Trying Again

Computers are funny.  You can enter information ten or twenty times and achieve no result.  Then, there is that miraculous time that you do something, you probably can't remember exactly what it was but, whatever you did worked and you got the result you were looking for.

I'm trying again.  Believe me, it is not you.  Computers are funny that way.

2 Projects Today or, Was That 3?

Gosh.  I have been so busy with trying to wrap up the summer projects around the home that I feel as though I have created a huge mess that is going to require me to dedicate a week or two to complete.

Assuming you read my last blog, you will understand why I would list teething biscuits as a major achievement.  It's been over twenty years since I had babies that were teething and though I recall giving my children zweiback to munch on during that miserable time, I am not inclined to make it from scratch now.

I was thrilled that my granddaughter thoroughly enjoyed the Nosh Baby Munchable Teethers.  Though they aren't a product of the USA, it was worth it to see a smile on that precious face.

My other big accomplishment had very little to do with me. The Clarke's Heavenly Blue morning glory that I planted early in the summer finally bloomed. It's beautiful!

I needed to kick Cat Prince off of the construction job today and he wasn't so thrilled.  Normally, he helps with everything but, this job wasn't safe for him. You can see his disgusted look on his face.

Remember, safety first! That's not 3 project but, it is a little progress.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Taking My Own Advice

I have been partially out of service since October 21, 2017 when I became a grandmother. After nine months, I told my daughter that she needed to think about getting her life back on track.  I think the grandmother should do that too so, 9 months and four days later I'm taking steps to get my life back on track.

My becoming a grandmother should not have been a dramatic time but, my daughter experienced HELLP Syndrome after having experienced severe Preeclampsia and my granddaughter was born through emergency C-section at 28 weeks, weighing two pounds.  Some physical problems only affect the mother, while others may affect both the mother and baby. In my daughter's case, both came way too close to death.

Twenty years ago we referred to Preeclampsia as severe Toxemia. I believe differences in terminology used between generations caused my daughter's medical problem to be overlooked and ignored. That's neither here nor there because both mom and baby are healthy and were able to celebrate achieving 9 months together on earth.

From the grandmother's perspective, this scared the hoopies out of me! From the mom's perspective, experiencing HELLP syndrome commonly causes PTSD and having multiple doctor's appointments for both mom and baby sure doesn't make teething any easier.

The causes of preeclampsia and eclampia are not clearly understood. Symptoms include severe headaches, vision problems, heartburn, pain just below the ribs, nausea or vomiting, excessive weight gain, swelling of the the feet, ankles, face and hands and feeling very unwell. Whether you are male or female, a little knowledge may save a life.

There's a reason that I have been out of sorts but, I'm trying to get back on track. 

Elizabeth Eden "A Guide to Pregnancy Complications" 16 November 2006.
HowStuffWorks.com. <https://health.howstuffworks.com/pregnancy-and-parenting/pregnancy/complications/a-guide-to-pregnancy-complications-ga.htm> 25 July 2018

My Thoughts about NoKo

Yesterday morning I watched as President Trump met with Kim Jong Un.  I guess I stayed awake to see the meeting live on television out of respect for my dad who had served in the military during the Korean Conflict.

I watched footage of the summit meeting time and again throughout the day. I listened to the criticism and listened to the praise not really knowing how to feel about the historic event that had occurred.

Finally, I recalled talking with my dad about why that crazy conflict happened. To him it was simple, the people of North Korea had never known a different way of life. Praying for North Korea and may God bless America.

Ladies, Please Stop

Nice job, ladies. You needed to have Nancy Pelosi Tweet an explanation as to why women wore suffragette white to the Presidential speech last night and as a middle class female American that is fairly active politically, I needed to do some research to figure out what you were talking about.

1. ReproRights? I think this term is incredibly disrespectful to human life. It immediately makes me think of PETA's complaints of puppy mills. Please, don't be this disrespectful of my children. I consider them to be the greatest of gifts from God. You are making light of my choice and degrading them by trying to be current.
2. You missed it again, Dems. Young females didn't see the suffragette white as a political statement, they saw it as a gathering of fashion mistakes. If you were leading this “suffragette” movement, you would have taken the chance to issue fashion points from Glamour about Winter White to the female representatives.
3. Suffragette? Why are you taking us back to the 19^th century, Nancy? I think we females are pretty strong physically and emotionally and I think the generations of females before us have proven that. Stop sending mixed signals to those that haven't done their homework.
4. EqualPay, PaidLeave and more. You said it, Nancy. I didn't. Not once did you ask my opinion on equal pay nor paid leave. As a female, I think “EqualPay” and “PaidLeave” are debatable subjects and in my personal conversations with men, they generally add to my rebuttal. As for the “and more” part of your Tweet, it reminds me of my fourth grade teacher telling me not to use the word etcetera because it means you can't think of anything else. You probably couldn't but, in this case the list is long and you ignored all of the constituents that are out there recognizing concerns such as: undocumented immigrants, disability rights, veterans that experience PTSD, the educational system, the availability of clean drinking water, gun violence, sexual assault, child abuse, equal rights regardless of gender, race, origin or sexuality, and so much more than anybody could ever express through a 140 character social media platform.

Please stop trying to be with the cool kids. I dare say that I speak for others that belong to my middle class demographic when I say, we don't like hypocrites.

A Thought About the Trump Administration

It's the hometown spirit. The fighting spirit that we are taught at a young age. The team spirit that is encouraged when we participate in sports. I am a Steelers fan and my friend cheers for the Giants. We have spirited conversations about our teams.

During the presidential election I had many spirited conversations with friends and family. While some of my friends were cheering for their Democratic candidate during the election, other friends were cheering for their Libertarian candidate while others felt their Republican candidate was the better choice. They rallied and gathered together and cheered. The election process was exciting!

Today, we're all watching the new President of the United States quite closely. Possibly more closely than we have ever done before. As I was listening to a radio broadcast tonight, it occurred to me that maybe the Trump administration just wants us to have that fighting spirit to help him make America great again.

Let's face it. It took all of us to create the problems we're dealing with and it is going to take all of us to work our way out of them. We have a lot of work ahead of us and joining together with our patriotic spirit could help us achieve our goals faster.

My thanks to the Weightman family 

for sharing this photo of 

 Hometown Hero,

Alfred T. Jeffries

God bless America

Tough Ruckers Are Training For The Boston Marathon

I guess you're like I was and don't know what a Tough Rucker is. I thought you may like to read how I learned about these amazing people.

I met Eddie through a friend of mine. Since I had lived in New Hampshire, I couldn't help but to notice that he lives in Massachusetts. We chatted things up a bit and I laughed about my being forbidden to visit some areas of Massachusetts when I was a young adult. Fortunately, Eddie doesn't live in one of those areas so, we continued our friendship.

While we were chatting online, Eddie told me that he was preparing to participate in the Boston Marathon with Tough Ruck. This brought back a ton of memories for me. Being in Georgia meant that I had watched for the marathon results but, I have been removed from the area and I had forgotten about the excitement associated with this iconic race. I shared some of my behind the scene marathon experiences with Eddie and he didn't waver once when I threw questions at him about his training for the marathon. It's probably difficult for you to imagine how excited I am to have met a Boston Marathon participant that is in training!

In Eddie's case, he isn't going to run the race but instead he will march the 26.2 mile course with the Tough Ruckers while carrying a 35 pound Ruck Sack. The Tough Ruckers are a group of military and civilians who will Ruck in honor and memory of a fallen service member, while raising funds to support the surviving families.

I find the dedication of the group to be breathtaking and I have immense pride to know one of the people that is willing to devote their time and effort to support the families of one of our fallen which not only includes Military but also Police, Firefighters and EMTs.

Here's where Eddie runs into a problem. He made a modest post on facebook about being on the Redneck Ruckers' fundraising team but, he has too much pride to ask people for donations even though he is raising the money to support others! I am not too proud to ask you to donate. Please give what you can to the Tough Ruck Redneck Ruckers' campaign to help support the families of our fallen heroes.

Tough Ruck is operated through the Military Friends Foundation.

MFF is a 501c3 dedicated to serving Massachusetts. Donations made are tax deductible.

Tough Ruck Redneck Ruckers