why is the country not "making a statement" about the spending of OUR money by the government? or the violations of the constitution by the government??? Why are the priorities so out of wack!
if we are turning off lights to make a statement it should be to say that we are doing it to SAVE money because soon we wont be able to afford the light bill because of the wasteful spending by obama!!!
lets protest the killing of innocent babies who survive abortions!! lets protest and make a statement about keeping the Dollar safe!
WAKE UP PEOPLE!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
ONE of the MANY reasons I LOVE Facebook! :D
Meet Tracy! She was one of my AWESOME Young Life leaders when I was in High School! Not only did she teach me about life and being a Christian in the kewlest and most insane ways... but she picked me up to go to YL so that I wouldn't miss out. How kewl is that? I had been googling her every now and then... and never found anything. Until recently!!!! I searched her name on Facebook and this time.....WE HAD A WINNER! It seems that she had been under high security lockdown as she WORKED IN the WHITE HOUSE! (not true... the high secutiry lockdown part.. she really did work in the white house tho! how freakin kewl!) SOOO we have gotten back in touch and she was in town for a few days and we were able to hook up for coffee before I went to work! (Oh yea did I mention I found a job? woohoo!... more backtrack updates coming soon I promise.... life is nuts!) We got to talk and kinda catch up.... I mean... 12 years leaves a LOT of catching to do! so yea... YAY for Facebook!!!
OF COURSE WE TOOK MORE THAN ONE PIC... WHEN DO I JUST TAKE ONE!?!?
Now...this i like!
Monday, March 23, 2009
You need to save money and I need to make money... :D
I have recently discovered that I actually enjoy sitting down with people and helping them figure out how to save money AND that I am pretty good at it too! I HATED math when I was in school... but I think that was because I was forced to learn it... and forced to learn math I would never use! But I guess they want you to learn it all just in case.
I think I have become good at it because I hate companies taking advantage of people. They lie and act like they are there to make things easier for you when in reality there are only talking to you because... they want your money! And they don't care how they get it either. They know that if they make things seem easier or seem like the best deal people will give in and take the bait and instead of doing research they will buy fast and end up spending more then they had to. We are all pressed for time and so we spend more because we are in a hurry.
I have decided to see if I can create a win win situation for me and my customers on my Etsy shop ( SouthernFlairWorks )... I have put up a new listing for BUDGET BUSTER! Here is what I have for the details about it... let me know what you think... it makes sense to me but I wrote it hahaha so tell me if I need to word it differently or give more details! :D
"BUDGET BUSTER - $30
I save you $30 or its FREE!
Is money tight?
Have you tried everything to save money and there still doesn't seem to be enough to go around?
I recently helped a woman save $316 a month! Seriously!
***If I can't save you the cost of my listing...its FREE!***
How it works... we (you and I) work together with your current finances... and I use the knowledge I have to help you figure out what can be cut, lowered, and dealt with!
There is always something you can do and I want to help you find it! I am SICK of companies taking advantage of people and making them feel stuck or like what they offer is their only option! I am up for a challenge and want to help you SAVE MONEY!
You will get a printable copy of your new budget vs. your old one when we are finished. This will show you the amount of money you are now saving! The new expenses will BUST your old budget!"
I think I have become good at it because I hate companies taking advantage of people. They lie and act like they are there to make things easier for you when in reality there are only talking to you because... they want your money! And they don't care how they get it either. They know that if they make things seem easier or seem like the best deal people will give in and take the bait and instead of doing research they will buy fast and end up spending more then they had to. We are all pressed for time and so we spend more because we are in a hurry.
I have decided to see if I can create a win win situation for me and my customers on my Etsy shop ( SouthernFlairWorks )... I have put up a new listing for BUDGET BUSTER! Here is what I have for the details about it... let me know what you think... it makes sense to me but I wrote it hahaha so tell me if I need to word it differently or give more details! :D
"BUDGET BUSTER - $30
I save you $30 or its FREE!
Is money tight?
Have you tried everything to save money and there still doesn't seem to be enough to go around?
I recently helped a woman save $316 a month! Seriously!
***If I can't save you the cost of my listing...its FREE!***
How it works... we (you and I) work together with your current finances... and I use the knowledge I have to help you figure out what can be cut, lowered, and dealt with!
There is always something you can do and I want to help you find it! I am SICK of companies taking advantage of people and making them feel stuck or like what they offer is their only option! I am up for a challenge and want to help you SAVE MONEY!
You will get a printable copy of your new budget vs. your old one when we are finished. This will show you the amount of money you are now saving! The new expenses will BUST your old budget!"
Sunday, March 22, 2009
And the WINNER is...
Congrats Kimberly!
a few posts back I had a "comment and win" post! Today the winner was picked out of a hat!
She posted....
a few posts back I had a "comment and win" post! Today the winner was picked out of a hat!
She posted....
Peter spiked a fever...
They thought peter might be going home today and now...Peter has spiked a fever of 104.8. His throat looks slightly red. Cultures are being done on blood, nose, throat, stool and urine. IV is going back in.
Please pray.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Summary Peters status from his Dad
Watching the doctors interact about our case has been interesting. they don't know everything or agree on it. they discus, they collect info and they proceed with every possible caution and preventive measure.
We've heard a variety of opinions from the neurosurgeons, the physician's assistant to our neurosurgeon, the intensivist, the hematologist/oncologist, and even the nurses. The nurses just say they don't know to most of our questions, but they try to get us answers. We're in a pretty continuous state of attempting to diagnose. The body is full of mysteries even to the doctors. The clot is in the superior sagittal sinus, but we don't know why or really how.
We first heard of the possibility of the blood clot when Dr. Joseph came in and removed the EVD (drain) on Wednesday of last week, and found out Peter's mood hadn't improved since surgery and that he'd remained irritable. He walked out of the room saying that this concerned him. The amazing thing is that at that moment it occurred to him that there could be a clot in Peter's brain. But in 37 years of practicing neurosurgery, he has never seen this under these circumstances. In fact when has seen it it's been rare, even when the accompanying indication have been present. The last one he saw was a year ago.
I have asked whether it could have simply been due to the swelling. His ventricles were 5x larger than what is normal. The neurosurgeon (of 37 years experience) said no, it's not that, the hematologist (it's her field, but she is quite a bit younger, too) said yes it could be that.
There is question as to whether or not the clot is related to the surgery or is simply a completely coincidental thing with no apparent cause. Blood work is being done at the Mayo Clinic to look for genetic abnormalities. None have been discovered yet. But more tests will be finished over the coming week. Everyone has uniformly said they don't know why this happened. The neurosurgeon on call this wekend said this case is complicated because it's never been seen before. The nerosurgeons all look wide eyed and amazed. They don't know what to tell us because they don't know what has caused this. The hematologist has said she doesn't know why they have never seen it before, because she says they see it all the time. She is from St. Jude's and our nurse suggested that it could be more common as a regional phenomenon. But Dr. Joseph has practiced medicine in a wide variety of locations. TThe hematologist also admitted that they could be simply amazed at the close proxmity of surgery with this clot, and the fact that it's in one so young. The nuerosurgeon on call said he's seen 3 in his 9 years of practice and all in pregnant women. Normally this cold be surgically removed, but since he just had a brain surgery that would be too risky, as would treating it with an injection at the site, because it can cause bleeding, so we're treating wih blood thinner (lovanox) to prevent the spread and further cloggng of the vein as the body does what is neccessary to clear it out, which will take probably at a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks (I assume this means from the point of reachng a therapeutic level of the lovanox which I beieve was reached yesterday).
Other things we're dealing with are vomitting, fever, the strange lump, and not wanting to eat. Yesterday he did want to eat and he ate some spaghetti at dinner time! That was his first food in 3 days. He did vomit a small amount maybe an hour after he ate. But I think that was because of the tylenol i was trying to give him. He has several oral meds which I administer. He had been drinking milk for about 2 days before that. We're putting probiotics into it, which we had a friend bring to us. One is acidophilus and the other is Kefir, and the package doesn't say which strains are in it. But the hospital also administers lactobacillus! We thought that was great. He had massive diahrea like we 've never seen before in all our diapering experience night before last. The neuro people say the fever can be related to the clot, and not to infection. All cultures through 72 hours of both blood and brain fluid have come back negative, but since fever is an indication of infection (according to hematologist and the intensivist) they're keeping him on triple antibiotics anyway. It has yet to be decided if it will be a 7 or a 14 day therapy. The hematologist told us today that they don't know why he has a fever, and that all these symptoms could be something as simple as an ordinary stomache bug which if he'd gotten under any other circumstances would have just been an ordinary sickness dealt with at home. But they don't know what is causing the fever, so they're just doing everything possible to fight anything it could be.
Here is a list of his meds: Orally he gets Decadron- a steroid to reduce any possible swelling tht may be causng the vomitting, his pressures look good though, so this is yet another precaution, he's getting Pepcid and Nexium for acid since he's not eating much, and he's getting tylenol as needed. He's on IV fluids- potassium chloride, he also gets 3 antibiotics: vancomycin, pipercillin, tobramycin. Anti-siezure stuff- Cerebex. As needed zofran, an anti-vomitting thing. He's been off of codiene for 2 days now!
Ok, the thing everyone says when they see him is that he looks good, so they're not to worried, but this is serious. So I asked the hematologist what serious means. She explained that if the clot had progressed it could have caused such swelling that the brain could have swelled down the brain stem and caused death. So I asked if it was still in a serious phase since we've caught it halted progress and are treating. She said no, it's not serious now. So we dodged yet another bullet.
We're now about to go down for a ct-scan to see if there's something they need to know about which has caused the vomitting. we also have seen some wierd eye movements in the past day. They don't expect to find anything, but we'll see.
So pray for us! I'll tell you more later. Ask any questions too, and I'll try to answer. Maybe you'll help us to dig and find out what's going on.
We've heard a variety of opinions from the neurosurgeons, the physician's assistant to our neurosurgeon, the intensivist, the hematologist/oncologist, and even the nurses. The nurses just say they don't know to most of our questions, but they try to get us answers. We're in a pretty continuous state of attempting to diagnose. The body is full of mysteries even to the doctors. The clot is in the superior sagittal sinus, but we don't know why or really how.
We first heard of the possibility of the blood clot when Dr. Joseph came in and removed the EVD (drain) on Wednesday of last week, and found out Peter's mood hadn't improved since surgery and that he'd remained irritable. He walked out of the room saying that this concerned him. The amazing thing is that at that moment it occurred to him that there could be a clot in Peter's brain. But in 37 years of practicing neurosurgery, he has never seen this under these circumstances. In fact when has seen it it's been rare, even when the accompanying indication have been present. The last one he saw was a year ago.
I have asked whether it could have simply been due to the swelling. His ventricles were 5x larger than what is normal. The neurosurgeon (of 37 years experience) said no, it's not that, the hematologist (it's her field, but she is quite a bit younger, too) said yes it could be that.
There is question as to whether or not the clot is related to the surgery or is simply a completely coincidental thing with no apparent cause. Blood work is being done at the Mayo Clinic to look for genetic abnormalities. None have been discovered yet. But more tests will be finished over the coming week. Everyone has uniformly said they don't know why this happened. The neurosurgeon on call this wekend said this case is complicated because it's never been seen before. The nerosurgeons all look wide eyed and amazed. They don't know what to tell us because they don't know what has caused this. The hematologist has said she doesn't know why they have never seen it before, because she says they see it all the time. She is from St. Jude's and our nurse suggested that it could be more common as a regional phenomenon. But Dr. Joseph has practiced medicine in a wide variety of locations. TThe hematologist also admitted that they could be simply amazed at the close proxmity of surgery with this clot, and the fact that it's in one so young. The nuerosurgeon on call said he's seen 3 in his 9 years of practice and all in pregnant women. Normally this cold be surgically removed, but since he just had a brain surgery that would be too risky, as would treating it with an injection at the site, because it can cause bleeding, so we're treating wih blood thinner (lovanox) to prevent the spread and further cloggng of the vein as the body does what is neccessary to clear it out, which will take probably at a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks (I assume this means from the point of reachng a therapeutic level of the lovanox which I beieve was reached yesterday).
Other things we're dealing with are vomitting, fever, the strange lump, and not wanting to eat. Yesterday he did want to eat and he ate some spaghetti at dinner time! That was his first food in 3 days. He did vomit a small amount maybe an hour after he ate. But I think that was because of the tylenol i was trying to give him. He has several oral meds which I administer. He had been drinking milk for about 2 days before that. We're putting probiotics into it, which we had a friend bring to us. One is acidophilus and the other is Kefir, and the package doesn't say which strains are in it. But the hospital also administers lactobacillus! We thought that was great. He had massive diahrea like we 've never seen before in all our diapering experience night before last. The neuro people say the fever can be related to the clot, and not to infection. All cultures through 72 hours of both blood and brain fluid have come back negative, but since fever is an indication of infection (according to hematologist and the intensivist) they're keeping him on triple antibiotics anyway. It has yet to be decided if it will be a 7 or a 14 day therapy. The hematologist told us today that they don't know why he has a fever, and that all these symptoms could be something as simple as an ordinary stomache bug which if he'd gotten under any other circumstances would have just been an ordinary sickness dealt with at home. But they don't know what is causing the fever, so they're just doing everything possible to fight anything it could be.
Here is a list of his meds: Orally he gets Decadron- a steroid to reduce any possible swelling tht may be causng the vomitting, his pressures look good though, so this is yet another precaution, he's getting Pepcid and Nexium for acid since he's not eating much, and he's getting tylenol as needed. He's on IV fluids- potassium chloride, he also gets 3 antibiotics: vancomycin, pipercillin, tobramycin. Anti-siezure stuff- Cerebex. As needed zofran, an anti-vomitting thing. He's been off of codiene for 2 days now!
Ok, the thing everyone says when they see him is that he looks good, so they're not to worried, but this is serious. So I asked the hematologist what serious means. She explained that if the clot had progressed it could have caused such swelling that the brain could have swelled down the brain stem and caused death. So I asked if it was still in a serious phase since we've caught it halted progress and are treating. She said no, it's not serious now. So we dodged yet another bullet.
We're now about to go down for a ct-scan to see if there's something they need to know about which has caused the vomitting. we also have seen some wierd eye movements in the past day. They don't expect to find anything, but we'll see.
So pray for us! I'll tell you more later. Ask any questions too, and I'll try to answer. Maybe you'll help us to dig and find out what's going on.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Pray for Peter!!!
So Peter is having difficulties after his brain tumor removal surgery. Please keep him in your prayers! I have some of the updates from his dad below!
I tried to circle the tumor (based on what the doctors and nurses showed me) -- this circle measures 51.5 mm ... to compare a golf ball is 42.67 mm
the Sweet little man!
-Peters fever is up to 102. They are doing a blood culture and are checking his white blood cell count for an infection.
-his white blood cell count jumped from 12 to 21. 12 hr blood culture is negative. Waiting for doc to review CT with contrast for brain vessel issues.
-Peter apparently has a blood clot in his brain. That is likely the cause of his irritability and fever. Prayers appreciated.
-Dr Joesph just spoke with us. He's never seen this before under these circumstances. None of the conditions normally present for this clot are there.
-The doctor is calling what Peter has "cerebral venous thrombosis" ... He now has a fever of 102.
I tried to circle the tumor (based on what the doctors and nurses showed me) -- this circle measures 51.5 mm ... to compare a golf ball is 42.67 mm
the Sweet little man!
-Peters fever is up to 102. They are doing a blood culture and are checking his white blood cell count for an infection.
-his white blood cell count jumped from 12 to 21. 12 hr blood culture is negative. Waiting for doc to review CT with contrast for brain vessel issues.
-Peter apparently has a blood clot in his brain. That is likely the cause of his irritability and fever. Prayers appreciated.
-Dr Joesph just spoke with us. He's never seen this before under these circumstances. None of the conditions normally present for this clot are there.
-The doctor is calling what Peter has "cerebral venous thrombosis" ... He now has a fever of 102.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Tuesday Tune...
It's officially Wednesday...I know.... BUT I have not gone to sleep yet! Sooo it's still Tuesday for me! :D So here is a song that I think a lot of people can relate to. I don't think people realize how much time we waste dwelling on how others have treated us and things in the past... that we can not change. We can not control when others act selfishly or coldly. The only person we can control is ourselves. We waste time getting lost in regret, or bitterness, or all the "what ifs?".... whats the point? Does it add anything to our lives? Does it benefit anyone? No! In fact it does the opposite...it holds us back! So whatever God is doing in your life... give in. Whats the point in fighting it?
Sanctus Real - Whatever You're Doing
Sanctus Real - Whatever You're Doing
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender
(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly
Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...
(Chorus)
Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly
It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I have an interview Thursday @ 11!
So... after many applications and hours searching for a job I finally have an interview Thursday morning at 11. It is for a Money Management firm that helps people deal with their debt and educates them on how to avoid it in the future and helps them take steps to eliminate it. I am excited about this opportunity because.... for those of you who know me well... I love Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman and HATE how the credit card companies target people and make them think they are "helping" them... when all they really want is.... your money! But I will leave all that for another blog! ha!
So...11a.m....Thursday! Pray for me:D I want to be where God wants me. Thanks.
So...11a.m....Thursday! Pray for me:D I want to be where God wants me. Thanks.
Comment and win!?
Update from Peters Dad...
"surgery is done. The doctor thinks he got the whole tumor. The gold standard will be the tests but news is great!"
Update on Peter from his Dad...
"a nurse came and spoke to us ... It took a while to put the ventriculostomy (drain) in the top of his head.
They have him turned over and are holding his head in place with pins (his head cannot move during the surgery) ... He has not had much blood loss.
They removed the part of the skull and are working their way to the tumor. I will soon post a picture of his hair that they gave us. Peter now has the coolest saved "first lock" of all of our children."
They have him turned over and are holding his head in place with pins (his head cannot move during the surgery) ... He has not had much blood loss.
They removed the part of the skull and are working their way to the tumor. I will soon post a picture of his hair that they gave us. Peter now has the coolest saved "first lock" of all of our children."
Update on Peter
My sister just updated me on Peter...
stacy: hey
rhapsdy6: hey
rhapsdy6: surgery started at 9
rhapsdy6: at 10 they updated that everything was going well and they were in he second part of the procedure
rhapsdy6: which means they are inside the brain
rhapsdy6: so
stacy: wow
rhapsdy6: 2 hours down
rhapsdy6: at least 3 more to go
stacy: wow
rhapsdy6: they are supposed to update every hour
stacy: hey
rhapsdy6: hey
rhapsdy6: surgery started at 9
rhapsdy6: at 10 they updated that everything was going well and they were in he second part of the procedure
rhapsdy6: which means they are inside the brain
rhapsdy6: so
stacy: wow
rhapsdy6: 2 hours down
rhapsdy6: at least 3 more to go
stacy: wow
rhapsdy6: they are supposed to update every hour
Pray for Peter... Brain Tumor Removal Surgery
Please pray for Peter. He is having surgery today at 8:00a.m. to have his brain tumor removed. The doctors and his family are very hopeful that it will go well but still covet your prayers.
TUESDAY TUNE...
So every week I remember on Wednesday that I want to do a Tuesday Tune... so this week I just decided I'm gonna post it and remember next week!!! :D
The song I picked this week is a song I used to make my friend Jill sing to me in college! She has an amazing voice and I would say "don't you want to sing me a song?" with a BIG cheesy grin oh my face and eventually she would give in and we would sit on the floor and she would pull out the guitar and for the next 4 minutes I would just drift off to that special deep place that music takes me. I was so blessed to not only have her friendship in college but also get to live with her for a semester! That was a trip! :D We now live in different states... but thank God for texting and facebook right? You know the kind of friend that leaves an impact on your life... says things to you that you never forget!? My Jill is one of those. I can still hear her voice in my head as I read the lyrics to this song.
Jeni Varnadeau, W. Denton, C. Garret
Matthew 13:44-46, Philippians 3:7-8,
Psalm 73:25
She was drawn by the melody
Sounding all through the city streets
Oh, it echoed, so lovely
She set her work aside
Left everything to find
The creator of songs
Who captured her heart
And brought her soul to life
Now there's nothing she wouldn't leave
Just to sit at His feet
And to listen all day
Chorus
And that's how it should be between you
And me
That I'd give all to be where you are
To enjoy and to adore you with all of my
Heart
I see smiles from those who are near to
You
I long for that same kind of peace
'Cause that's just how it should be between
You and me
He searched expectantly
In the sea of his dreams
Through his feelings and other swimming
Things
One day this fisherman found
The only pool of truth around
So he went away
Sold all he had
Just to buy this lake
Now he finds himself
At the edge of the bank
And he fishes all day
I've yet to buy the CD but plan on it when I finally get a job! Here is the link to the CD on amazon...
The song I picked this week is a song I used to make my friend Jill sing to me in college! She has an amazing voice and I would say "don't you want to sing me a song?" with a BIG cheesy grin oh my face and eventually she would give in and we would sit on the floor and she would pull out the guitar and for the next 4 minutes I would just drift off to that special deep place that music takes me. I was so blessed to not only have her friendship in college but also get to live with her for a semester! That was a trip! :D We now live in different states... but thank God for texting and facebook right? You know the kind of friend that leaves an impact on your life... says things to you that you never forget!? My Jill is one of those. I can still hear her voice in my head as I read the lyrics to this song.
Jeni Varnadeau, W. Denton, C. Garret
Matthew 13:44-46, Philippians 3:7-8,
Psalm 73:25
She was drawn by the melody
Sounding all through the city streets
Oh, it echoed, so lovely
She set her work aside
Left everything to find
The creator of songs
Who captured her heart
And brought her soul to life
Now there's nothing she wouldn't leave
Just to sit at His feet
And to listen all day
Chorus
And that's how it should be between you
And me
That I'd give all to be where you are
To enjoy and to adore you with all of my
Heart
I see smiles from those who are near to
You
I long for that same kind of peace
'Cause that's just how it should be between
You and me
He searched expectantly
In the sea of his dreams
Through his feelings and other swimming
Things
One day this fisherman found
The only pool of truth around
So he went away
Sold all he had
Just to buy this lake
Now he finds himself
At the edge of the bank
And he fishes all day
I've yet to buy the CD but plan on it when I finally get a job! Here is the link to the CD on amazon...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Please pray for Peter.
We got news today from friends that their little boy has a brain tumor. Please take a few moments and say a prayer for this little boy and his family. He is 2 and the tumor is at the base of his brain. They are having more tests done to see what the next step should be.
Thank you for taking the time to pray. Feel free to post your prayers in a comment so the family can read them.
Thank you for taking the time to pray. Feel free to post your prayers in a comment so the family can read them.
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"I'm coming here for the first time through the "How Can We Help?" facebook group. The previous comment stated the number 8 is why you like the photo. I don't know but I like that it's black and white,"