Monthly Archives: October 2005

At the Vineyard

Posted on October 28, 2005 | Leave a comment

A favorite escape of mine is only an hour or so from my home. In the foothills of the mountains there are several local vineyards. We bring a blanket, some fresh fruit and salads, open up a bottle of wine and lay on the hills under the trees.

Even the hour drive is worth it -

And then you find the hidden entrance:

Once you arrive, you can smell the serenity in the air

of course I believe that this is truly middle-earth, complete with a party tree,

little hobbits,

and shire-like greenery.

After a day like this, I am reminded of how lucky I am.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Adventures

Life, Love, Death and Saying Goodbye

Posted on October 25, 2005 | 1 Comment

They say she died in his arms. 30 years together…best friends, companions, lovers. She had the fight of her life, battling a disease that eventually got the best of her. Arriving at work last Wednesday, we all got a very sad email about how the wife of a coworker lost her battle with cancer (multiple myeloma). She was taken to the emergency room last friday, and I hear that she told everyone not to worry, and that she would be fine. Four days later, she died. The email said she died while he was holding her, her life taken away from all those who around her – all those who loved her.

I knew her only through the stories that my coworker told me, the smile he would get on his face when referring to what she said or did, and how they lived their lives together. I thought of that as I watched him say goodbye to her while they lowered her casket into the ground – as each of us took a small bit of earth and helped to lay her body to rest. I cannot imagine what it must be like to lose a soulmate the way he did, to witness someone so very close to you whither away right in front of your eyes.

This day was life-changing. I was reminded that our time here is temporary, and that we all must cherish and savour each moment we have with our family, our friends and ourselves. We must give freely and be humbled by a world that is so much bigger than us. We must remember that there is something greater that us, and not to take this gift of life for granted. We must treat everyone with respect and compassion, regardless of our differences.

I was also reminded of how important it is to be able to say goodbye. I never had the chance to do that with both of my parents when they passed away – now there is no gravestone, no place to go to say goodbye and to get the closure that now I realize is oh so important. There is no way to go back there now, so closure must be found in another way.

To pay our respects, we ask that a donation be given to the Multiple Myeloma Foundation, http://www.myeloma.org/.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Letters to Mom

I made it through yesterday

Posted on October 13, 2005 | 1 Comment

Dropped my daughter off at school, went to the bank, then trader joe’s and got a migraine pretty bad. I was dizzy and lost my vision for about 20 minutes so I couldn’t go home so I just stayed inside tj’s for a while, drinking their blueberry juice and popping advil. Then the headache came after that…which pretty much put me out of commission for the day. UGGHHHH! Maybe it’s because I am going through wine withdrawel. It’s always when I start working out and eating well that I seem to not feel well. I know, I know, it’s totally psychological. I miss my comforts so my body is retaliating.

The good news is that it was Wednesday yesterday, and LOST was on.

The bad news is that I missed my Wednesday evening cocktail hour with my friendly neighbor. We have a lot to catch up on, so we will have to spend extra time with eachother over the weekend.

I didn’t do horrible in the nutrition area, but I didn’t do so great either. The headache threw me for a big loop:

breakfast: Coffee with SPlenda
Lunch: Grilled chicken with lowfat cheese, fat free sourcream, salsa on a bed of lettuce
snack: Fat free popcorn
Dinner: Chunky chicken noodle soup *from a can* with one slice of potato bread
snack: baked apples with oatmeal

I didnt drink as much water as i should have, and i didnt exercise yesterday (since i was in bed with a migraine most of the day).

Today is a new day, we will see how it goes.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Random Ramblings

journaling: October 11th

Posted on October 11, 2005 | Leave a comment

Started the day with 45 minutes of vigorous exercise – THAT’s WHAT I’M TALKIN ABOUT!!!!

Needless to say my body is now tired, and going through withdrawel from all of the wine and beer I have had for the past several weeks.

Here is what I ate today:

Pre-workout:
1 glass hot water with lemon

During workout: 16 oz Water

Breakfast:
16 oz water
1/2 cup oatmeal with flax meal and 1tbsp walnuts
splenda
hot tea with 1 tbsp sugar and fat free half n half

Snack:
Light’n'fit with fiber yogurt
16 oz water

Lunch:
Homemade Moroccan stew: butternut squash, carrots, tomatoes, chickpeas, onions, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, chicken broth

Snack:
Fat Free smartpop kettle corn popcorn
16 oz water

Dinner:
Green salad with grilled chicken, 1tbsp parmesan, 1tbsp reduced fat feta, fat free italian dressing

pre-bedtime:
1 cup peppermint tea

Now i am tired – too bad I will miss Rome tonight. I sure could use TIVO right about now.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Random Ramblings

Adventures in MOOTing

Posted on October 11, 2005 | 2 Comments

This past weekend was off the chain. I travelled to Indianapolis to hang out with 40 of my closest geeky friends all in the name of the Lord of the Rings (that was our excuse). We began the weekend at the Biergarten bar at the Rathskeller. This is an outdoor bar with an open fireplace and a really cool stage. Needless to say, fun was had by all (and of course there were pints involved). I was ECSTATIC because they had hard cider on tap – YEAH BABY!

We met up after happy hour outside of the Rathskeller and went on a Haunted Walking Tour. A very cool company called UnseenPress runs these tours in Indy and its surrounding areas. We saw some very cool neighborhoods, restaurants, and of course, haunted buildings. Check out their website www.unseenpress.com. The tour lasted about 90 minutes during which it got very dark and cold so we were forced to go back to the hotel afterwards for Kahlua and coffee (and great conversation).

The next morning we awoke bright and early to go and see the Lord of the Rings exhibit at the Indiana State Museum. All I can say is **Major Goosebumps**.


After spending 5 hours (yes 5 hours) at the exhibit, we were exhausted and returned to our hotel to get ready for our big dinner MOOT at a local pub called Loughmillers. What an amazing dinner, and great conversation, all n all a wonderful time was had by all. We had a slideshow, trivia games with prizes, and of course, many pints :)

It was a wonderful weekend. Now it’s back to reality and to my ongoing quest to find my way….

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Adventures

Out of the Darkness

Posted on October 10, 2005 | 2 Comments

Last weekend I had the honor of participating in one of the ‘Out of the Darkness’ community walks. This was a short walk to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The event was much more emotional than I expected – for several reasons.

I am a suicide survivor.

What does that mean? It means that someone very close to me (my own mother) committed suicide when I was 21 and now I am left with trying to cope with such a devastating loss.

There were people from all walks of life at the walk – people who had lost children, brothers, sisters, parents and friends…each of them left to pick up the pieces and to try and make sense of it all. Needless to say it was VERY difficult to hold back the tears during the pre-walk ceremony.

After the walk I realized how important it is that each of us take on an important issue or cause to support. It is so easy to get caught up in our daily lives and to forget the things that are truly important. I encourage each of you to just do something, anything, to make a difference. Need inspiration? Visit one of my favorite blogs, http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com/ and read through some of her posts…

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Taking Action