answer. She got on a bus and rode over to the complex to check on him, obviously hoping he was fine, wanting to be sure though. She kept saying that her nephew had mentioned a Bob that sometimes visited him. She buzzed a random apartment in her nephew’s building because mysteriously her set of keys (which have never given her problems) suddenly weren’t working and she couldn’t get in. The neighbor she buzzed said she saw the nephew leaving with two men and a child yesterday, but hadn’t seen him today at all. The worried stranger also told me that a specific apartment number was stuck in her head and she couldn’t stop thinking of it. That apartment number was my apartment.

Knowing her nephew enough to say hi to him and ask how he’s doing when I see him in the parking lot, I wanted to help out if I was able to. Being on oxygen, with chillier weather still upon us, I couldn’t exactly get in the car and drive her to the hospital her nephew usually goes to. She said she spoke to her nephew’s neighbor and used her phone to call the Management office which of course was closed cause it’s Sunday. As she’s talking I’m bouncing ideas around in my head trying to come up with viable suggestions. Suddenly I feel a spirit standing right next to me. I knew it was a male spirit and tried to temporarily ignore him until I was done focusing on helping this random stranger.  

I finally got an idea that I thought might help, and was really the only thing I could do to help this poor worried Aunt. I invited her into my aparment (something which I NEVER do) and gave her the typical, “Make yourself at home while I go….” invitation. I got my lease and found the emergency number tenants are given for when the office is closed. I called it and got the voice mail and then wrote it down for her so she could call again later. She then told me that her nephew had recently reunited with a relative he hadn’t spoken to in 9 years. She and I both concluded that being St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and this relative saying she wanted to get together with this man to talk to him about something, that must have been where he went. She said she’d keep calling her nephew, and the numbers for the Management office until she found out what was going on. We spoke for a few extra minutes and she of course questioned my needing oxygen as people often do when they first meet me. I briefly explained my situation and she gave me some Blessings and well-wishes, and I gave her the same and wished her luck and that was it.

After she left, I was glad I was able to help her in some way even if she didn’t get a definite answer to the question at hand. I was thinking about the situation though, and several points came to my attention. I’ll share them with you and leave you to draw your own conclusions, having been given all the facts.

1. There is nobody in my building named Bob, and hasn’t been in the 9 years I’ve lived here.
2. The apartment number that kept coming to her was very specific, and it was mine.
3. The spirit that visited was definitely male and was standing almost up against me while I was talking to this woman.
4. The first neighbor she spoke with who saw her nephew leave with 2 men and a child, was married to Bob.
5. Bob passed away 3 or 4 years ago.

I know what happened here today. As I said though, I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions. I’m just glad someone directed this poor woman to my doorstep. Hopefully she’ll get in touch with her nephew soon and he’ll be fine and happy after having had a successful reunion with his relative. Good luck and God Bless to all involved!!

 

Crazy Dream #2 for 2014…

As far as dreams go, this one kind of encompassed all that is my life these days. Several defining characteristics were represented throughout the dream as you will see. Definitely a strange experience. I would love to find out why when I dream does the scene just randomly change for no reason without warning. It’s not even a gentle fading in and out, it’s just one minute you could be standing in a summery field of wildflowers and then suddenly you’re walking through a crowded shopping mall or something like that. It’s crazy.

Anyway as I did last time let me put a few facts out there before I tell you about the dream itself. I think they’ll help you understand what was going on:

• My hometown was in the southwestern part of the state .
• My current apartment is 280 miles away from the hometown.
• I’ve been on oxygen since January 24, 1996.
• I’ve been having weekly deliveries to refill my oxygen tanks since February 2 1996
• My Fiance and future FIL are wonderful people, and would NEVER leave me to have to drive anywhere alone no matter what (they know I prefer not to do that although I can if necessary)
• I don’t own a car myself, I sometimes drive my Fiance’s car when absolutely necessary and it’s kept in very good condition
• We take a family trip to the shore for a few days once every year

Those statements being put out there, please keep them in mind as you read this…

I’m at my current apartment with my Fiance and future FIL. We’re getting ready for our annual trip to the shore. My oxygen is due to be refilled today so I can’t leave until he (the delivery driver) gets to the apartment to take care of that. The guys are anxious to get on the road and are slightly impatient although still pleasant.

Next thing I know I’m at my old high school and there’s two Fed Ex trucks parked outside the school. One delivers a few packages to the main office inside the school. The school still looked as it did when I graduated. I’m standing there watching the other Fed Ex truck knowing without a doubt he has a package for me that he’ll be delivering as soon as he gets out of the truck. The first Fed Ex driver gets back in his truck, pulls around the 2nd Fed Ex truck and drives away. I’m still waiting for the other Fed Ex guy to hand me whatever he has for me…

Next thing I know we’re all back in my current apartment. The oxygen delivery guy shows up and as he’s filling my tanks (which takes generally about 20 minutes at the longest) the guys grab the bags and start carrying them out of the apartment. I tell the guys I’m not ready to go yet and won’t be ready til a few minutes after the oxygen guy leaves. My Fiance tells me that’s what they invented meeting places for. (This is something he’d never ever say to me, and I’d never just accept that and be ok with it.) They leave the apartment…

Next thing I know, I’m in the car sitting on the side of the road broken down in my old hometown. A family I’ve never met before pull up and offer me a ride. For whatever reason in this dream nobody offers a cell phone so I can make a phone call and it never phased me. I knew I didn’t have mine on me, although I kept waffling in my dream as to the real reason I didn’t have it. I either forgot it back at my current apartment, or I just chose not to take it on the vacation hoping for a quieter more relaxed time. I’m not sure which one it really was. So anyway, this nice family is driving me where I told them I needed to go. (I need to point out here that the Dad of this nice family was the owner of a local Greek/American restaurant I frequented fairly often, in the dream though we didn’t know/recognize each other). The family drops me off at an Elementary school that I used to volunteer at for several years back in the early 1990s. I realize right away that I told them to drop me off at the wrong school. I was supposed to meet the guys at the Middle School that I also volunteered at a few times. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this quick enough and this nice family had already driven away to the point where it was impossible for me to catch them. I walk into the elementary school and go to the main office where there’s a group of female teachers (none of whom ever worked there in real life, and only one of whom I remotely recognized). Apparently they were gathered there because they were going to the one teacher’s house for a sleepover and were still waiting for one more girl to show up. I asked if I could use the phone, and the one teacher I somehow recognized a little asked me why I needed it. I explained my situation and she hands me the telephone receiver and asks what number I’m calling. She seemed really catty to me for some reason and I hadn’t remembered her ever being that way normally. Anyway, I gave her my Fiance’s cell number and after misdialing a couple times she finally got the number right and they go back to talking amongst themselves as I filled my Fiance in on what happened. I noticed that the teacher I partially recognized had been my  estranged nephew’s teacher either the year before or two years prior and that’s how I knew her. (This woman never worked at this school and never taught my nephew. In fact this woman played Reba Maxwell in the Mrs. Miracle Christmas movies.) She was holding one of those dental explorer tools and was playing with it. Apparently she had just been accepted into a dental school and the sleepover was to celebrate.

Before I could finish explaining to my Fiance all that had happened, the morning alarm went off and woke me up….

 

First Weird Dream of 2014

I truly wonder about myself sometimes. I have the craziest dreams sometimes. Before I tell you about this latest one, let me put a few disclaimers out there…

• I have not had an alcoholic beverage of any kind for well over 3 years, possibly even longer
• I do not do drugs recreationally. The only medications I take are the ones my team of doctors force me to take, and considering my health conditions, that’s a minimal amount.
• I did not eat anything for at least 4 hours before going to bed last night
• I felt “normal” for me, no major headaches (only a slight one), no dizziness, no aches/pains
• I do not watch movies/shows that have zombies in them on a regular basis, however I do believe in the paranormal and have had about a gazillion personal experiences with spirits both good and evil

That being said, here is what I dreamed (and please don’t ask me to analyze or explain any part of it because I truly couldn’t…):

First of all, I was living in a tall, thin house with about 4 or 5 other people. It was located in a more rural country-like area, lots of open fields & woods. In my dream I obviously knew the people I was living with, however in real life I had no clue who these people were. Nobody was recognizable to me at all. All of the other housemates had British accents (this part is the only part that can be explained, I’ve been watching a lot of episodes of Keeping Up Appearances the last few days).

So, we’re all living in the house and everything is great. We all get along. There’s no major problems as far as I could tell, at least not within our little group. This is the other thing I should mention about my dreams, scenes tend to change suddenly without any rhyme or reason. Anyway, suddenly everyone is panicking and not wanting to go outside because there are man-eating killer panther/mountain lion type animals roaming the countryside hunting down innocent people and attacking them. Where these animals came from is unknown, as is the reason they were so vicious. Yes I love mountain lions/panthers/bobcats and I know this is NOT usual behavior for them. So this part of the dream would not stem from any misconceptions I have about these beautiful creatures. Yes the animals in my dream were indeed wild and not animals that someone had tried to domesticate or had been locked away in a zoo or something like that.

It was warmer weather so probably it was in the springtime. I was wearing jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt so it definitely wasn’t summertime yet. As I said everyone was panicking and didn’t want to go outside because they were all afraid of these panthers. When someone HAD to go out for whatever reason, we’d go in groups figuring it was safer because if any of these killer beasts were encountered, at least there’d be someone to go for help if not stop the attack. For whatever reason, I was the brave one in the house! Therefore, anytime someone had to go out, I was one of the chosen ones to accompany that person. There were usually 3 of us together during any given outing. A few times out, we did run into one of these killer panthers. Out of nowhere, as is the norm in my dreams, I end up with some type of weapon in my hands that just appears there with no explanation as to where I may have gotten it. We’d see the panther, he’d growl and show his teeth, I hit him in the head with whatever weapon appeared in my hand and we’d be saved and just go back to the house without accomplishing whatever errand we’d set out to do in the first place. This happened at least twice maybe three times.

This is where the scene suddenly changed slightly and I honestly don’t know why or where this next scenario came from. The next time someone went out, for an unknown reason I didn’t go with them. I don’t remember why I didn’t go. They came running into the house after being out, extremely out of breath from running for their lives. Knowing this was an altogether different type of fear that was in their eyes, I asked what was going on. Apparently the man-eating panthers had been replaced by these ghostly zombie type things. As I stated before, I cannot explain the majority of what happened in this dream. I go out with 2 others and we try to track down this creature that literally almost scared the others to death. We finally see her. Yes it was a female ghost zombie. She had brown hair pulled up into pigtails. She was wearing dark pants (probably jeans although it was hard to tell), a striped short-sleeved crop top, and tennis shoes. You could see right through her, although she wasn’t as transparent as some of the spirits I’ve seen in real life before. She had this glazed look in her eyes and was slowly yet determinedly walking towards us. Clearly she was going to attack us. Once again, an axe suddenly appeared in my hand out of nowhere. I approached this girl and just started wildly swinging the axe at her. She fell to the ground on her knees and I finally killed her with last blow to her forehead/upper facial area. Now as far as spirits/ghosts go, they’re transparent, they can go through walls & doors although they don’t usually do that, and you can walk right through them. How I was able to kill these things with any weapon is beyond me. Eventhough they were indeed ghosts and transparent, the weapons I ended up with were able to kill them somehow. I’m very grateful for this mysterious fact! The second one I killed looked very similar to the first. The only difference this time was that I used a tire iron (one of those that look like an X that you use to change a flat tire on a car). That’s when I woke up. Thankfully someone was wildly buzzing the front door to my apartment building to be let in and that’s what woke me up. I don’t think I want to see what this dream would’ve turned into next!

Another Cross Stitch Finish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my “BELIEVE” tree. The design is by M Designs and I love it! I actually started stitching this on January 9, 2011. At the time I joined something called the Crazy Cross Stitch Challenge. The idea was to start 12 separate cross stitch projects and then to have all 12 projects completed by the end of 2011. As you can see by the timing of this post, that didn’t happen! I go through phases where all I want to do is stitch and then I won’t touch a project for months at a time. My stitching bug had been on hiatus for quite some time, and then suddenly made an appearance around Halloween and has decided to stay with me for awhile as it seems so far.

This was a fairly easy design to stitch as it’s all full cross stitches with no specialty stitches and thankfully no french knots!! I chose hand-dyed fabric and hand-dyed floss for this piece to give it a unique color scheme that probably won’t be duplicated by too many other people! I chose New Vision by Carrie’s Creations threads, and Slimey Limey fabric by Sugar Maple Fabrics. The worst part of this design was sewing all the individual seed beads on after the stitching was completed. I’m happy with the way it turned out though!

For those of you that are not familiar with he “name trees” by M Designs, there is something very special about these trees. At first glance they appear to be ornate trees like any other you may see. However, if you just rotate the design clockwise 90 degrees, you see why they are called name trees!!

 

 

 

 

 

I chose this one for Christmas, however BELIEVE can be applied to every day life situations all year long! Pretty neat huh? I have a few others that I’ll be stitching at some point. For now though I’ll be working on a cute wintery design also started in 2011 for the Crazy Cross Stitch Challenge!! So be on the lookout for “Warm Winter Wishes” which hopefully will be completed before February 1st!

Happy New Years

 

 

 

 

First let me say HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! The ending of a year and the beginning of a new one has always been a time mixed with confusing emotions for me. I look back on the past year and go through phases. Usually there’s a brief period where I’m disappointed because I didn’t achieve anything huge, which is usually followed by a period of feeling both stupid and grateful because the fact that I’ve faced a years worth of obstacles and remained alive and am still fighting is quite a huge achievement in and of itself. This usually leads me to focus on what I’d like to do in the new year. I always have the best of intentions. I want to eat healthier and exercise regularly. I want to avoid drama whenever possible. I want to always be honest and open with people even if what I say to them may not be what they want to hear. I want to try new things (not major things, things like reading different types of books, watching movies I’ve never seen before, things like that).  I then end up feeling disappointed because I know no matter how good my intentions are, or how hard I stick to things in the beginning, there will come a point where I’ll lose my motivation and I’ll stop trying the new things, I’ll stop eating healthier, I’ll slack off on the exercising and then just stop altogether. I know this about myself. It’s happened several years in a row and so far I haven’t been able to find a pattern to break the vicious cycle. This year is no different. I’ve got plans to limit my intake of candy and pop. I’ve got plans to read different book series that I’ve never tried before. I’ve added some television mystery series and some movies I’ve never seen to my lists on both Netflix and Amazon. I’ve also decided I wanted to blog more this year. I don’t know if anyone reads these or not. That’s not the point of them though. I blog about books I’ve read, movies I’ve watched, and just my life in general because at some point in time whether it’s myself, a close friend, one of my siblings, or a total stranger may stumble onto one of my blog posts and maybe it’ll help that person in some way. That’s what I’m all about is helping others.

That being said I’m considering these my final hours of reckless abandon. I’m sitting here drinking a Pepsi ThrowBack, eating DarkSide Skittles, and watching Flashpoint (one of the shows on my long list of favorites).  Tomorrow it will be a different story. New Year, New Start is my new motto. I’m not saying I’m going to stop all pop and candy cold turkey right off the bat, or that I’m going to exercise an hour every single day. I know that’s not realistic at all for me. I’m just saying that I’m going to cut back on the not-so-healthy junk that I eat, and that I’m going to ease into the exercise thing slowly. I’ve slacked off too much and I need to work hard at building myself back up again. I’m nowhere near where I used to be a few years ago and frankly it scares me. I’m not ready to do this transplant yet. If I don’t turn things around, I’ll have no other choice but to have the transplant done no matter what. Nobody involved in that situation (including my transplant team) is ready for that yet. If I don’t take control of this situation nobody else will. I’m considering this my wake up call. I just want to be a bit better than I am now when I see my heart doctor in Pittsburgh this spring. I know that’s a doable goal for me. I just need to stick to my guns and get as stubborn about this as I am with everything else!!

Another thing I’d like to get better with, and this is something I’ve vowed to get better at for several years without success, is to keep in touch with people better. I’ve gotten lazy and have truly slacked off with calling people and writing snail mail letters, etc. I used to write snail mail letters to those close to me that don’t have cell phones or computers. I’d write them 3 or 4 times a year with the typical Christmas letter during the Holiday season. I didn’t write any letters in 2013 (well maybe 2 total) and didn’t include a Christmas letter with every card either. I care about everyone in my life, that’s why they’re in my life still. I need to keep in touch with them. Time to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. I have a cell phone with unlimited talk & text. No reason at all I can’t call anybody at all to chat for a few minutes because even if it’s long-distance, which most of my phone calls would be, it’s not going to cost anything extra. It’s there might as well use it, right?!

My game plan as of right now, and I promise you this will probably change every month if not more often than that, is to blog at least once a month and let you know how I’m progressing towards my goals. As I said, I don’t know how many people read my blogs, hopefully something I write will help someone along the way. If one blog helps one person I’ll be a happy girl!

Thank you for reading this long-winded rambling blog! I do truly appreciate your sticking with it! Have a safe and happy New Years Eve! Don’t Drink & Drive! Call a taxi if you need a safe ride home. Catch up with you all soon!!

My Favorite Christmas Songs…

I wasn’t going to post this blog tonight. My OCD won’t let me skip it though. I want my trio to be complete, and without this blog it just isn’t. Part 1 was posted in 2011, Part 2 was posted literally just a few moments ago, and now to complete the set…submitted for your enjoyment, here is Part 3!!

There are way too many Christmas tunes that I love to listen to! As with my favorite Christmas movies, I can listen to these songs over and over again throughout the entire year and never get tired of them. I would love to be able to share my entire playlist with you all, that’s a bit unrealistic though! 🙂 I’m forced to just share a small handful of songs that I treasure the most. I hope you enjoy them too!

When it comes to Christmas music, I tend to enjoy the more traditional versions of my favorite carols. Don’t get me wrong, I have found some newer versions of the classics that I love as well! I’m not closed-minded and everyone knows I give every Christmas song a fighting chance before I dismiss it.

There are way too many that I love so picking just 1 favorite (even 5 favorites) is impossible for me to do. I’d literally be changing my choices almost constantly!  That being said, I will list these as I think of them and in no special order! I hope they bring back fond memories and make you smile like they do for me! Enjoy!!  ❤

DISCLAIMER: I hold no rights to any of these songs and/or videos. Full credit goes to the song writers, composers, artists/singers, and the people who created and first uploaded the videos I’m sharing with you all today.

Nothing says Christmas like The Carpenters. I love this song. I love several different versions of this song. No matter what version is playing though, this remains to be my favorite one!

While we’re talking classics, my Christmas playlist wouldn’t be complete without a little Nat King Cole and some “chestnuts roasting on an open fire”!

After hearing that song, it always makes me think of Bing Crosby who was phenomenal in my opinion. There are so many Christmas songs he sings that it’s hard to choose just one or two…

I can’t include Bing Crosby in any musical discussion without mentioning the absolutely stellar duet he did with David Bowie. I would’ve never ever thought to put these two singers together, whoever did was a genius! It worked beautifully! It still throws me to see David Bowie without any of his usual stage makeup on. So weird to me!

One of my all-time favorite carols is Oh Holy Night and I’ve listened to hundreds of versions of it over my 38 years on this Earth. I have to say that Martina McBride can belt out this tune like nobody else I’ve ever heard. What a mighty voice she has!

When I first heard Jewel’s version of Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer I was in a toy store. I know, how fitting, right?! I wondered who she was singing with. Later I found it she did a duet to this song with her Mom. That really touched my heart for so many reasons. I just have to include it in this blog!

This next song was actually a ringtone on my old cell phone for a long time (as in about 2 years LOL). There are very few versions I don’t like, although I think Madonna’s is my favorite out of the ones I know the most.

A great follow-up to that song is always Baby, It’s Cold Outside. I don’t hear this song nearly often enough on Spotify or the radio so I don’t know how many versions of it are out there currently. I do know that once I heard Zooey Deschanel sing it in the movie Elf, that was it for me. I was hooked on her voice for good.

The list wouldn’t be the same without including some of the more well-known traditional carols loved by many, and probably sung by every choir that ever existed!

And the perfect way to end this blog, is with a song that explains how I feel about the Christmas/Holiday season better than I ever could.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS! MAY YOUR HOLIDAY SEASON BE FILLED WITH FAMILY, FUN, AND MANY BLESSINGS! HOPEFULLY SANTA WILL PUT YOU BACK ON THE “NICE” LIST WHEN HE CHECKS IT THE 2ND TIME AROUND!!

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Christmas Movies…

Hi all! I haven’t blogged here for a very long time! It feels like forever! I had the urge to blog something Christmassy. I started writing and by the time I got to where I was discussing my favorite Holiday-themed movies, I decided to scrap the whole thing and do separate blogs where I could share my favorite Christmas songs & movies with my readers. This will be much like the blog I wrote in December 2011 about my favorite Christmas commercials. 

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the rights to these movies, clips, or videos. Full credit goes to the wonderful people who made and starred in these films, and the people who created and posted the original videos that I’ll be posting links to.

The first movie I’d like to share with you all is definitely newer than most of my other favorites! I have to watch it at least 3 or 4 times every Holiday season and often times I’ll be caught watching it at various other times throughout the year! It makes me laugh the whole way through almost…a feat that most other movies no longer accomplish sadly. What is this Christmas wonder you ask? Why it’s none other than ELF!!

Anybody who knows me, knows I’m a sucker for the more traditional Christmas movies. I love seeing the newer ones, the classics will always hold a special place in my heart though! My all-time favorite classic Christmas film is of course…White Christmas!

Another classic film I love is Miracle on 34th Street! I read somewhere that Natalie Wood was being shuttled between 3 movie sets when she did this movie! She was an amazing young lady! And the part where she pulls on Kris Kringle’s beard and he grimaces and says ouch…that was a natural reaction they got from her. That wasn’t a planned part in the movie. It was ad-libbed! Love when natural stuff like that happens!!

There are some classic stories that I actually love. Yes, I am talking about novels…well one in particular. A Christmas Carol remains to be my all-time favorite Christmas book ever. When it comes to the movies though, I’ve seen several versions of this tale and in my opinion nothing beats The Muppets version!

There are 3 movies that I’m currently stuck on and can’t stop watching! I literally have watched these 4 movies at least once a week for the last month! In no particular order, they are…

A Christmas Kiss

Holiday In Handcuffs

Holiday Engagement

There are several more Christmas movie links I could share with you. Alas, I’m still recovering from being sick all week, and am very tired! I will leave you with a tender Christmas message from the ghost of Christmas Present….Merry Christmas to you all!

 

 

 

Gonna Be A Long Day…

I woke up about an hour ago and already know it’s going to be one of those days where no matter how hard I try to stay positive and upbeat, stuff in general is just going to get on my nerves! We’ve all been there. We’ve all had those days. I’m hoping that by blogging about it and just getting it out of my head, I’ll be able to improve my mood and move on to having a happier less annoying day!! Wish me luck…. 🙂

So, first, let’s talk about the English language (if you can call it that) that the general public uses today. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I am no English major by any means. I try my best though. I don’t use double negatives (such as I ain’t got none…). I try my best to not be one of those people that have to drop the F bomb every other word to get my point across. I know I make grammatical errors when I speak was the point of that little tangent. But, much like Sophia Petrillo, I digress slightly. I was sitting there trying to wake up and get myself moving, and one of the first commercials I see is for a fitness program. Great!! If people want to get in shape and get healthier I’ll be one of the ones in their corner cheering them on, heck I may even try to join in every once in awhile (highly ineffective unless you do it regularly, I know…). OK, so everyone in the commercial is doing their hip hop dance moves and their tummies are flat and their butts are toned…well you’ve seen these ads, you know what I mean. Then the “personal testimonials of actual users” begin. When did everyone start staying, “I have abs now.” Honey, listen. Abs is short for abdominal muscles. You’ve always had them. Everyone’s always had them. Even Jesus had them. What you have now is TONED ABS. Saying “I have abs.” and leaving it at that sounds like you started talking and lost your train of thought half way through the sentence.

The next thing getting on my nerves today is the weather. There are actually a couple different things that are weather-related that are bothering me. First, I have no clue how to dress weather-appropriate anymore. Now I do realize it’s March in Pennsylvania so you will probably experience at least 2 if not 3 of the seasons in one single day. That’s not uncommon. Now that I say that, I realize the problem lies with me not the weather. I need to lay blame in the proper place! Forgive me Mother Nature. Anyway, I’ve been on bloodthinner medication for 17 years now. When it’s cold, I’m freezing. When it’s hot, I’m comfortable. That’s just how it is. So what do I do when I wake up in the morning and it’s 33 with snow and freezing rain, and then in the afternoon it’s 55 and rainy or cloudy. I get the whole dressing in layers phenomenon. Easy concept….if you’re healthy. I need to wear my thermal underwear in the morning cause it’s cold and I’ll freeze if I don’t. If I’m too cold and try to go out to get some errands done I won’t breathe as well. Again, it’s just how it is. In the afternoon, I can probably get away with a long-sleeve tee and a sweatshirt as long as I have a jacket. So I either wear my thermals and can function in the morning and then I’ll be too hot in the afternoon even after taking my sweatshirt off. Or I don’t wear the thermals and freeze in the morning, compromise my breathing slightly and then will be comfortable in the afternoon. Either way, other than Saint Patrick’s Day and the promise of warmer weather on the nearby Horizon…March sucks monkey tail.

The other weather-related annoyance I have today, and I honestly have no idea why it’s coming up this morning because I haven’t experienced it so far today, is the fact that the people at The Weather Channel insist on naming every winter storm we have. It’s not a snowstorm. It’s not a Hurricane. Save the names for hurricane season. It’s their thing, let them have it. If you need to name some winter weather debacle, name the blizzards. They have power. They deserve a names like Brute or Maleficent. Otherwise, leave it alone.

Wow, this is helping more than I expected! So glad I decided to vent & ramble this morning. If you’re still reading this, thanks for hanging in there! Now I’d like to share a very short story that made me literally LOL the other day. I was speaking with a very good friend of mine. We were discussing cell phones and their various functions. I explained that my cell can take/send/receive pictures eventhough the pic quality isn’t always the best. My cell can also access the Internet although it connects at a snails pace and is a total PITA trying to get anything to come up the way you want it to. She came up with the best description for my phone that I’ve ever heard. She simply said, “So you’re smart phone belongs on the short bus with all the other special phones…” YES! That’s my phone in a nutshell.

Now that I’ve been able to blog something happy and positive, I’m going to finally get my day started. On today’s agenda…going to my future In-law’s house to help with some early Easter festivity prep!! Catch you all again soon!!

Adventure Abounds

It never fails! I leave my apartment with my future In-laws, and as long as my future FIL is involved, it’s never a question of IF there will be an adventure. The question instantly becomes WHEN will the adventure start?! Its a lot like Friday. You know Friday will get here. It’s a given. It’s just a matter of how long will it take to get here.

As I’ve explained before, these little outings always start with a easy-to-follow game plan. For instance, today’s plan was to get my regularly scheduled bloodwork done, and stop at WalMart for one thing (and this time believe it or not I truly did get just that one thing…)!

Now usually it’s just my future FIL and I on these adventures. Today though, my future MIL got to experience it with us! She has no idea how very honored she should be. My future FIL doesn’t let just anyone invade our bonding time together! I guess when it’s your wife, you opt for the invasion as opposed to blatantly leaving her out. I was glad they were both there! I’m lucky enough to get along very well with both of my future In-Laws!! I wouldn’t trade either of them in for anything.

First was blood work…my future MIL and I both had to get blood work today. I’ve been to Nazareth Hospital for blood work so many times, all the regular girls in registration know me by name. Today, Claire had the honor of registering me, while Theresa (my favorite lady there) had the honor of registering my future MIL. While I’m in the office with Claire, we’re chatting away and she’s entering my info into the computer. Meanwhile, Theresa goes to the waiting area and calls my future MIL back to her separate office. As she’s walking past the office I’m in, she stops in and says hi and chit chats for a brief moment. Then we notice someone from ER, a very nice woman whose name I’m sad to say I never found out, and I tell her if she needs to just ask a quick question she’s more than welcome to come on in. All of the more personal information had already been verified, etc so there wasn’t any question of privacy being violated. She said no at first and then came in and started explaining what was going on without giving away anyone’s personal details. She started chatting with me and after finding out why I had the oxygen asked this very flattering question, “Why is it that it’s always the ones who have nothing wrong with them that are the nasty ones, meanwhile it’s the sweetest nicest ones who have all the major health problems?” I should’ve put a sign on the office door, SANDYE’S HERE! PARTY ON! I love those people!

Once I was all registered, I found out there was a way for me to get the results of my tests mailed to me directly. I have several doctors who like to stay up-to-date when I have anything done. When you need a transplant, it’s imperative that everyone is on the same page in case an emergency problem ever arises. However, no matter how the person in registration enters the fax numbers for everyone, inevitably not everyone gets those results. Anyway, my friend was working today (which is why I chose today to go) and she let me take several of the forms that need to be filled out in order to have the results mailed directly to you. I love her! She takes such good care of me when I’m in there. Eventually she and I will get together to have lunch, we’ve only been trying for months now!! As it turns out my future MIL was in the chair next to me and my friend was the only phlebotomist working! The party continues in the lab!!! The only thing missing were the snacks & the punch!

After partying in the hospital…there’s a phrase you don’t hear very often…we headed for WalMart. This turned out to be the biggest part of the adventure for today! I had to go to the Customer Service desk first before I did my shopping. I was last in line and the way the people were lined up I was close to the entrance. I was standing in line waiting for my turn, and you know how when you’re waiting in line and you just look around, check out your surroundings, see what’s on display, etc. Well, while I was doing that a man was walking towards the entrance/exit doors. We glanced at each other, did the friendly stranger “Hi” to each other and it was over in a matter of seconds. He had a bag in his hand and an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. At this point, I feel it’s important to mention that I was standing in line alone…as in my future MIL went off to do her shopping and my future FIL was parking the car after dropping her and I off. So “alone” in this instance just means there were no friends or family members in line with me. Back to the story…I’m the last in line and friendly stranger guy is maybe 5 feet past me and 2 guys come from somewhere unseen and grabbed each of his arms and say, “Follow us. To the office, Sir.” and they carted him to the back security office next to the Customer Service counter. Yep, he got snagged apparently for not paying for all of the things he wanted to get that day. This particular WalMart had 4 plain clothes store detectives on hand and 1 Manager there. Scary part was…not that this happened only 5 feet away from me…but when they put the guy in the office and started questioning him, there was no door separating the Customer Service line/counter from the security office. Granted you could only see the entryway to the office, not the desk/chairs/etc. My thought was if this guy has a weapon and gets ticked off, there’s nothing there preventing him from just running out right to where we’re all standing. Glad to say that the event was handled professionally, safely, and had completed my task at Customer Service BEFORE the Police even showed up. No confrontation, no shouting, no danger.

This next part of the story is totally unrelated to the day’s adventure…it’s just a funny little tidbit I had to share for sheer entertainment value. The other day a very dear friend of mine posted a status on Facebook about Twizzlers licorice. I of course commented on her status thanking her for making me crave Twizzlers now!! While walking through WalMart today there was a center display of none other than…yep, you guessed it…TWIZZLERS!! I stopped for a brief moment and contemplated taking a pic of said display and sending it to her phone to give her a little laugh. I opted against it as I was on my way back to the electronics department to help my future FIL print out some pictures from a memory card. He’s not very tech savvy so I was more than happy to help, figured I’d better not let him fend for himself even for a minute! Later this afternoon, following our usual routine, we ended up at Nifty Fifty’s restaurant. While waiting for our drinks, this same friend texts me. I open it to make sure she’s alright (as a general rule I don’t mess with my cell while out with others…I do check to make sure what’s coming in isn’t a problem of some sort)…and she’s just texted me a picture of….yep, you guessed it again….TWIZZLERS!! I literally laughed out loud and then of course had to explain to my future In-Laws what was so funny! I swear only my friends and I have little timing coinkydinks like that!! Epic friendship right there! She asked if I was even allowed to eat Twizzlers anymore due to my mild corn allergy (no high fructose corn syrup for me), and I told her I hadn’t tried them since being diagnosed. Being the amazing friend she is offered to eat my share of Twizzlers to protect me from harmful allergic reactions! I sincerely LOVE her as a sister! She is always looking out for me sincerely, and always makes me laugh! I have amazing friends and am thankful for them!

As I mentioned, my future FIL isn’t tech savvy. He had a memory card with pics on it and wanted to get actual prints made to be given to other people. I of course was more than happy to help him with this. I had never used one the automatic photo machines before so it was an adventure waiting to happen! Turns out they are fairly easy to use! It took us a good 15 minutes to go through all the screens and choose the options he wanted. After you make all your choices, the machine spits out a receipt with 2 barcodes on it. You wait 7 minutes for processing time, and then scan the first bar code. You wait another few seconds and your prints are done. Then you have to take the prints and the receipt to the checkout register in the electronics department. The sales associate scans the 2nd bar code, you pay, get the envelope for your prints and you’re on your way!! The only adventurous part of this portion of my day was using this machine for the first time not knowing what to expect or what to do…and trying to explain to my future FIL what the various choices were and having him change his mind a few times and trying to figure out how to go back to change options without losing what you’ve already done! He was please with his prints and all he needed was me and $9 to get them done!

What better way to end and epic day other than going to Nifty Fifty’s for some GREAT oldies tunes and delicious food! Did you ever have one of those days where the radio was playing all your favorite tunes and it just lifts your mood exponentially?! I had that happen at the restaurant today! The waitress, Rose, was up-beat and pleasant which always makes it nicer too. Nifty Fiftys is known for their exotic flavors of soda & milkshakes. They have several different flavors and you can mix & match as you please. I want to try as many possible combinations as I can while I’m stuck here in Filthadelphia! Today’s choice was Cherry Mountain Dew. It was super yummy!

As a side note: While enjoying the perky oldies tunes at my favorite restaurant, I was briefly motivated to come back to my apartment and exercise. Don’t panic, I came home, took a nap and feel much better now. It was indeed a fleeting moment…

In honor of the up-coming Irish Holiday, I leave you with one of my favorite Irish Blessings:

 

Another Whirlwind Adventure…

Today I got to spend some quality time with my future  FIL. It’s something we don’t get to do all that often. He thoroughly enjoys hanging out with me since he never had a daughter of his own. It’s ALWAYS an adventure, no matter where we go or what we do!!

These random adventures always start out with the same thing: a simple game plan to do just 2 or 3 seemingly easy tasks. Then I leave my apartment, and this is where the adventure part makes a surprise visit!

First Task:

Pick up something at the docs office & get blood work

Adventure:

My regular phlebotomist ended up being out sick today. I left before even being registered. It’ll wait til Monday. Doc’s office was closed so my future FIL didn’t get what he needed either. Should’ve known this would set the tone for the entire day.

Second Task:

Find a new cell phone case.

Adventure:

Now’s be a great time to grab a drink & a snack. This is going to take awhile. My current cell case came from Five or Below, so we went there. I totally thought that with all the random cases they carry I’d be good to go. Walk in, get the case, pay for it, bing bang boom we’re done. Yeah, wasn’t happening….at all. I tried fitting my cell into almost every case they had there (some were clearly too small so skipped those for obvious reasons). Couldn’t find one to fit my phone. All the cases were too tight and when I’d try to squeeze my phone into them (thinking that possibly with wear and tear it may stretch slightly) the case would inevitably unlock my keys which is never a good thing.

Now this is the point where I can save you a little bit of time and eyestrain. It pretty much went this way in every store we ended up going to.

As I said, we started out at Five or Below. From there we ended up at WalMart, Office Max, Rite Aid, Best Buy, and Pep Boys (yeah I know I’ll explain in a minute…)

We get out of Walmart and my future FIL checks the clock on the car stereo. I kind of get the feeling something is up. We continue on our journey and he checked the clock a few more times along the way. Finally around 11 AM his master plan was revealed to me. He had been stretching things out and going to extra stores because he wanted to take me to Nifty Fifty’s. He knows I LOVE to go there and very rarely get the chance. The fact that my love of retro diner-style atmosphere allows him to satisfy his love of greasy diner-style cheeseburgers and milkshakes is just an added bonus for him! Luckily for both of us we don’t get to do this very often or our cardiologists would be really upset!!

Before I get to the Nifty Fifty’s, I need to explain the whole Pep Boys deal. I was pretty done with looking for a cell phone case in brick-and-mortar stores. My future FIL had to go into Pep Boys to look for something he needed. I was exhausted by this time so waited in his car while he went in the store. I’m listening to the B101 on the radio, and I’m looking around and I notice something that just doesn’t look right. I’m looking at it for a few seconds to make sure I’m seeing what I’m seeing. It was so odd that I took a picture of it to prove that it really was there. Here’s the pic:

Yes, folks! This is an SUV with a pair of mens jeans hanging off the side view mirror!! I have no idea what was going on here and honestly….I don’t think I want to find out!!

 

 

 

 

 

So after the whole pants SUV scene, we go to Nifty Fifty’s and our waiter approaches the table. Now all the waitresses there wear name tags on their shirts, and all waiters there wear wedge caps made of paper with their names written on them. Our waiter approaches the table and my future FIL asks him his name, totally not noticing the paper hat!! With his meal he orders an EXTRA THICK milkshake. Our waiter brings it and we can’t pour it into his glass it’s so thick. He asked the waiter to thin it out for him a little. The waiter explained that the extra thick milkshakes are just straight ice cream with no milk which is put into the blender and whipped until it’s smooth and creamy. Basically it’s like having dessert and dinner all at the same time, and it HAS to be eaten with a spoon. Ain’t no way a straw is gonna work with this.

We get back to my apartment and I’m exhausted. I ended up napping on the couch for 3 hours to recover from this epic day out.

Then tonight happens! Task: Get together with my neighbors and play some simple hands of UNO!

Adventure:

Playing UNO & board games is a usual wintertime activity for my 2 neighbors and I to do to pass the time and fight off the winter blahs. Admittedly we haven’t played UNO since last winter. As it turns out, getting back into the groove was harder than expected!!

First we couldn’t keep track of who dealt last. Second we couldn’t keep track of whose turn it was, and then throw the reverse cards into the mix and we were all messed up! Funny part about that is…we have a small laminated arrow that shows which direction the play is currently going….and we STILL couldn’t keep track.

Meanwhile, during this UNO fiasco, a very close friend of mine was going on a first date with a new guy. She had texted me to tell me she had a great time and I was trying to answer her text and play a really bad game of UNO at the same time. Yeah, didn’t work out at all. My poor friend had to wait til I got back to my own apartment to get a reply.

So here I am, happy and very tired after a whirlwind adventure that spanned most of the day! Tomorrow is my weekly oxygen delivery & dinner/movie with my future SIL! I feel another possible blog coming on, and definitely at the very least a movie/restaurant review!

Take care everyone!! ❤