Monthly Milestones - July

Another Monthly Milestone post means summer is coming to an end. I'm dreading the snow already. It's been a crappy summer with my knee being all banged up but all I can do is keep on working on it and be very careful.

I had a few things I wanted to accomplish in July. It never happened. No cleaning out the garage or anything like that took place. I'm having enough trouble keeping up with my laundry. I also didn't sign up for a class. I have no money. I'm going to lose my spot in the program if I don't register for school this semester.  I really don't want to lose the progress I've made on my degree but I'm still trying to pay off the heat bill left over from the winter. I really need a class to keep me occupied in the evenings, especially right after Heidi leaves for school which will be the beginning of September. It was an emotional, difficult miserable month. I know I'm supposed to be looking at the positives but I don't see them right now.

What are my goals for August? I don't know? I'm sitting here thinking of the things I want to accomplish and I just want to stay in bed and do nothing. I have my business trip at the end of the month which I'm nervous about because my knee still hurts when I work out. My daughter leaves for college while I'm gone and then I wont see her until either Thanksgiving or Christmas. I don't want to cry as much as I have been lately. It has kind of been a daily thing for me so I guess that's my goal for August, to stop crying so much over nothing.


Maybe I should make a daily list. Nothing major, even if it's just one item I want to accomplish. (Is that still considered a list?) Then when I complete that task or tasks on that list or non-list I will feel a sense of accomplishment and not the miserable loser that I feel like today. I am also going to make sure I work out every day... I'm calling that "Operation Metallica" because I want to be able to stand for the entire Metallica concert at my conference unlike the Stevie Wonder concert at last years conference.


In a sense, I guess I did end up with some goals for August, which will include a trip to the doctor to help me get a handle on whatever is going on with me. My outlet for all things miserable is this blog so don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.

Three Very Special Children

I have had the fortune to follow the journey of a very special 5yr old boy who was diagnosed with a Wilms' tumor on his kidney. He had his kidney removed and went through months of chemo. I know this boy's dad professionally. It was tough reading through every Caring Bridge update knowing he and his family were facing this tragedy. Well, I was given the opportunity to meet this amazing little "warrior" (as his parents called him) at his "cancer free" celebration and I was amazed. This kid did NOT have an ounce of brat in him. I watched him play. He included the other kids and shared with them. When adults spoke to him he smiled and gave them his attention. He was still a 5yr old that would rather be playing than talking to a boring grown up, but he stood there smiling while I introduced myself and he nodded yes or no to questions I had asked him. The coolest thing about this sweet kid is that he is probably the biggest Star Wars fan EVER! I wanted to hug him. I wanted to hug his dad and his mom who I briefly met once about 3 years ago. I was really impressed with this skinny little bald kid (who actually did have some peach fuzz growing on his head). As I followed his journey I would be filled with sadness, amazement and shame. Shame? During the same time I was going through recovery of both a knee and back injury. I often cried and hated everyone and everything and felt like this was all going to last forever. Then my thoughts would go to this little warrior who had to endure being poked and prodded and drugged to the point of being sick and losing his motor skills. I felt so ashamed for whining about having to use crutches and not being able to leave the house due to the pain I was in. What my colleague was going through with his son is the sort of thing that puts life into perspective and makes you realize how very strong we can be.


Next I want to mention a special little 14mo. old baby. She is the niece of one of my best friends who I have known since high school. In the same week that I celebrated with the little jedi warrior, I received the terrible news of this little peanut. She’s got Neuroblastoma and her journey is just beginning. Her family is holding a benefit to raise funds for her care. There is a facebook event for those who would like to attend the benefit or learn how to help.  There is also information on how to donate by checking out Julia's Journey.  This hard working farming family is one of the kindest families I have the honor of knowing and it breaks my heart to know their sweet little daughter/niece/granddaughter is going to have to endure these surgeries and cancer treatments. My thoughts and prayers go out to Julia and her family.

Finally, I came across an amazing story because I follow Vernon’s local news on facebook,This Is Somerset. I read about a sweet little boy who is 1 of 500 in the world with a very rare disease called Lymphangiomatosis. I guess from reading up 

on it, it is very fatal and very painful. Why does it have to reach such a beautiful little boy? To raise funds for his care and raise awareness of this terrible disease, his dad is walking around the UK. YES! He’s walking around the UK! What an amazing task. You can follow the walk on their facebook page,Walk-For Lymphangiomatosis and they also have a website which includes detailed information about the walk and how to donate. He started his walk on Sunday, July 24 and is doing well. If you are in the UK, check out the map, he may end up walking through a town near you. I have never met this family, but I now think of them every day and have been keeping them in my prayers. 


I have really been touched by these three Sweethearts and their families. Please keep these children in your thoughts and prayers. If you can donate or send them encouraging words I'm sure it would be appreciated. I like to be optimistic and hopeful and feel that this is just temporary for all three of these kids and they will grow up to be incredible amazing adults who will make a difference in this world, mainly because they come from such loving parents and incredible families who live in supportive communities.

Monthly Milestones - June

Well, I have 3 more followers this month, and my goal was 2. Pretty awesome! Not only that but I have found several new blogs and connected with several other bloggers. I have been enjoying reading the various expat blogs, mommy blogs, writing blogs and even a blog about blogging. I have added twitter and facebook buttons, and tabs including a daily photo. Vernon really likes that feature. It's fun for me too.

July I have a lot to do. I want to clean out the garage and start purging my belongings. Sell, charity or toss. It is important that I get rid of as much as I can. I also want to register for fall classes, I haven't done that yet. Well, it will probably only be one class because I can't afford to take two. I really wish I could take two.

I again hope to add two more followers. I've been meeting some really cool people out here.

Monthly Milestones - May

May has been a very difficult month for me; full of pain, drugs and feeling useless and bothersome. My being forced to sit for hours on end cooped up in the house has caused me to dive deeper in this thing they call blogging. It all started over a year ago with my friend Ali’s blog. If you check it out, you will see that she is a very creative and talented photographer who has three of the cutest kids you’ve ever seen. I would visit it every so often and thought this was a clever way to keep loved ones up to date on how everyone was doing. Then my amazing friend Kim introduced me to her blog. It’s just simply about happy thoughts, crafting and friendship. It was those two that gave me the inspiration to 1. Start writing again and 2. Create a blog! So, I went out and picked up Blogging For Dummies and began to think.

My blog was going to be a rant. Simply about stuff that pisses me off. I played with a few topics and then came to the conclusion that this world is already full of negativity. I should follow in the footsteps of Ali and Kim and write of positive happy things. Then it hit me… VERNON! It can be a simple blog about us, how we manage a long distance relationship (LDR) and advice for those in an LDR. I also post about our two cultures, travel, entertainment, pop culture and anything I can think of pertaining to our relationship. It started out kind of slow, I really didn’t know what I was doing. Now, for the month of May I have reached 18 followers and just this month I have written 6 posts. I’ve been trying to think of ways to make my blog better and visiting several new blogs a week, introducing myself and making comments. I’ve managed to pick up a few followers this month and it’s so exciting!

I have a basic goal for June. I hope to have at least two more followers and I will continue to follow new blogs and introduce myself and leave lots of comments. I also thought of a really cool idea to improve my blog that I know Vernon will love, but I’m not going to spoil the surprise right now. You all will see in good time.

Practical Conversations

Vernon and I are in a long distance relationship.  Not only are we in a long distance relationship, we have been in this ldr for nearly 11 years.  Our looks have changed, our personalities have changed, our kids have grown and our conversations have evolved.  We usually chat around my lunch hour or while I'm working so there are a lot of pauses due to me multi-tasking. I often have important things to discuss with Vernon because I talk to him before making any major decisions regarding anything and when I need advice on a challenge I am facing. He is my logical thinker, he knows me better than anyone else, and I trust him completely. His input is important to me as he is very intelligent and straight forward. He is honest and I love that about him. Today we were discussing taxes, credit cards, our next 2 visits and work.

Vernon was talking about his council taxes. I had no clue what that meant so I asked.  He explained something to me that resembled city property taxes. I pay rent, always have, so I've never directly had to pay property taxes, although my rent pays the taxes for the house I live in. I found that to be interesting, it's set up a little differently over there. I'd like to know more about it but today was not the day.

We also talked about credit cards. He and I share different opinions about them, his more conservative than mine, and I didn't like what he said to me, but he was being honest. We don't have to agree on everything. I hate money, I don't have enough to pay my basic bills, I have a truck to fix and I need to see the Dr. but I have more than a lot of people so I shouldn't complain.

I really want Vern to come out with his daughter, she wants to see America and I want to show her a wonderful time here, but we just don't have the money. I suggested he send her alone, but she's still a bit young and has never traveled before. He suggested I visit early 2011. I'd love to do the Christmas trip again, but not without my girl, and we can't afford 2 adults so that would mean she would have to save her money and she wont be working that many hours. So.... I'm not sure yet.  We are also planning a trip in 2012, our friends are getting married in Bristol, UK. I'm planning this trip alone, if my daughter sticks to her plan, she'll be in Australia by then. Vernon said he doesn't want to wait until 2012 to see me, and I don't want to wait either. Right now flights are super cheap, I want to nail something down soon.

We always ask each other about work. We both have challenges that we are faced with every day, him more than me. I love my job, but it can be overwhelming at times. There are days when I can't wait until I talk to him so I can tell him how I've been kickin' butt and days when I need to talk to him because I don't think I can do this anymore... he always tells me how talented and smart I am and gets me out of those ruts. I hope I'm able to do the same for him when he's frustrated with his job.

I love these talks that we have, even though we weren't very lovey dovey, we never forget to tell the other "I love you". Couples need to have these discussions in addition to the mushy ones, I think that's what makes us a serious couple. We aren't in fantasy land and have our feet on the ground, however when we are together those 2 weeks every couple of years our feet don't really touch the ground until it's time to go home. I have to say this about him, he is very disciplined when it comes to money, and if he managed mine I'd probably be in a better situation. When we were wrapping up our conversation he said to me, "I'll let you know when I win the lottery" and I replied, "Me too". That would be sweet wouldn't it?