by Sarah | Jan 20, 2014 | All About Molly
Christmas of 2012 Santa brought Molly a new toy.
A stuffed unicorn in a purse that said “Sparkle”. Of course, Sparkle became her name.
Sparkle spent all of 2013 well-loved and adored. She was so much Molly’s favorite toy that by October she was looking pretty tired.
Her sparkly horn no longer sparkled, the gold of her hooves was stripping away & one hoof needed full replacement.
The bright white fur had become dingy, and the flowers on her side faded.
Sparkle had seen better days.
So a letter was written.
A letter to Santa.
Asking if Sparkle might be repaired.
With the silly addendum that maybe he could make her colorful.
For two months Molly waited.
Once in a while you’d hear mention of how Santa would be returning Sparkle.
Just before Christmas, a few snags erupted, and Santa alerted me the “repairs” were in jeopardy.
But, at the last minute, he pulled through.
And for the second year in a row the best toy ever was Sparkle.
The favorite gift of the year, and continuing daily, was an ‘old’ new toy.
Sparkle is sparkling again…and so is Molly.
by Sarah | Jan 17, 2014 | All About Kennedy, Cystic Fibrosis, Special Needs
It started back in November.
An unusual phenomenon brought on in the unusual life of Kennedy.
She would start coughing.
Oh, sure, a CF patient coughing? Pfft, what’s the big deal?
For starters, it wasn’t a panic inducing wet, deep, ugly cough.
It was dry.
Random.
Every time we checked on her she’d declare “I just swallowed a string!”
After a while, she got annoyed with us constantly checking on her whenever she’d have another coughing fit.
This week, Kennedy had a checkup in the CF clinic and Erik asked the doctor about it.
Turns out, Kennedy can paraphrase the Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog.
“It’s not strings – it’s mucus!”
Yeah. We learned something new, and Kennedy can now yell at us appropriately.
Apparently it’s normal. The mucus in a CF patient is thicker, and when it gets in their throat it’s the uncomfortable sensation as if you’ve swallowed a hair that’s just sitting in your throat.
We don’t have to worry unless her cough becomes wet and thick.
Of course, that’s assuming we ever stop worrying.
(P.S. We don’t.)
by Sarah | Jan 3, 2014 | All About Me, Story of Me
I suck at resolutions. I really do.
I’ve tried making them publicly, here on this blog, to have accountability and a place for public shaming if I fail.
Doesn’t matter.
I always drop them fast.
Supah fast.
So now when a new year comes along I don’t make big resolutions.
This year, though, as I’m laid up after foot surgery, I’ve had time to reflect.
2013 saw a great many humongous highs.
It also saw some dark and despairing lows.
It turned into an unexpected year of flux. The last half of the year, especially, was a struggle in many ways.
Now there’s a new year to face.
I’m thinking the idea of picking a word for the year is appropriate.
I’m going to call my word for this year at Growth.
In every aspect I hope to grow.
Personal.
Blog-wise.
Professionally with my writing.
So here’s to growth.
With as few growing “pains” as possible.
by Sarah | Jan 2, 2014 | All About Me, Story of Me
I know I’ve spoken of my podophobia before on a few occasions.
I don’t.like.feet. At all.
Not even a little bit.
Which likely stemmed from my own foot issues and being the the dance world with a crap-ton of ugly feet.
This year my own foot issues reached the breaking point and I had to get to the podiatrist.
I know what was coming.
Surgery.
I knew it was inevitable.
The truth of it is, a genetic issue got progressively worse until I was in pain.
My big toe turned outward toward my pinky toe. It had reached a point where it was almost completely underneath my second toe. Only a triangle of nail was visible, which also meant I’d developed a large bunion. The shocker was also a bone spur on my littlest toe.
Surgery on 3 toes was the decree.
So two weeks ago, 1 week before Christmas I climbed onto the surgeon’s table full of fear and anxiety and was asleep in a minute.
When I woke, my foot looked like that. All bundled up and bandaged and at first, numb as can be (yay). Within 24 hours the numbness wore off and I had to deal with the pain, and trying to walk on crutches.
It hasn’t been even a little bit easy.
I’m such an independent person.
Relying on everyone around me to handle the house, the kids, dinner, Christmas, new Years, and even my own food and drink.
It’s been hard.
On me.
On the family.
But I got to use a motorized shopping cart when the husband took me out to help my cabin fever.
Sometimes the depression is bad.
Sometimes I’m okay.
But I’m on the mend.
Slower than I wish, but as fast as the doctor had hoped.
Today I became free of stitches & bandages. I have a boot/cast so I can ease back into walking. I only need a sock now and not full bandages, although my foot having free motion is an odd feeling after being wrapped up tight for two weeks.
I’m not good at this.
My brain thinks about what’s going on inside my foot.
Makes me nauseous.
But I’m trying.
by Sarah | Dec 2, 2013 | All About Indiana, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Indy Geek Girls
I have this awesome friend, maybe you know her?
Emily, aka Designhermomma
Back in early October she made
<—This tweet.
I was intrigued, and asked if she wanted another participant for control. She said “Sure!” and off I went to the races.
Over the course of 3 days I entered 100 random giveaways using the #giveaway hashtag on twitter.
I was NOT picky. Not in the slightest.
I signed up for iPads, Kindles, ebooks, diapers (which, really, I don’t need), toys, power tools…pretty much everything under the sun including coupons.
I figured, hey…it’s just for fun.
I guessed I’d win 1…maybe 2 tops…since I don’t have stellar luck most times (Still in total shock I won a KitchenAid 6 years back).
To keep my mental status somewhat in check I kept records.
The websites URL, the end date, and the product. I figured I’d win something I had NO use for and donate it to someone who did.
I kept track, and as the month, and most of the giveaways, drew to a close I realized I had won a grand total of…
ZERO.
None.
None?
I know my luck is bad, but that couldn’t be right. 100 giveaways and nothing?
I thought it was a fluke, so I tried again. I took another weekend and randomly entered another 100 giveaways (plus a few I spotted I really wanted…grand total was probably around 125).
This time I was even more particular. I didn’t put extra entries in anything, I did the minimum required entry for everything and left it at that (no matter how bad I really wanted it). Figured maybe a level playing field would be better.
As November drew to a close and still no “Congratulations!!” emails came my way…
I mean really?
I’m not a greedy person, and I didn’t care one way or another.
But 200+ giveaways entered, and I won…NOTHING?
Talk about a bust!
So this was one social experiment that, for me, was a wash.
Emily? Oh, she entered about 80 and won 4 little items.
Wonder if she’ll send me some of her luck?
by Sarah | Nov 30, 2013 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Clever Girls
Up until now our Wii got most of its use from watching movies, or the teenager playing one of his games. There was only one or two games that we could all get into.
Then we got a hold of this one…Just Dance Kids 2014.
I have to admit when I first read the back I got a little excited when I saw “Make it Shine” from Victorious on there…plus a song by Ariana Grande. I’m such a closet (or not so closet anymore) Victorious lover. It’s one of the shows I miss now that we aren’t on cable. 😀
So this week we brought out the Wii for something we all could play – and play we ALL did…even the teen!!
The girls, of course, got first run and boy did they tear it up, to several songs, including “Make it Shine”.
Then it was time for Erik and I to play.
And wouldn’t you know…we did THE HUSTLE!! It was a laugh-riot getting Erik into the mix and doing The Hustle with me. Both of us were laughing by the time it was done, and were reluctant to return the remotes back over!
Then, with a little nudging and encouragement we actually got the teenager to play along. It was only for a game, but I know that he’d never admit how much fun he had.
The girls kept playing for another good hour before we settled down and got ready for bed. By the next day they were begging to play again…and we were all too happy to oblige. The game is addicting, and clean fun, and everyone enjoys playing it. I have a feeling the Wii will stay out of hiding for a good long while now.
As you can see, the girls LOVED it. They were all too happy to lend their review once I managed to get their attention away from the game!!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Christmas of 2012 Santa brought Molly a new toy.
A letter to Santa.
And for the second year in a row the best toy ever was Sparkle.
