Daily Ponderings

I have been stuck in the house since last Thursday. Over the weekend it was brutally windy, and I have a hard time going out in that sometimes, so I just stayed put. And then the deep freeze set in for the week. There have been some days where it hasn't even reached 10 degrees (F)!! And of course the wind chill is even worse!! Needless to say, I'm going a little nutty being by myself this entire week. Even Mittens wants me to leave the house (no, he didn't say that, but sometimes I think he wants me to! lol)! What have I been doing all week?? Besides going stir-crazy? Well, I've chatted away on the phone with several people: I baked some oatmeal cranberry cookies (except I didn't realize the dried cranberries I bought were really cherries.....still awesome cookies!!): I also made a yummy pot of black bean veggie soup, which I think I'm addicted to making!: I started walking on my treadmill again, something I've been meaning wanting

I dove into the world of owning my own computer when I bought my first Gateway back in January 1997. I was still living at home at that time, and busy finishing my last semester of college. It was fun to be able to do all my homework on a computer and not a word processor (soooo boring), but what really fascinated me was connecting to the world wide web! That computer got a lot of use, including the huge cow box it arrived in. I still use that box today to store my wardrobe for the different seasons. Currently, all my summer clothes are in it! When I moved into my apartment, of course the Gateway came with me. I continued the world wide web obsession, even though dial up left something to be desired. Ah well! It was fun!! And then suddenly, my computer died. NOOOOOO!! I had started going back to grad school, and well heck! I needed a computer!! So, I used part of my loan to buy another one, and I got another Gateway. It was a thinner model, and it wasn't a tower model, which

Last year, before the PHA International Conference, I found out that the PHA was looking for people to help them with videos they wanted to make about people living with PH secondary to another illness or condition. This included people living with Scleroderma, Lupus, HIV/AIDS, and Congenital heart disease. Oh! Congenital heart disease! Well, that was me! So as much as I was very afraid to be in front of a camera, because I'd never been filmed before, I told them I could volunteer if they needed me. And guess what? They needed me! So on the Saturday of the conference, I went to an assigned room to film. I was interviewed, answered lots of questions, and felt like I was there for an hour. lol I was wondering when the videos would be made, and found out a couple weeks ago that they were all done! Here I am, along with another congenital heart patient, and MY cardiologist from the Cleveland Clinic! I really respect him and all the research he likes to do about people living with m

When I was younger, I was an avid reader. I could go to the library and check out the max number of books (maybe like 5-7?? can't even remember!), and spend the next week or two reading all of them. I could read for hours at a time. Sometimes I'd finish a book in a day. I totally loved to read fiction, sometimes biographies, thrillers. It didn't really matter too much! In the past several years, I've really gotten bad with reading. I just don't seem to make time for it. It might take me quite a few months to finish a book, especially if I'm not totally into it. I feel guilty starting a book and not finishing it if I don't like it. lol So then it'll take me much longer to read it so I can move on to another! So I decided to try and make it a goal to read more this year. Not a resolution, because I don't do resolutions, but a goal. So far I've got one book finished!  Michael Jackson wrote this book in the '80s, and some of it

A phriend of mine posted something on her Facebook wall several weeks ago, an idea that I totally loved. Basically, it said to get some sort of jar or container, and write down something you were thankful for every single day of the year. How awesome is that?? I know that some people have terrible days, myself included, but there is SOMETHING to be thankful for every day, even if it's just to be thankful for waking up! So, I've started my own jar! I have an old Mason jar, little white squares of paper, and a black pen I keep these items on my bedroom nightstand, and every night before bed, I've thought of something to write down, including the date. I fold the paper up, and drop into the jar. So by the end of 2013, I can go back and read all my notes to see the things I've been so thankful for during the year! Awesome idea, no?? I only wish I had known about it for last year, because that was a very amazing year for me! Oh well, at least I know about it no

Well, 4 days into 2013, and nothing too exciting has happened. lol I had a really nice New Year's Eve/day with K. We stayed indoors to bring in the brand new year at his place. He bought all the fixings for a very delicious dinner, including a ribeye steak, roasted red potatoes (both which he made out on the grill), salad, and the best triple berry crumb pie I've ever had. Well, it's the ONLY triple berry crumb pie I've ever had! It was fabulous! We had wine with dinner, and rang the New Year in with pink champagne (well, I did anyway). K. built a great fire in his fireplace, and we spent the evening talking about 2012 and the things that happened. I mentioned some things I'd like to see happen for 2013, so we'll see what the year brings!! On New Year's Day, we had breakfast together, and then K. left for a few hours to play tennis. Since there wasn't an area where I could watch him play, I stayed at his house and played