Hey Blog-Fam!

Just a quick update to say I'm still alive! I've been a sick puppy for the last week. Ugh...I'm one of those people who's almost never sick. I rarely get colds or the flu, but this "sick" season I've had the flu, and now am just getting over a nasty case of bronchitis. Other than when I had femur surgery and had to take prophylactic antibiotics, I had not had to take any in a DECADE!! I'm totally against the over-prescribing of them, as they destroy all the good flora in your digestive system, but I was sick enough that when he handed me a Z-Pack, I took it without argument. I'm taking pro-biotics and eating yogurt to try and counteract the negative effects. Chobani Greek yogurt is good, and I bought it because it was on sale, but seriously, I like my homemade "greek" yogurt SO MUCH better, and it's like HALF the price! I take a big tub of "El Cheapo" brand plain yogurt and dump it into a fine sieve lined with 3 or 4 paper towels, and put the sieve over a pot it just fits into.

Place a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface of the yogurt, and then stick it in the fridge overnight. In the morning the pot under the sieve will be filled with whey (the liquid from the yogurt.) Don't toss this, it's pure protein and fabulous for replacing liquid in smoothies. The yogurt you'll be left with in the sieve will be thick and custard-like...much more so than Greek yogurt.

It's AMAZING, and ready to be flavored however you like. My favorite is just a little cinnamon and a pack of Splenda. Yum!

Anyway, once I'm fully recovered I'll get back in the swing of blogging. Hope you are all doing fabulously!

Hugs!
Michele

Mama Says...

As some of you know, I work for a student vacation rental company here in North Myrtle Beach. We're one of a very few companies that rent beach houses and condo's to college spring breakers, and even high school students, with no chaperones...every week during high school graduation season, our company houses between 1500-2000 graduating high school seniors. Can you say insanity?

It's an incredible blessing to have a job in this economy, and even more so considering I work with some awesome people, and get to interact with our future leaders (be afraid... JUST KIDDING!)
Anyway, working in an environment such as this makes for LOADS of "What the heck?" moments and stories so out there you know you'll be sharing them for the rest of your life.
Here's an example -- totally true: During the warm months, turnaround in beach houses is quick. Those housekeepers go in after the kids check out at 10am, and get down & dirty cleaning...then at 3pm, the next group arrives to check in.
So like every other time, the housekeepers enter one of the most popular beachfront houses the company has, and are stunned to see every wall and available space covered in graffiti done with Sharpie markers. I'm not talking about "Bobby & Sue 2-gether, 4-ever" But really GRAPHIC, jaw-dropping stuff. So the housekeepers, who've pretty much seen it all, got some KILZ and did a quickie paint job (but not before snapping photos for evidence of the dirty deed) and the next group checked in to a house with damp paint still on the walls. When the parents of the little angels received the bill for damages, they called our offices, indignant, informing us that their fine, upstanding offspring would never do such a thing...and then we sent them the photographs, many of which had specific names of their kids stating what they'd done to whom while at the beach...(use your imagination! LOL) -- They paid the bill without any further argument.

And here's another: We check in a group of kids, and within a few minutes they're back in the office, looking upset. "It reeks in there" one of them says. They all nod their heads in agreement. That's strange...the housekeepers have it checked off as having been cleaned right after the last check-out...but hmmm...that was a few days ago, this group is just here for a partial week. We send someone over to check it out, and sure enough, it reeks! So thankfully there's another appropriately sized house to move the kids into. Then the housekeepers head over to re-clean. They really go at that house, and with plenty of bleach. They freshen every drain and scrub everything they can think of, and by the time they leave, all they can smell is bleach, so they close up the house and check it off as "clean." We don't give it another thought until the next week of check-ins, and this time the group comes back telling us it smells like a dead body is in the place! Uh-oh...
So somethings obviously going on, and we have to get to the bottom of it, so a crew of employees go over and enter the house. Thank the Lord I was not there, because apparently it was like being hit in the face with a sledgehammer full of stink. (According to my husband.) They began sniffing, trying to locate the source...not an easy task when you're nauseous and about to be sick from the smell...but finally one guy says, "Hey! It's coming from this picture!" It was a framed print, hanging on the wall. They peeked behind it and lo & behold, there was a hole in the wall! I'll cut to the chase; after much ripping away of walls, beams, etc... they found the carcass of a store-bought chicken. The last actual inhabitants had thought it would be hysterical to buy a raw chicken and hide it in the house. --Can you tell I'm not laughing? OK, actually, I am since it's ancient history...funny how things can get funnier the farther in the past they are. :)

Finally, there's this...and I've saved one of the very best for last! :) This happened several years ago, but has become a part of our company to the extent that it's posted on our website to this day. A kid left a wallet behind that the housekeepers turned in, and as per usual, one of the employees looks for identification in it so it can hopefully be returned to its owner. Inside was something so much better than an ID - it was a laminated card with the following printed on it:

Where I Live...

I'm busy working and on top of it I have a sore throat and body aches, so I went and sunned myself on the beach today for about 45 minutes hoping it would make me feel better. It did a little, but I still feel kinda yuck and don't feel like writing much...so I thought I'd share some photos of where I live -- North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina:

Here's a marsh view at sunset:

A very common site around town, sometimes seems there are as many golf carts as there are cars:

This is our Main St. in North Myrtle:

I love our wide, beautiful beaches here:

The beautiful and well-traveled Intracoastal Waterway:

The North Myrtle Beach Marina:

Some of the gorgeous houses on Ocean Blvd. -- I could probably fit my house into one of these 4 times! haha!

Hope you enjoyed looking at my little beach town! ♥

~Day 9 of Challenge~

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Of course it's God, but I'm fresh out of recent photos of Him. Then there's this guy:

I took this picture while sitting on my handcycle on an unfinished wooded path Saturday...looking up at him being funny. He's awesome, but I've blogged so much about him that you probably already know that!
We broke out the bikes for our first real ride of the season this past weekend. It was fabulous! The temps were in the low 80's with lots of sunshine. The wind was pretty harsh at times, but that just makes it all the more challenging and fulfilling when you're finished.

We had such a great time! We go riding usually at the marina by a hotel called the Grand Dunes. They've installed miles of gorgeous bike trails with a perfect mixture of sand, sun, trees, and water all along the way. Before we left I packed a lunch for us consisting of fresh D'Anjou pears, raw almonds (which I ADORE and could probably live on!) and a little bit of mozzarella cheese. We did about 5 miles and then saw a new road being carved through the woods, so we went "off-road" and found a sun-dappled spot to eat. Whenever we picnic outdoors, I get a kick out of knowing that if I leave a few nuts and my fruit core behind, it's a meal for some cute critter. I'm just a dork that way. haha! After we ate, we rode about 3 miles more. We would have done more, but the wind seemed to always be in front of us...except for once, which was an amazing stretch that felt like FLYING!
But for our first ride of Spring, 8 miles felt pretty good. I'm so thankful for my handcycle. It was a Christmas gift about 4 years ago from my Dad. He knew that I was trying to get healthy and bought it for me, and now he gets a kick out of how often I use it...and of course knowing that I'm 50 pounds smaller than I was when he bought it for me. He says it was one of his greatest investments to see the smile on my face! I ♥ my Dad...we have LOTS of history - with him having had to struggle through trying to raise me by himself, but it seems people really do mellow with time, because he now says "Love you" at the end of our phone calls, and I actually believe he means it. ♥
Here's a pic of me and my Dad from last Thanksgiving:


So, this post began with God - He's number 1. Then onto my husband, who has been my rock, my wings, my best friend... and of course I don't want to leave my son out of this, because he has been the reason I've kept on keeping on for so long.

Here are a couple of pictures of my son, Nathan (or NayNay as I have called him since he was little):

Dangerous Curves Ahead!

"Imperfection is beauty; madness is genius; and it is better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." ~Marilyn Monroe

According to Size USA, the "average" measurements for American women today are 40 inches in the bust, 34 inches in the waist and 43 inches in the hips.
Also, the National Center for Health Statistics puts the average height for an adult female in the United States at 5'3.8"

Since I'm in my mid-40's, have had a child, and have been sitting in a wheelchair for 24 years, I bless the Lord above that my numbers are a little lower than the "average" as far as measurements are concerned, but then again, I'm shorter than "average" too, at a whopping 5'1" tall! haha!
Disability aside, I struggle with keeping a positive body image just like so many other women, but I daily try to accept myself and focus on the things I like about my looks and figure, while maintaining a healthy and active way of life and striving for better (in all areas of my life.)
Unfortunately there will always be someone [or something] that comes along and holds up a magnifying mirror to your flaws. What I'm wondering [aloud] here is why some people point out perceived flaws in others without seeming to feel bad in the least about it? I mean, I feel guilty if I even think a bad thought about someone's appearance.
I'm going to use a recent example of this, more than anything as a springboard for trying to understand this sort of thing. If you're the person I'm referring to, I'm not angry at you, just wondering what motivates some to say things without thinking of the way it makes others feel.
Maybe I'm being naive, but I think most women like to build up their friends, and point out the good they see in them, right?
I was talking with someone the other day who I met way back when I was 19 years old. We didn't stay in touch, but in the last 2 years, thanks to Facebook, we've reconnected. One of the things she seems to bring up over and over and over now, 25 years later, is how skinny I was back then, and how she cannot believe that I'm no longer skinny.

Why?

I had put up a photo on facebook of my mangled thigh right after surgery, and the comment she made had nothing to do with the injury or surgery, but instead was that she could not believe how big my thighs were now! What the heck? I'm a healthy W-O-M-A-N -- not a drug addicted 19 year old. Why is the latter considered somehow better than being a healthy adult with, pardon my bluntness, boobs and hips? Other than the fact that my body happens to have a spinal cord injury, I kinda like it and I think it's pretty decent, all things considering. Do I want to lose a few pounds? Sure...but just a few (less than 20, more than 10 haha!) But in the meantime, I'll be darned if I'll put my life on hold. What matters to me more than unsolicited opinions are the numbers presented to me at the doctors office. Perfect blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol levels, glucose readings, etc... I'm so thankful that I've reached this place considering that in 2006 my weight had ballooned up to almost 200 pounds and I had high EVERYTHING at the doctors office.

Anyway, I guess if there's a message here in my rambling, it's 'think' before speaking. Put yourself on the receiving end of your words, and proceed with caution.
"Being considerate of others will take you further in life than a college degree."
~MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN

Back In The Saddle

As of March 15th it's been a full year since my femur injury, and I was just released from my surgeon to "go wild" -- him having declared of my once shattered thigh bone, "that's solid." I ♥ my surgeon...he did an amazing job and really gave his all despite me being "one of those" patients that he probably made little, if any, profit from. Now if we can just get me sitting straight in a better suited wheelchair, I'll be rip-roaring ready to go, but because (as anyone who knows me IRL will vouch to) I'm slightly hyperactive, while I hope and pray for my new chair, rather than letting too much time pass by, I'm going to go ahead and jump back into life with both wheels (or I guess that would be 4 wheels?) This means that April 14th - 16th I'll be competing in the bench press competition at the 2011 Southeastern Regional Wheelchair Games, and then on April 17th I'll be handcycling 11 miles in the 19th Annual Coastal Carolina University Triathlon. It's a team triathlon, where one of my friends will do a 300 yard swim, then I do 11 miles of cycling, and finally, another friend does the 5k run.
I adore the warm weather and all the fun opportunities it brings. I always say I'd rather have sweat pouring off of me than feel the slightest chill... my son is the complete opposite and dreams of one day escaping the Deep South for somewhere with snow and hats and mittens. Crazy kid!
So it's been back to the gym full force. I must admit, I was a wimp and was doing good if I made it to the gym twice a week in January and February -- did I say how much I dislike the cold...even if it's South Carolina "cold"...? I only teetered up about 4 pounds though, over the entire holiday/winter season, so I guess it could have been worse, no?
Good news is that I'm already back up to 3 sets of 7 with 150 pounds on the bench press machine. Sounds impressive, but 150 pounds is a lot easier to bench press on a machine than it is with a free weight bar...trust me!! Especially when you have balance issues, like most people with spinal cord injuries do...although most of my friends would testify that I'd be "unbalanced" even if I were able-bodied...but only "good" crazy, right? RIGHT? *looks around suspiciously*
Anyway, wish me luck as I jump back into sports & athletics, femur healed, *hopefully* a new wheelchair in the near future to help me sit right, and a fresh new outlook that the spring breeze blew into my soul. :)

~Day 8 of Challenge~

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.

So yeah, it's a terrible quality picture, but it still makes me laugh every time I see it. It's of two of my very best friends in the world...Kat, and my dear husband, Doug (or Dougy-Poo, Chesty, et. al.) -- This was at the end of last summer, before Kat's belly-button timer popped and 10-pound Braden entered the world... Kat and her other 3 kids had stopped by my house, and my husband and Kat decided to compare "pregnant" tummy's. Who's do you think looked bigger? Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I think my husband's may have actually been a food baby!
Obviously the belly comparison makes me laugh, but I also always end up laughing at this picture because in Kat's hand is her dog's collar (he was visiting, too!) but the way she's holding it up to be out of the way of her tummy, it looks like a tambourine, and since her eyes are half-closed in the pic, she comes across as a hippie chick shaking her tambourine and really digging the grooviness of the moment! Hahaha! You know I ♥ you, Kat! And seriously folks, she is GORGEOUS...this is a bad pic...so I want to share one where her (outer as well as inner) beauty is captured, too!


Anyway, Kat is such a great friend! For my birthday this past February 12th (which is also HER birthday) she gave me a handmade (by her) purse and matching kindle cover (the kindle was a gift from my dear sister (Hi Diane!).
Here they are:



You can check out more of her awesome stuff on facebook here: "Kat's Out o'the Bag"

~Day 7 of Challenge~

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.

Although I generally don't think we should lay up our treasures here on earth, I do cherish my wedding rings. The stories of where my husband and I came from would seem, to even me, one of those things that you see in a movie and think, 'hmph, that would never really happen, it's just too over the top' -- but nevertheless, it is what it is...and God still managed to turn so much bad into so much good.


HORACE & BONNIE

When my husband, Doug, was 4, he had two brothers, ages 9 and 11, named Jeffrey and Kenneth.

JEFFREY


KENNETH

Their mom and dad, Bonnie and Horace, were said to be incredibly in love. Bonnie was a person that would catch a bug in her house and release it outside rather than kill it...and Horace was the guy that everyone seemed to know and love. That same year, Bonnie died from cancer, and Horace was left with three boys to raise by himself until he met Peggy, and they married and had a little girl together, named Kathleen.


PEGGY


KATHLEEN

Sadly, when my husband was 6, Peggy was taking the boys to school and had Kathleen with them when there was a horrible car accident that killed everyone but my husband. Soon after that, his dad, Horace, had a massive heart attack and died.

See...? I told you it was so out there that it seems unbelievable. When Doug and I were first getting into a serious relationship, I actually had a moment where I questioned the truth of such an outrageously sad story.

So at 6, my husband was orphaned, not only losing his parents, but all of his siblings. But God was watching over him still, and his dad's brother and wife, who had a son and a daughter, took him home and called him their own. His "mom" (his Aunt Gail) put away his mom's wedding rings so that one day he would be able to give them to the woman he'd marry if he chose to, and he did, and those are the rings I wear to this day. I've actually had people ask me if I don't wonder about the rings being bad luck or something silly, but I don't look at them as cursed, but instead as blessed. They were given and worn in the presence of great love back then, and now still. I just hope that his mom, up in heaven, is happy with who Doug chose to give her rings to. ♥

~Day 6 of Challenge~

"Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all." ~William Goldman (screenwriter for The Princess Bride)


Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

PRINCESS BUTTERCUP


Okay, so no one said it had to be a real person, and I'm a hopeless romantic who has watched "The Princess Bride" so many times I could probably recite most of the movie.

My hubby's cell phone ring for when I'm calling is a recording of me saying, "Farmboy, fetch that pitcher" -- in my best British accent, of course! (If this makes no sense to you, just go watch the movie, you'll love it!) Likewise, he'll often reply to things I say, "As you wish." *swoon*

Anyway, since I've loved this movie for 20+ years, I've come across some others just as crazy about it as myself, some even crazier...and a few with some awesome input about this seemingly simple little fairytale. I want to share with you this amazing list of 10 Life Lessons from The Princess Bride:

1. It's possible, with the right strategy, to best a giant.

2. Outsmarting the one who thinks he is smartest of all is not inconceivable. Pride creates vulnerability.

3. Don't believe everything you hear. It appears people can actually survive the fire-swamp.

4. The obvious bad guy isn't always the bad guy, but a reputation can be bigger than reality.

5. Reciting your name and life's purpose with passion to everyone you meet can gain you the resources you need to reach your goal. Plus win you a few lifelong friends along the way.

6. Good fighting is as much about style as it is about skill. Add style to your skills because style is more fun to watch.

7. The six fingered man was wicked then and he's wicked now. Pay attention to track records they tell a true story.

8. There is such a thing as true love if you are willing to fight to the death for it.

9. Having a great gift for rhyme can bring levity during a difficult time... I mean it. Anybody want a peanut? A sense of humor is priceless.

10. Fairy tales are a great reminder that happy endings are possible if you believe in them. We sacrifice for those things we believe in.

Blogging Buddies

~Tonight I'm taking a short break from my '30 Day Challenge' posts because I want to share a few great sites with you. I've encountered some really wonderful people through blogging that I want to highlight here...so if you've got a few minutes and would enjoy browsing through some FABULOUS blogs, here they are:


A Perfect Dose of Life -- Kristina is one of those people you just like from the word 'go' -- plus, how can you pass up checking out a recipe called "Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Spicy Mustard Sauce" -- seriously, my husband began salivating at the mere mention of it! LOL BUT, there's one condition...if you make this recipe, you have to promise to include the chopped pickles and onions, Kristina said it really makes the dish! :)

Food Floozie -- Seriously, how could you not visit a blog named "Food Floozie"?? Mary is a fabulous friend to many, including me, and an A-MAZ-ING cook, whom I happen to think needs to be right up there with Martha Stewart and The Barefoot Contessa, only Mary is much more entertaining...imagine Barefoot Contessa and Erma Bombeck had a baby...that would be Food Floozie! If you make her "Chocolate Shortbread Cookies" please send a couple in the mail to me! :)

I Made It Through The Rain -- This is a journaling blog by Karen, who was my first (and best) blog friend! I love her "Wordless Wednesday" post pictures...they always bring a smile into my day.

Rise Above Your Limits
-- Becky Jane really blew my mind when she saw me (a stranger out here in blogger land) with my current need for a new wheelchair and no insurance coverage, and took it upon herself to post a blog about my need, and ask for people to consider helping me out. Because of her, I'm on my way to being able to get my new chair. Best of all, I've made a great new friend. I love this post she had back in February about loving ourselves just the way we are: "Tuesday Tutorial - Love Yourself"


I hope you've enjoyed these few of my favorites. I'm going to try to feature 4 favorites once a week. There're so many great bloggers out there!