I must admit, I haven't really been loving life lately. I mean, I do love my life, but I've been feeling a little restless. It's time for a change, and it just isn't going to happen without getting out of this funk! It's Friday, and I'll be without my baby girl this weekend, getting some much needed me time. So, it's about time I snap out of it. Therefore, I'm reflecting on what I've been loving lately.
For starters, I LOVE sleeping diagonally across the bed.
I love not being expected to cook every night
Baby Bear finds cereal to be perfectly acceptable for dinner and I second that notion!
THIS shirt
Just thinking about this next one made me laugh out loud.
There's been lots of laughing these days, and for that, I'm truly grateful to everyone that contributes to making me smile and laugh daily.
Silly times with my one and only
Thanks to my sis in law, this company
If you need a good laugh, you must go see The Duff. I went with the girls earlier this week and the laughter was non stop.
My Essential oils
If you would like to learn more on how these can help you, please contact me, or visit my website.
And of course, dreaming of summer. Who else is over this cold business?
I'm really looking forward to a social weekend, it feels good to be able to plan things and be on the go again!
Although 2015 has started with a deeply broken heart, with no answers, and no explanations. I will not let it set the tone for my
year. I'm just starting a new chapter in my life! I have a feeling only
greatness will come from all of this for me and Baby Bear. Sure, it may be tough, and the road ahead is uncertain. We're strong girls, and as long as we have each other, that's all that really matters.
I have learned some valuable lessons this year. I'm sure these lessons will be posted eventually, just not today. This year I'm going to focus on what makes us
happy, my baby girl and me. We're going to enjoy the little things in
life more, we're going to get out more and enjoy the great
outdoors and be more active, like we used to be.
On a side note I have not taken any of my RA medication in two months and have not
been in a tremendous amount of pain, and no flare ups. I have my appointment later this month and cannot wait to
see my results. Fingers crossed all is well, because I feel well. Maybe
even hoping for remission?
This year
will be a complete adventure for sure, and I hope to have you all along
for the bumpy ride to come.
I haven't updated this little space of mine in quite some time! My goodness. We had a GREAT summer, and have officially got into the back to school groove. So let's play some catch up.
I left the only industry I had ever known, and entered into some untreaded waters at the very beginning of the summer. This company had everything I was looking for in a company, it just wasn't exactly the industry I imagined it would be. I had high expectations for a company I wanted to be a part of, and this one has not disappointed in the least. So, I can easily say that I have never been more happy to not be in the energy sector and oil and gas. Not to mention, it is practically in my backyard and I could easily walk if I really wanted to. I love my department, my boss, and the higher ups. We work hard, and we play hard. I love the fast pace, constant change, and challenges it all entails.
We had a GREAT summer! Much fun in the sun was had, and if you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen many pics from Baby Bears' swim lessons. They were a rocky start because of the instructor, but we switched instructors and she rocked those classes! We are so proud of her.
Speaking of Baby Bear, this girl has been dropping teeth like nobody's business! She has NO teeth! She gave up on an ice cream cone and ate it with a spoon! I think we may need to setup a gofundme account if she keeps losing them at this rate. That tooth fairy must be exhausted!
I honestly haven't been around much because I have NO time. I won't have a life again until the beginning of 2016 (and there better be a killer welcome back party)Yes, I'm still throwing my hands up in the air sighing in disgust. There's so much I want to pour my heart and soul into, and I just can't right now. Damn you responsibilities.
On that note, school has been kicking some major butt. All I have to say right now is eff you statistics! These last 5 weeks have been torture and hell. BUT I got a 93 on my final, so I guess it was worth it, but I couldn't have done it without a little help from my friend. She taught me, and taught me well. Will I remember a month from now? Probably not. Oh well, on to the next one, and the one after that, and that trend will keep on until 2016. Yay.
Baby Bear is in her first year of cheer and absolutely loves it. She only begged to do it for years, so I finally caved. We won't mention that she wanted to quit right after the first practice.
I also got back into fostering in March, and I love it. They get to find amazing homes with people who love them and want them, and that's what matters. We had a pup come in that we were only supposed to keep 3 or 4 days, who has become a permanent member of our family, and we just love her!
I honestly cannot believe it has been 2 years since I have gone through the most gut wrenching experience of my life. It feels like it has been a lifetime, but it also feels like it was just yesterday. I don't usually get all serious here, but this happens to be one of those instances.
I still remember every word and every detail from those short 24 hours of holding on to faith and hope.
I won't be sharing every little detail
Mr A, Baby Bear, and I were all sitting in Subway eating lunch when I got the call from my Dad that my brother was in the hospital, he told me what happened leading up to him being taken to the hospital, which sounded like a stroke, but they found bleeding on his brain and he was being transported to the medical center downtown, in critical condition. We dropped everything at that very moment.
We made it to the hospital and there was a lot of waiting. We walked across the street to one of the only places open, which happened to be Chipotle and brought it back. I could hardly eat. The doctor finally made it in to speak with us and mentioned a blockage, where a clot had been removed from the back of his neck to re-establish blood flow to his brain. They said he was doing okay, and we were able to see him. I remember standing at the foot of his hospital bed as they were testing his reflexes, which were responsive, then they did the flashlight in his pupils and they dilated. The doctors were in good hopes, and we were told to go get some sleep. I went and picked up my brother's son, who was 2, and my daughter to take them to my house. I held those babies tight, tucked them in bed with lots of hugs and kisses. We were hopeful all was going to be okay. Until I got the call. The call to get the kids dropped off at school and come right away, and I did.
I got to the hospital, and was told his brain started swelling through the night, they put a tube in to relieve some pressure, but hours later as we were all around his bed, that is when the words nobody should ever have to hear came out of the doctors mouth. He said they have done everything they could possibly do. He then went through the motions of explaining their findings, how much in shock and disbelief they were that a 33 year old would have these symptoms. He was pronounced brain dead. I remember them doing the flashlight test again with his pupils, and there was nothing. It was a blur, but yet remember every detail, including the woman hacking and puking behind us, while we tried not to laugh. And the doctors that kept saying there had to be some underlying cause they just could not see. An underlying cause. I threw myself over my brother's warm body and sobbed. I have never been so shattered and heartbroken in my entire life. I was at the hospital all afternoon. Forced into lunch at Chipotle again. So many people showed up, and I was grateful that we all had the support. I don't remember the drive home. I pretty much cried all the way to Baby Bear's school, and in the parking lot before pulling myself together to go in and get her. I bawled in the driver seat as she sat in the backseat because I knew just as much as I was broken at the time, I was going to have to break her too. We did everything together. His son and my daughter were being raised almost like brother and sister. She still cries, and misses her Uncle to this day.
The next days and weeks were just a blur. Everything happened so fast, but it was slow motion at the same time. People came and went, and then there was the silence. The stillness. It all sank in. That is when it was real. It was almost as if his passing was not to be spoken of. Maybe it was just uncomfortable, maybe they just didn't know what to say or do. I did have my one constant that was always sending random texts asking how I was, and I appreciate that from her more than she will ever know, because when I felt my loneliest and when nobody was saying anything, she was always reaching out. It was hard for me to believe, only one person, out of so many cherished friendships.
Grief can be lonely. The world keeps on going, when all you want is for time to stand still, and that is the reality of it. I had to remain strong for my child. I had to hold it together for her, and I still do. If I lost it, so would she. That is just the kind heart and spirit that sweet girl has. I would cry in the shower, or on the way to Baby Bear's school when she couldn't see me from the back seat.
The first year was the hardest. I always wanted to pick up the phone and call him about something that just happened, or to just chat like we did daily. Then of course you realize you can't. Habits die hard, especially when you lose your person, your best friend. Someone who has been there since the day you were born. I can still hear his voice, and his laugh.
I still to this day do not eat Chipotle.
That first year brought me a new friendship that I cannot imagine life without now. Some days she is the only person I talk to. I was given 2 amazing co-workers that I will have lasting friendships with, who I also cherish and appreciate, even if most of the time we are laughing at my expense!
He has been with us everywhere since his passing. Baby Bear has certainly never been in any shortage of ladybug encounters since his passing. I still see him and feel him, and can hear his voice of reason. It took time to notice the little and subtle things. If anything, he has lead me to living in the moment, to really enjoy my daughter more, and most of all, he had brought Mr A into my life a couple years before he passed. It's funny how that works sometimes, isn't it? He was making sure all of us were taken care of before his passing. Not just me, but his wife and my younger brother too. I do believe in God, and I do believe in a higher power. There have been feelings and instances that I can only describe by true acts of God. In my darkest days and darkest moments, I know he is always there watching over me. The feeling of a brush across my forehead when I was going through some of the worst days and worst pain imaginable with my scleritis, looking up and nobody being there, repeatedly, to the way Little Miss Sunshine looks at me on occasion. I just cannot explain it any other way. It is a presence, you just feel it, and you know they are there.
I recently had the TV on for background noise about a month ago after my cousin's passing (which also hit our family pretty hard) and something told me I needed to watch what was on. It was Mystery Diagnosis on the Discovery Channel. (My brother's autopsy results weren't exactly conclusive) This brought some enlightenment for me. I have always been a "why" person, and it may or may not have been the case, but I think it is closer to anything else I have seen to what may have caused such an ending to his short life. Start it at 24:00 minutes in, and that is the story (ignore the subtitles).
I don't believe in coincidences, and today is the official release date for Heaven is for Real, and I will be going to see it tonight, which couldn't be more perfect timing.
There's been lots of laughing these days, and for that, I'm truly grateful to everyone that contributes to making me smile and laugh daily. 
