HEARD & LIKED THIS:

“With nothing to buy and no one to impress,” she said, “I set out to discover what mattered most. What I learned is how little one needs to be content and how much of life’s bounty is free if you open your eyes and use your imagination.”

“Perhaps we can try to unclutter our lives and slow down enough to enjoy nature’s gifts. In a demanding, complex world, it might not be easy, but truly meaningful things seldom are. Maybe we can try to remove some of the undue busyness from our lives and focus less on what we can buy and more on what we already have. A sense of contentment comes if, even for only a moment, we open our eyes to the marvelous bounty around us.”

HERE’S MORE:
“DO NOT LET WHAT U CANNOT DO INTERFERE WITH WHAT U CAN DO” BY JOHN WOODEN, BASKETBALL COACH

Alix Kates Shulman, “Finding Joy in Frugality,” Parade, May 10, 2009, 13.

perhaps a better measure of success might be what happens along the way: the strength revealed, the lessons taught, the sacrifices made
“Music and the Spoken Word,” from “Before Our Journey’s Through”

Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference. –?

“when life hands you lemons, always ask for sugar” ?

DETERMINE THAT THE THING CAN & SHALL B DONE, & THEN FIND THE WAY – ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Never compare your inside with somebody else outside.”
Hugh Macleod

“We cannot always control everything that happens to us in this life, but we can control how we respond.”
–L. Lionel Kendrick, “Strength During Struggles”, Ensign, Oct 2001, 24

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
Mahatma Ghandi

I gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which I must stop and look fear in the face…I say to myself, I’ve lived through this and can take the next thing that comes along.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

IT’S ALWAYS FUNNY WHEN I’M ASKED HOW I AM, OR WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING, BECUZ I’VE BEEN INCREDIBLY BUSY, BUT IF ASKED HOW, I’M NOT SURE WHAT 2 SAY…

I THINK SOME PEOPLE IMAGINE I HAVE “THE LIFE”, & SCRAPBOOK ALL DAY. NOTHING’S FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. I HAVE 2 SCHEDULE IT IN, JUST LIKE ANY1 ELSE. IT’S JUST HIGHER ON MY “2 DO” LIST, SINCE IT’S MY HOBBY.

SO, WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING? MY CAREGIVER & MARK CAN ATTEST THAT THERE’S ALWAYS A PROJECT, & SINCE I “TYPE TALK” ALL DAY (VERY SLOWLY, W/1 FINGER, I MIGHT ADD), I PLAY NO COMP. GAMES, DO NO INTERNET SURFING, & ONLY SHOP IF I GET AN E-MAIL AD, OR VIEW A U-TUBE VIDEO IF LED THERE BY SOME1. I HAVE A HUGE “2 DO” LIST, INCLUDING ORGANIZING & OF ALL SORTS OF ODD PROJECTS. I’M VERY MUCH LIKE OTHER STAY-AT-HOME MOMSS (I HELP W/HOMEWORK, SUPPORT BY ATTENDING KID’S EVENTS, ETC.), BUT I CAN’T DRIVE, MUCH OF WHAT I COMMUNICATE IS TYPED (UNFORTUNATELY,I’M SLOW), & INSTEAD OF CHORES LIKE LAUNDRY, I DO DIGITAL CHORES–I CAN DO PHOTO STUFF, BUT THAT CAN ALSO BE 4 MY FAM. (LIKE “SPECIAL KID OF THE WEEK” 4 SCHOOL)–I OFTEN FEEL I HAVE NO TIME 4 JUST ME (WEIRD, HUH?), SO I’VE SCHEDULED “SCRAPBOOK TIME,” WHERE I CAN ONLY SCRAPBOOK!

HOWEVER, WHILE I LOVE EMAILS (ESP. 2 HEAR HOW OTHERS R DOING), MY BLOG, WILL SAY WAY MORE THAN I EVER CAN TYPE! LOL

SORRY I HAVEN’T POSTED. BEEN WANTING 2–JUST SO BUSY! I DID MUCH BETTER WHEN MY BRO. WAS ON HIS MISSION, BECAUSE MY POSTS DOUBLED AS HIS WEEKLY LETTER! LOL NOW THERE IS “ALWAYS SOMETHING.” MAYBE IF I MAKE SHORTER POSTS, I’LL BE MORE FREQUENT, BY ASSOCIATING POSTS W/LESS NEEDED TIME!

SO. TUES. NIGHT, I WAS SIGNING 2 ZACH & FIA. FIA WAS BEING SILLY, & DISTRACTING ZACH.

I WANTED 2 SIGN “STOP!,” BUT COULDN’T, AS I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF FINGERSPELLING A WORD. SO, AS I THOUGHT THE WORD “STOP!,” I SAID IT. THIS IS NOT A NEW WORD—I’VE SAID IT B4—BUT IT WAS CLEAR AS DAY! FIA DID STOP, & EXCLAIMED, “MOM, U’RE GETTING BETTER! U SAID ‘STOP!’ “

IT’S SIMPLY AMAZING—THERE’S DAYS THAT I THINK SOMETHING, & IT POPS OUT, SO CLEARLY. BUT IF I’M ASKED 2 REPEAT IT, IT DOESN’T COME OUT ½ AS CLEAR! STRANGE! & EACH DAY I NEED 2 “WARM-UP” MY VOICE—SOMETIMES IT’S A “TALKING DAY” & SOMETIMES IT’S NOT, BUT I CAN RELATE 2 “BABY GARBLE!”

BTW, U MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT I’VE ADDED A COLOR & GRAYSCALE, PRINTABLE ASL CHART, OF MY VERY OWN HAND, 2 THE WEBSITE. NOW, IF U KNOW U’LL C ME, U CAN “FRSHEN UP” YOUR ASL SKIILLS. I’M TOLD THAT I NEVER SIGN A LETTER THAT CLEARLY (APPALING, BECAUSE THEY DON’T LOOK LIKE THE ASL CHARTS U C ONLINE), BUT IT’S NO SURPRISE 2 HEAR THAT THE SLOWER I GO & CAN FOCUS, THE CLEARER MY FINE MOTOR SKILLS R!

I KEEP A SMALL COPY OF THE COLOR CHART IN MY W/C POCKET, SO I CAN PULL IT OUT 2 ASSIT U.

OH, & I’VE ALSO UPDATED “MY STORY,” IF U CARE 2 LOOK. (C, I HAVEN’T 4GOTTEN U!)

I PROMISED 2 WRITE MORE ABOUT JULY:

AFTER R TRIP, I HAD AROUND 300 EMAILS (I’M DOWN TO 175-180), & DIDN’T WANT 2 RETURN 2 THE STRESS I FELT B4 THE TRIP, BUT IT’S INEVITABLE! I FEEL IT CREEPING IN! I JUST KEEP REMINDING MYSELF THAT 5 YRS. AGO, I DIDN’T DO ANY OF THIS STUFF…I JUST LAID IN A HOSPITAL BED…& THE WORLD KEPT TURNING!

WHILE I HAD INTERNET CONNECTION AT THE YACKTMAN FAMILY REUNION, MY DOUBLE VISION WAS AWFUL, SINCE I HADN’T DONE COMPUTER STUFF DAILY (IT STRENGTHENS MY EYE MUSCLES). SO I DIDN’T POST, BUT I THINK I HAD THE COOLEST ROOM THERE: THERE WAS A BATHTUB THAT “RAINED” WATER, A TV IN MY BATHROOM MIRROR, & I HAD LIKE 9 SHOWER HEADS (WELL 1 HAD 4 SHOWER HEADS, SO GUESS THERE WAS 12 SHOWER HEADS—IT WAS DUBBED THE “WATER PARK SHOWER,” & I THINK 4 THE 1ST TIME SINCE MY STROKE 5 YRS. AGO, MY SIDES GOT DRENCHED! LOL)! THERE WAS EVEN A “GET LUCKY” BUTTON THAT DIMMED LIGHTS, & LIT THE FIREPLACE! LOL

THERE WAS SOME ROUGH DAYS (SOMEWHAT DUE 2 LACK OF SLEEP, WHICH MAKES MY PBA REALLY BAD), BUT THE BEST PART WAS THAT ALL MY STRESSES WERE GONE (B4 I LEFT, SOME WERE PRETTY BAD), & IN A WAY, I WAS ABLE 2 4GET THE STROKE SIDE & JUST ENJOY OTHERS. WELL, 2 A DEGREE…I STILL HAD THE TRIALS OF MY STROKE (I STILL SAT IN A W/C, COULD BARELY MOVE, COULLDN’T TALK, & HAD REGRESSED 2 COMPLETE HELPLESSNESS–I WAS PRETTY RELIANT ON OTHERS, IN ORDER 2 DO ANYTHING–& AFTER A WHILE, I GOT SICK OF THE SLOW PROCESS 2 ASK 4 SOMETHING, & WAS GRATEFUL 4 ANY OFFERS THAT WERE SUGGESTED!), BUT WAS ABLE 2 FEEL RELEASE OF THE BURDEN FROM THE LAST 5 YRS.

I WAS ALSO FORTUNATE THIS YEAR 2 HAVE 2 PREGNANT SISTER-IN-LAWS & A SISTER W/A NEWBORN, SO RATHER THAN GO SOMEWHERE & SIT ALONE, I COULD INTERACT MORE. &, OF COURSE, IT HELPED THAT MOST COULD, OR TRIED, 2 SIGN.

AT OUR FAMILY REUNION, WE HAD A DAY 2 “CELEBRATE” EACH YACKTMAN KID. I MADE THIS GAME 2 PLAY–I DOUBLED THE CARDS, SO I COULD DOUBLE THE PLAYERS.
(IT WAS SO EASILY DONE, W/PRE-MADE TEMPLATES):
http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=955959&productId=63&projectSponsor=457785

ALSO AT THE REUNION, MY SISTER GOT ENGAGED, WE ATTENDED AN LDS TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE, & THERE WAS A LARGE VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES.

I’M GLAD 2 BE HOME, THOUGH–NOT ONLY AM I A “HOMEBODY,” BUT I ENJOY MY SOLITUDE & WHAT INDEPENDENCE I HAVE. I’M NOT A GREAT TRAVELLER, ESP. SINCE TRAVELLING MAKES ME SO DARN DEPENDENT (HERE, I CAN OPEN DOORS W/A REMOTE, ACCESS MY COMP. OR A TV W/O HELP, ACCESS & OPEN WRAPPERS 4 SOME TREATS, ETC.)

JULY 12, ZACH GOT THE PRIESTHOOD. (U CAN READ UP ON WWW.MORMON.ORG) THE LDS PRIESTHOOD HOLDS SUCH A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART, SO IT WAS NEAT! I CAN’T BELIEVE HE IS 12! I SURELY DON’T FEEL AS OLD AS I RECALL THINKING MY PARENTS WERE, WHEN I TURNED 12 YEARS! LOL

I WILL TRY 2 KEEP MORE UP-2-DATE W/MY BLOG, SINCE IT TENDS 2 ANSWER A BULK OF MY EMAILS! SOMEDAY I’LL GET 2 U, IF I HAVEN’T YET!