Christmas every day!

Last night in my dreams I received two HUGE boxes of  the products that changed everything about my life.  I sat on the floor and opened them up like it was Christmas!  I brought out each item and oohed and awed over them like they were precious gems, but truth be known, they are much more valuable than that to me.  I started using the products a little over two years ago, at a low point health and otherwise in life that I hope none of you ever see.   I started to see improvements to my health within a few days, and as time went on I felt better and better!!  It wasn't long before I was able to tell the medical field I no longer "needed" their assistance after 25 years of "need" and by the end of six months I had released over 100 pounds and felt better physically and emotionally than I had in over 25 years. 

Now, 2 plus years later, I am 165 pounds lighter and healthier than I ever remember being.  I am happy to the very core of my being and I smile for absolutely no reason ALL THE TIME!  And it's not just my physical health that has improved, my financial health is BETTER THAN EVER!  I share the products with my family and friends, coach them in all aspects of product usage and help them build a wonderful business with the products if they choose.

I have made amazing friends in this amazing company and my life is better than I ever imagined it could be. I said goodbye to my demanding, demeaning and depressing job in education after seven months and now the only limit to the amount of money I can  make is the limits I place on myself, and trust me...I HAVE NO LIMITS! 

So you see, it really is Christmas, every single day. 

Thank you Isagenix, for giving me my life back.

Who needs prozac when they have purrzac?

We all know how in love I am with Emmy, my furchild.  She is the yin to my yang, my furry soul mate and the spice in my Szechuan-style shrimp.  She has been with me, literally, through thick and thin, feast and famine, hell and high water and I don't know how I would have survived the trials and tribulations of life without her.

I know that some day I won't have the benefit of  her love and affection (on her terms and in her time, of course), but until that time comes (and she's in excellent health), I am going to spend every possible minute with her that I can and that is one of the many MANY reasons I love being self-employed!  When she wants affection, I give it to her.  She gets the best treats and food available and to tend to  her health care needs, I have a vet (almost) on retainer.  The first thing I did when I came to visit my son was to ask the pet owners in the complex who the very best vet in the area was and after checking his references online, I have his phone number on speed dial and directions there in my navigational device.

 ~ long pause here because she draped herself across the keyboard making it impossible to type~

She has a cat tree, a heated cat bed, a ton of cat toys, a catio (think large, full sized window box that has been screened in and has two beds in it), and we are in the process of fully screening in the balcony at my son's house so she can really live it up in style while we are visiting in Denver. 

Of course, I'm not the only one that lets her have her way or dotes on her.  Here she is with my son's dear friend Salem.  She is helping him surf, as you can see.  

And here she is with most of the "gang".  I call this one The Cat and The Hats.

She is the life of the party, until she is tired.  Then she's just stick a fork in me done.

A day in the life...

 This is Emily.  My few fans will remember her as she is usually the star of my posts.  Today is an incredibly beautiful day.  The sun is shining, there's a very light breeze and the temperature is around 70F.  I have the patio doors and windows open and apparently Emmy decided she was tired of being indoors (she's an inside only cat) and decided to make her escape.  Lucky me, I caught it on camera.

OK, first one down...  

 
                                                   Hmmm, I think this is how they do it.

 Had to put some muscle into it, but GOT IT!

 

  

One more lock and I will be free!!

This would be so much easier if I had thumbs!

Forget it. Outside is over-rated. I'll just lie here and soak up some rays.

I just let it flow...

I'm my own boss, so I work from home.  Usually I rock out  with my Emmy kitty on my lap, listening to Pandora Radio on the smart TV.  The surround sound makes it an almost surreal experience. I find I go through a whole range of emotions as the music changes and I know it's because certain songs remind me of the people I love and I have lost.  Today is no exception.  I was giggling and chair dancing while listening to Bonnie Raitt and Bon Jovi (don't judge me), and then Louis Armstrong "What a Wonderful World" came on and, sure enough, my eyes started to leak.  Cousin Dale LOVED jazz and he absolutely adored Louis Armstrong.  It made me miss him more than ever.  It's so hard to believe he has been gone for almost six years.  Do certain songs remind you of people you have loved and lost?  If so, do you avoid listening to them or do you turn them up loud and let the emotion flow?

No longer a thinner version of the same old miserable me

I have promised to tell my story for a long time.  My life has been crazy busy, and it still is, but it has been suggested to me that it needs to be told as it will help others who are now, as miserable as I was then, and helping others is what my life is all about, so here goes.  I am baring my soul, so please be kind in your comments. 

This photo was taken as I prepared for my dad's Celebration of Life in 2009.  I was nowhere near my heaviest, but I had not allowed any photos to be taken of me for a long time, and this one was taken in secret by my son.  

My story:  I struggled with many health conditions for decades.  I was on various remedies provided by my doctors and nothing was helping, in fact, things were getting worse every day.  I could barely walk due to a debilitating joint condition, I was wider than I was tall, in part from the many, many MEDS I was on and in part because the pain from the condition made it very, very painful to do any kind of exercise at all.  I tried every kind of "diet" known to man and I lost a significant amount of weight, many times over, but never kept it off and it never really made me feel any better.  I was just a thinner version of a miserable me.  Christmas 2010 was bleak.  Very, very bleak.  I was at my zenith weight wise, topping the scale at well over 300 pounds.  My son couldn't come home for Christmas and I drove the 450 miles from Idaho to Montana in abject misery.  I spent almost a week at home, wallowing in my sadness, and drove back to Idaho on New Year's Eve.  Little did I know how radically my life was going to change the very next day! 

To be continued...

Nothing like a good laugh to start your day

I don't know if I've ever laughed as hard as I did this morning. My son and I were drinking our breakfast shakes and Queen Emily was, as usual, lying across his lap getting her morning lovin's. 

We were talking about what a love bug she is (especially to him, the little traitor) and the conversation moved to the day Emmy and I arrived in Denver to help him move. She was in her new carrying case and as I got out of the car to hug him hello I put it on the ground and it gently rolled over on its side. She was not pleased as you can imagine and the (sideways) look she gave me was priceless. We cracked up and it took at least a minute for us to stop laughing and rescue her. She has not forgotten and will have absolutely nothing to do with the cat carrier, in fact I had to put it on the top shelf of the closet so as not to offend her, but I digress. 

As we talked about the look she gave me, Wolf started talking as if he were Emily (in a very British accent, befitting the queen that she is) and it went on from there. I laughed so hard I snorted, many, many times and I am pretty sure the whole world heard me. That, of course, led to more laughter and more Emmy impressions. I am still in that silly mood 5 hours later. Maybe you had to be there, but I have to say, laughter really is the best medicine. ♥ you Wolf!

A lot to be thankful for!

I'm sorry I have been SUCH a slacker, but things have been OH SO VERY CRAZY BUSY HERE!  Those of you that follow me on Facebook know that my son has been extremely sick.  In fact when he got to the ER on Sunday, November 4, they told him he was a dead man walking.  The minute I heard he was ill, I started for Denver, a 10 hour drive from here.  No way I was going to let him go through this alone.  As it turned out, the Black Widow Spider bite he had received many months ago had caused an infection which had gone into the skin of his leg and hidden out there,  when it reappeared, it did so with a vengeance!  He had a 105 degree temperature, a right leg that was 7 inches bigger than his left leg, he was in incredible pain and as you can imagine, he was a very sick young man.  They sent him to the hospital (Medical Center of Aurora, an INCREDIBLE hospital) in an ambulance and he and I stayed there  for the next 5 days.  He had IV's in both arms, blood tests 3 or 4 times a day, vitals on the hour every hour and constant mothering from yours truly.  Finally by Thursday they let him go home.  I stayed with him another 5 days to help him with his meds, leg care and all of the things he couldn't do on his own.  When I look back on it, it amazes me that I was able to handle everything that I did.  I got, maybe, 2 hours of sleep a night, and it was always interrupted by either the nurses or my own concerns.  I "slept" on a lounge chair the first 5 nights, a cot the last 5 nights.  Two years ago I probably would have been in the hospital room next to him after three or four nights, but now I have such amazing energy and a zest for life that I handled it easily.  It's amazing what fantastic nutrition will do for a person! 

The best news is, of course, that my son is doing much better!  In fact, they were totally amazed that he came around as quickly as he did.  The doctor fully expected him to have to be on IV antibiotics for weeks after he was released from the hospital, but so far he is doing really well without!  She also thought he would be plagued with digestive issues because of all the meds, but he hasn't had any problems in that area either, and I am positive (and she agreed) that  it is because he drank 2 protein shakes with probiotics and enzymes every day that he was in there and every day since.

So, while life has been crazy it has also been pretty darned good!  I am so thankful that because I am my own boss, I was able to leave with a moments notice and go be with my son when he really needed me.  My son is very much on the mend and he is also heading home for Thanksgiving!  After he goes back, he is going to be looking for an apartment.  He has been sharing a house with some friends for the last several years but this experience has made him realize that he is better off having his own place.  It will be AWESOME because he can have friends over whenever he wants and can have family come stay whenever he wants!  I am so excited that I get to be a part of the whole adventure and after Christmas, or before if he can't get home for the Holidays, I will be heading there to help him move in.  His Christmas gift is going to be a 55 inch TV for his new place.  I am so excited! 

Anyway, life is crazy, but oh so good.  I have a couple of very fun things in the works too.  I will be rolling out a new blog (keeping this one though because of the Dale stories that I am not ready to let go of).  I am not quite ready to share it with you, but I will soon!  Big hugs to all and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!  I, for one, have a lot to be thankful for!

Tech Support

The Queen is exhausted! I really shouldn't expect so much of her, but she is the boss (and a great one at that) and bosses are required to put in long hours. They are also expected to wear many hats in a day. In fact, night before last, she had a hard time convincing me to quit working and get some rest, so she put on her computer programmer hat! She pressed exactly the right 4 keys TWICE and completely disabled my wireless. I couldn't do anything but call Dell. By the time we were done getting it up and running, the entire team in New Delhi were laughing hysterically (I could hear them in the background, and I am sure every time he put me on hold to look something up, he told them of this crazy American lady and her genius feline). And I have to say, I was laughing the hardest of all. I literally had tears streaming down my face. When he put me on to talk to his supervisor, it was all I could do to say things were taken care of to my satisfaction. What an amazing and fun life I lead!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I guess my reader (hehe) knows that I love animals.  In fact, I like most animals more than some people!  Anyway, I follow a group on Facebook called Rimrock Humane Society.  They are out of Roundup, Montana and they only foster animals, no kennels and NO KILL!  They take amazing care of the furchildren and the woman that runs it is quite remarkable.  This weekend I read about this:

And since the money all went to support the Rimrock Humane Society, I jumped at the chance.  Imagine my surprise when I got in the chair and THIS man started to cut my hair!  

Um, yah, can you say yummy?  Anyway, here is the end result, way shorter than usual, but in my opinion, pretty amazing considering what he had to work with and that it only took him 15 minutes!

Ta da! 

My Most Amazing Blessing in Life; Happy Birthday Son

Thirty years ago today I received the most amazing blessing in life; my son Wolf was born.  He was and still is the light of my life.  He is my very best friend in the universe and I can't imagine life without him.  He still tells me he loves me in front of ALL of his friends and actually enjoys going places with me.  He is giving, loving, kind and protective of all of the people in his life.  I am the luckiest mom in the world!

He lives in Denver, which is a good day's drive from me, but we still spend quite a bit of time together.  Last month, his dad was working road construction and was his by a pickup.  As a result, he lost his leg above the knee.  Wolf, who hadn't seen his dad in a long time, rushed to his side and offered him great comfort.  Since I am my own boss, I was able to join them.  We spent 4 days with his dad and half sister, Abby.  Since there were many valid reasons why Wolf had chosen not to see his dad, I was extremely proud of him for making the decision to go to him.  During their visit, his dad apologized for his behavior many years ago, and now they once again have a relationship and I am very thankful for that.

The month before that I was able to spend 5 days with him in Denver.  Two of our kid cousins went with me and SO MUCH FUN WAS HAD!  We shopped, enjoyed a few very nice meals out, I cooked a bunch, and we barbecued and had Wolf's amazing friends over.  Wolf, the kids and I went to the IMAX and watched "Rock of Ages" and had an incredible time!  I laughed so hard I snorted a dozen times or more and the kids had an absolute blast.

I often wonder where I would be today if I hadn't had my son.  I had been told I wouldn't be able to have a child, so when he came he was an even more incredible blessing.  I'd like to think I would still be OK, but I am not all that sure of that.  He is the best of me.  He brings out the best in me.  He is the love and light of my life and I would like to wish him a very happy 30th birthday and thank him for all of the love he has brought into my life.  I love you son.

Say WHAT?

I am SO excited!  I haven't seen my son in over two months and I am leaving tomorrow morning to spend almost a week with him!  I can't wait!  Two of my kid cousins, Sadie and Eric, are going along and we intend to have the time of our lives this weekend at Pridefest Denver!  Wolf, Sadie and I went several years ago and had an absolute blast, and we can't wait to share the fun with Eric!

As excited as I am, I can't say the same for Queen Emily.

You are going to Denver without me?  You WILL be punished.

Yellow is for FUN!

Have you heard of www.colorcode.com?  I took the test a little over six months ago in preparation for a training event for my business.  I was quite surprised to find out that I am a "yellow"  which means I am motivated by FUN.  Here is the color code description for yellow:

Yellows are motivated by Fun. They are inviting and embrace life as a party that they're hosting. They love playful interaction and can be extremely sociable. They are highly persuasive and seek instant gratification. Yellows need to be adored and praised. While yellows are carefree, they are sensitive and highly alert to others' agendas to control them. Yellows typically carry within themselves the gift of a good heart.
Yellows need to look good socially, and friendships command a high priority in their lives. Yellows are happy, articulate, engaging of others and crave adventure. Easily distracted, they can never sit still for long. They embrace each day in the "present tense" and choose people who, like themselves, enjoy a curious nature. yellows are charismatic, spontaneous, and positive; but can also be irresponsible, obnoxious, and forgetful. When you deal with a YELLOW, take a positive, upbeat approach and promote light-hearted, creative, and fun interactions.

During the event and in the time since I have come to realize that YES, I am very much a yellow! I am very motivated by FUN and when I incorporate fun into everything I do, I am much more successful! I had hidden my yellowness as far a work was concerned for decades.  Because of the type of work I did, I was forced to "be" red, a color type that is motivated by power.  I have to tell you, it took a toll on me and is probably why I was never truly happy in those jobs.  Reds have many wonderful traits, such as organization and yellows do not generally have that trait, so one very good thing that came from my being forced into redness, was that it taught me to be organized, however that being said I am so very happy that I have now embraced my yellowness.  It has made my life much more FUN!

  

LOVIN' LIFE!

I have officially been my own boss since January 4, 2012 and I have to say I absolutely LOVE IT! There's nothing like being able to wake up when my body says it's time, or being able to work from wherever I want (including Mexico),

not being limited in the amount of money I can make, being able to take off during the day to take the dog for a drive,

and I absolutely LOVE having being able to work with my furchild by my side (and in my purple and pink penguin pajama pants, say that 3 times really fast)!

 There is also the added bonus of being able to help people achieve their health and wealth goals as well. Have I mentioned that LIFE IS GOOD lately?

Because it really, Really, REALLY is!

Going Home!

I am going home for Thanksgiving! I am so excited! I am going to cook everything my mom used to make and hopefully no one will go to the ER. Wish me luck, better yet, wish my brother and our guests luck! I promise to post pictures and yes, daddy in heaven, I am buying the pies so the fire department can have the holiday off!

Then, after I get back from Montana, I will have to work 4 count them FOUR days and then I will be OFF TO MEXICO! I can almost taste the margaritas!

Love you all, hug your family close and have a wonderful night!

I can has pazzport

The world is my oyster. Life is good.

San Diego, the last days

My friend Melissa and I in Spokane Airport getting ready for our trip to beautiful San Diego!
The trip was to our companies Celebration, but the pictures below are of the last day we spent in SD. We had a blast. I will write about Celebration at a later date. The pictures are courtesy of Melissa, I, gasp, didn't take my fancy camera, because I wanted to live this event, not photograph it.

The Weston Gaslamp. Our home for 5 days.

What I'd been waiting for...my feet in salt water. Does it get any better?

Tarra and I astern, see how I'm getting a hang of the pirate talk? Yar Matey!

Tarra, Melissa and I (I'm in the middle with the huge grin--I'm on water, woohoo!)

Landing at Coronado

The end of the US!

Sea Lions lounging.

Submarine

The boat used in the Pirates of the Caribbean

Star of India

Naval Museum in San Diego Harbor

The last stop on the trip, Salt Lake City and then we were home, again.

What a difference a few months makes!

Pretty surprising what eating the best food on the planet can do for a gal, eh?

I can't believe the difference in, well everything, since i started my wellness program. I am happy ALL the time, and it's not because of the weight loss, it's because I feel so darned good. Something has happened on a cellular level and it feels AMAZING! I have energy every single day, my mind is clearer, my thoughts are brighter, it's like a big cloud had been hanging over my head and NOW IT IS GONE!

The "after 6 months" photo was taken a couple of months ago. More changes have happened since then. My skin is SO much nicer now, my hair is back to thick and healthy after the wild chemo ride, and my body is getting into a proper shape (I always said round is a shape, but I'm pretty sure it's not a proper shape for the human body). It feels like the real me had been on an extended vacation and now I'm back!

Anyway, more later! I'm off to enjoy this amazing weekend!

Daddy's Ashes

It's been over 2 years since Dad died. Not an hour has passed that I haven't thought of him. He was a great man. My mom was a great woman. They were fantastic parents. We were truly blessed in every way. In fact my brother and I often say we hit the parental jackpot.


Daddy was raised at Mystic Lake Power Plant. Dad, my brother and his crew often worked at the power plant facilities after dad moved to Absarokee and started his construction company. The picture above is of the power plant itself, which daddy and the crew re-roofed many years ago (that is copper roofing by the way). Dad loved doing jobs at Mystic, and he did a lot of them over the years. He loved it there more than anywhere, so that, of course, is where Mike and I decided to spread his ashes. We waited for over two years to do it...for many reasons, including the biggest one; we weren't ready to let go of him.

But finally, we were ready, and as we walked up the mountain today I remembered all the awesome times we had on the trail in years gone by. I could almost hear daddy asking if I needed a ride (when I was just a tot he would hoist me up on his backpack and I'd ride up there through the rough spots and on the switchbacks. I was utterly fearless because I knew my daddy wouldn't let anything happen to me). The memory was sad but more importantly, it was beautiful.

Mike and I at Fish Rock

Often during these trips, he told us stories about running up and down the steep trail to the lake. He and his siblings fished and hunted as often as possible during his childhood in the high mountains of Montana. He often mentioned a place he called Fish Rock, which was just up from the river on the trail where they would clean the day's catch of Rainbow Trout. He spoke with such joy of those days, and that is where we thought he should be.

Mike spreading daddy's ashes

It was hard to see daddy go, though I knew it wasn't really him. I always was daddy's girl and that hasn't changed in the 2 years he has been gone. But I know he is where he was meant to be. He loved that place with all of his heart and he shared that love with us and we will carry it with us always, just as he did. Thanks for everything, daddy. You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten.

Thanks, also, to my brother's college roommate and best friend through all these years. He and his family were there with us through this hard day. Fred was "adopted" by my family after college and my parents both loved him very much. I know daddy was happy today to have them there with us. I only wish Wolf had been there as well.