Daybook 10-30-12

Outside my window: Still very cold and windy. Getting the after math of Hurricane Sandy. 

I am thinking... I'm thinking how I need to start a budget for when I get home. 

I am thankful... I am thankful for best friends and my sister who took leave to be with me during my rehab time.  

In the Kitchen... I'm in the hospital still so Im praying its something good. although it will be a few days before i can find out. 

I am wearing... I lovely hospital gown supporting the color pink today. 

I am creating... I'm still working on the same blanket but I have been sick so it seems to have slowed down. 

I am going... no where today. Just resting. 

I am wondering... How bad the storm hit my home and whether my garbage can is missing. 

I am reading... My bible and a book my sister lent me called Good Omens. 

I am hoping... That things start getting better and my counts start coming up. 

I am looking forward to...Finally getting to eat anything!

I am learning... I am learning A Lot right now. That I need help in my daily activities and how to live on my own. Simple things like getting from the bed to chair and I am also learning a lot about myself spiritually. 

Around the house... Well I'm sure the craft supplies are still all over my house considering I haven't been home to pick them up. lol. But here in my bed I also have yarn everywhere. lol. 

I am pondering... How long this happy blanket might take and what colors to do in the next one. 

A Favorite Quote for the day: Romans 5:5

One of my favorite things... still my crochet hook. lol. 

A few plans for the rest of the week: Resting while my body fights the GVHD and then getting back to therapy so I can go home! 

A peek into my day: 

I don't really have any photos to put here right now. Sorry. 

Well that would be it for now. If you would like to try this for yourself...go to this blog....

the simple womans daybook

Otherwise...until next time...Keep Smiling! 

DayBook 10-23-12

Outside my window: Its cold and rainy. Preparing for winter I suppose. 

I am thinking... How different life is going to be when I get home now that my leg is gone. 

I am thankful... I am thankful for best friends and my step mom for being here when the rest of my family deals with petty fighting.  

In the Kitchen... I'm in the hospital so I'm not sure whats in the kitchen but I pray my doctor is no where near it with her track record of blowing up microwaves and toasters. 

I am wearing... The Dino T-shirt I made for the family this summer and a pair of shorts. 

I am creating... I am working on a special Happy Blanket for someone who is newer to my life but still an amazing lady. 

I am going... no where today. Just relaxing until I'm allowed to restart PT

I am wondering... How long I will be stuck here and what time my sister will be here today. 

I am reading... My bible and a book my sister lent me called Good Omens. 

I am hoping... That things start getting better and my counts start coming up. 

I am looking forward to... My sister getting here! 

I am learning... I am learning A Lot right now. That I need help in my daily activities and how to live on my own. Simple things like getting from the bed to chair and I am also learning a lot about myself spiritually. 

Around the house... Well I'm sure the craft supplies are still all over my house considering I haven't been home to pick them up. lol. But here in my bed I also have yarn everywhere. lol. 

I am pondering... How long this happy blanket might take and what colors to do in the next one. 

A Favorite Quote for the day: Psalms 46:10

One of my favorite things... still my crochet hook. lol. 

A few plans for the rest of the week: Resting while my body fights the GVHD and then getting back to therapy so I can go home! 

A peek into my day: 

This really isn't a peek into my day but a photo taken a few weeks ago for an article but it is the last picture taken with my leg so its kinda of a sad picture to me but oh so pretty because I love those shoes! 

Well that would be it for now. If you would like to try this for yourself...go to this blog....

the simple womans daybook

Otherwise...until next time...Keep Smiling! 

Crazy Updates

There are actually a great deal of updates since I last posted.. I have been really sick and so has Riah. Riah ended up with Appendicitis and had her Appendix removed earlier this week and it currently at home resting and cracking funny joke so that is great news. I however had a huge run in with my GVHD and between the damage it was causing to my leg and the damage it was causing my kidney; Meg had to remove my leg after all. At first I thought it was going to be the worst thing in the world but, I have felt all the benefits to it being gone just since it was removed. I never realized how much infection my leg held and although it is going to be a life changing experience for sure, I am already making good progress according to Meg. I suppose it helped that when they first replaces my femur with a rod; I had to get used to doing things without putting pressure on my leg; not that I want to say it but I think today it was easier trying to get into the chair and bathroom without having the leg to fumble over and I was able to do more by myself than when I first had the rod put in. I have no doubts that this is going to be a hard rehab especially learning to walk with a prosthetic but I have decided that i am up for the challenge. I am not sure what God has planned for me in all of this but I know He is working in my life is many ways and so I am just taking it one day at a time. 

Before I ended up here however....I did have a few good moments around being sick where I put together some Halloween costumes for my friends Daughters. She had the shoes for Dorothy but wanted to have a costume for her daughter to wear over her coat and this is what I came up with. 

The 2nd Costume is suppose to be the Good Witch of the East. Amanda wanted to keep both girls in the Wizard of Oz theme so this is what I also came up with. In the end I'm glad that we chose the good witch instead of the Scarecrow. 

I also have been crocheting a lot and made some Halloween headbands for some of the nurses I used to work with, but I didn't get the chance to take pictures of those. I am however working on 3 blankets at this moment so I will be able to post pics of those as I work on them more. 

Otherwise not much else is going on, resting and waiting to get into rehab motion. I know I will be here into January for rehab and recovery for my kidney and so they can watch my GVHD until everything heals. I will keep everyone posted though! 

Until then...Keep Smiling! 

Daybook 10-16-12

Outside my window: Right now it is 11pm so I imagine those crazy cats from behind the fence are running around my back yard. Honestly...its very cold so I'm not going to look. 

I am thinking... I am thinking about what I'm going to create next and whether its too soon to return to church. 

I am thankful... I am thankful that I got my mother's crafting skills. I know this sounds silly but I really did thank her tonight. She always made out costumes and now at 26 I am making them for my friends kids. 

In the Kitchen... There are freshly made chocolate chips cookies from today's many adventures. 

I am wearing... Jeans and a white sweater which is covered in food because I held my nieces both right after eating. 

I am creating... Costumes from wizard of oz for my best friends daughters. I am also working on 2 blankets. 

I am going... Its 11pm. I'm not going anywhere but to the shower and bed! 

I am wondering... If they will make a 3rd Sherlock Holmes movie. Thanks to Zach; I rather fancy the first two. 

I am reading... My bible and a book my sister lent me called Good Omens. 

I am hoping... That my stomach stops hurting so I can rest. 

I am looking forward to... This weekend. I'm giving Amanda the girls costumes and having a girls day with my mom and sisters. 

I am learning... That I have to allow people to take care of me and how to be loved. 

Around the house... craft supplies EVERYWHERE! 

I am pondering... What to work on after I get finished with this post. lol. 

A Favorite Quote for the day: Romans 5

One of my favorite things... my crochet hook. lol. 

A few plans for the rest of the week: 4 trips to the hospital, finishing costumes and curtains and spending time with people I love. 

A peek into my day: 

Working on making a "Good Witch" shirt. 

Well that would be it for now. If you would like to try this for yourself...go to this blog....

The Simple Womans Daybook

Otherwise...until next time...Keep Smiling! 

Funny Moments of the Day....

I completely forgot to share this with you all in the last post but considering how much I laughed I wanted to post this just to clear the air about some rumors.... As most of you know; I have moved 3 times this summer. Not because if financial issues but because of either health or family issues. So I am now residing in Erie and if you want the new address please email me for it. But here is the funny part.... I used to live in a house owned by my Grandfather (who passed) and since his death, my brother has been trying to rebuild the house from the inside out. No one currently lives there but apparently even after all the address changes we both still get mail there. Well because of recent travels; my Grandparents on my dad's side have been collecting my mail from both the old house and my current house. Now for the story....
Today I got the best surprise when who should walk in my hospital room this afternoon but my Grandpa and Zach. Now my grandpa looked so excited to be here and Zach...well he looked like he was either about to pass out or throw up because apparently what should arrive in my mail at the old house?....

But a wedding planning magazine which was really spam and 2 cards that were mailed by the Pastors wife at the church I started going to who sells the Close to My Heart Scrap booking products that I love and just switched to her as my consultant. Why would Zach be looking ill you might wonder?? well The cards Karen sent me came in see through envelopes and my grandpa didn't know what CTMH stood for and since it said consultant and came with a wedding book and he could see there were cards...He assumed Zach and I were getting married! Zach was sick because he spent the entire plane ride with my Grandpa insisting that it wasn't what he though and he didn't know what CTMH was either! When they came in through the door and it was dropped on my bed I just about died from laughing. I didn't even mind the terrible pain from laughing but needless to say...the cards were a thank you card and an invitation to a scrap booking event and the magazine really was spam and wasn't even sent to my correct name. lol. So both boys can breath a little easier tonight but Im still laughing. That just shows what assumptions get ya and No we are not planning a big shin dig that no one knows about. I just had to share this with you.
Ok now that I can breathe again after all that laughing.. I really am going to rest.
Love you all and Keep Smiling!

Short Version of Recent Events...

So I have been meaning to post but due to illness and then getting a new kidney; I have been well to busy and semi drugged to post. The last week has been a pretty big blur but I can start with last weekend when although I really didn't feel good, I had a blast because Saturday I spent almost all day with my best friend Beth; (often referred to as sunshine) and we just sat around are chatted. It was so nice to just sit around and talk in person finally and not on the phone with 3 or more hours between us. It felt so nice being home the few days I was home that I cant wait to return home after this stay and finally be home longer than a week. Sadly last Saturday night I ended up not feeling very well but still pushed myself to go to church which is much needed. I would love to say that Zach finally went with me and He actually enjoyed it. He didn't mind driving and we actually made a day of it. After we church we decided to try and find Zach another leather needle which was a bust but we did finally get the bubbles and glow sticks to try to glow in the dark bubble idea which was a huge fail and not to mention we did confirm that glow sticks really do have glass in them and are NOT child friendly. While doing so....we found Zach's famous hats!

 and then...I found a matching hat and the games began....

Shortly after arriving home and resting, I got a call asking me to come into Millcreek for dialysis because my counts and central line was down and I could feel myself getting sick. One thing lead to another...I ended up getting sent to Cleveland then to Boston and now we are here and I am happy to say that I have a new kidney given to me by one of my younger sisters. One of the greatest gift I could have ever received on top of marrow that she has already given me twice. She really is a blessing. :0) Mariah and I are both doing great and She is set to go home Monday and I will return to Cleveland until my counts continue to come up. :0) Then in a few weeks I will also get to return home and back to my "normal" life; if I even know what that is. I really cant wait though! 

Well I think I am going to go rest for a bit but I will return and I will try and stay update more with my posting and my scrap booking. Slowly my energy is returning and I cant wait to share more with everyone. 

Love you all and Keep Smiling! 

Whats next?

I'm sorry to say this is not a happy post. I am really lost right now because although I have gotten the best news ever this past week, each day I am reminded that just because I have a clean scan; things just don't snap back to being simple. I am still 40 pounds under weight, I can barely move and my counts are too low to go out....So when do things finally get back to normal and really after 8 years...what is normal? I want to know because I honestly don't think I know what it is. I was looking at my goals from when I was first diagnosed and I realized that I have literally after Monday; outlived all of my people to fight for other than Zach and Kat. That terrifies me. I am missing out on saying goodbye to the only other fatherly figures in my life because of being in Cleveland again for complications and it just really hit me hard this week. Like crying for 3 days straight crying. I don't know what I am suppose to do from here. I have always been strong in my faith, and I always knew God had a greater plan for me but as I sit here in the bed tonight, I cant help but wondering what is my purpose? And why is it so lonely? Why do I feel more lost now than ever? 

.....I'm just not sure. I guess I have a lot on my heart and a lot to pray for; I'm just really tired of fighting and really tired of crying so now I'm just praying God hears my silent prayers from my very tired heart.